His parents were actor Ivar Fredrik Wiio and seamstress Jaana Erika Sanelma Aariainen.
He married home economics teacher Leena Marjatta Waronen (1928–2012) in 1954.
Wiio graduated from the University of Helsinki in 1954 with a masters in political science.
He then became a Member of the Finnish Parliament as part of the Liberal People's Party from 1975 to 1979.
He later founded Tekniikan Maailma magazine in 1952, selling it a year later.