An haifi Tyson a Manhattan a matsayin na biyu na 'ya'ya uku, a cikin iyali da ke zaune a Bronx. Mahaifiyarsa, Sunchita Maria Tyson (née Feliciano), ya kasance masanin ilimin lissafi ne ga Ma'aikatar Lafiya, Ilimi da Welfare ta Amurka, kuma yana da asalin Puerto Rican. Mahaifinsa, Cyril deGrasse Tyson (1927<unk>2016), masanin ilimin zamantakewar al'umma ne, kwamishinan albarkatun ɗan adam ga magajin garin New York John Lindsay, kuma darektan farko na Harlem Opportunities Unlimited. Tyson yana da' yan'uwa biyu: Stephen Joseph Tyson da Lynn Antipas Tyson.
Masanin taurari Carl Sagan