Catalyzes the conversion of L-tyrosine to L- dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-Dopa), the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of cathecolamines, dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline. Uses tetrahydrobiopterin and molecular oxygen to convert tyrosine to L-Dopa (By similarity). In addition to tyrosine, is able to catalyze the hydroxylation of phenylalanine and tryptophan but with lower specificity (PubMed:11922614, PubMed:10933781). Positively regulates the regression of retinal hyaloid vessels during postnatal development (By similarity). {By
SimilarityUniProtKB:P07101, By
SimilarityUniProtKB:P24529, Experimental EvidencePubMed:10933781, Experimental EvidencePubMed:11922614}.