Among his numerous soap opera roles, he is best known for his portrayal of Quinton Chamberlain on Guiding Light. He played the role from 1981 to 1985 and again from 1996 to 1997. He was half of the very popular supercouple Quint and Nola, with the role of Nola played by Actress Lisa Brown.

Tylo was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Edward Tylo, a plumber, and his wife, Margaret. He has three children with his ex-wife Hunter Tylo: son Michael Edward Tylo II (April 24, 1988 - October 18, 2007), and daughters Izabella Gabrielle (November 12, 1996) and Katya Ariel (January 15, 1998), as well as a stepson Christopher "Chris" Morehart (January 22, 1980), from Hunter Tylo's first marriage to Tom Morehart.

In 1998, his infant daughter Katya was diagnosed with a rare cancer of the eye called retinoblastoma. Doctors removed the eye and began chemotherapy, but later in the year a tumor was detected in Katya's other eye; to the amazement of her doctors, that tumor soon inexplicably disappeared. Katya recovered and wears a prosthetic right eye.

On October 18, 2007, Michael Tylo Jr. accidentally drowned in the family pool in Henderson, Nevada.. The Clark County Coroner concluded that "the cause of death was drowning due to seizure disorder," and was ruled accidental.

Michael married his long-time fiancée Rachelle on January 10, 2010. Their daughter Kollette "Koko" Tylo was born on February 7, 2012.