Tiler Peck was born in Bakersfield, California. She began her dance training at the age of two at her mother's dance studio. At the age of 12, Tiler entered the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet. In February 2005 she joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet and was promoted to soloist in December 2006. In October 2009, she was promoted again to principal dancer. Peck danced at the Kennedy Honors ceremony twice, in 2012 and 2014, performing in front of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. She was the main focus of the 2018 documentary movie Ballet Now, which was shown at the 2018 Seattle International Film Festival.