In 1967, she appeared in The Comedians, and the following year, had a featured role in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. In 1972, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Sounder.
In 1974 she won two Emmy Awards for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and became a star. Other acclaimed television roles included Roots, King, in which she played Coretta Scott King, The Marva Collins Story, When No One Would Listen and Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (for which she won another Emmy).
Tyson co-founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem.