Van Tuyl was born in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in Indian Hill, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati At age 11, she moved back to Atlanta and began acting in community theatre, starring in several productions, including A Christmas Carol, Hansel and Gretel, Ramona Quimby and Will Rogers Follies. She signed with an agent and began traveling the Southeast, appearing in a number of independent films, such as Winter’s Tale, Magellan, and the lead role in Magic in the Forest.