As a child Hyatt was exposed to art and theater from the work of both of her parents during the 1970s in Jamaica. Hyatt emigrated to the United States with her mother and two siblings when she was ten years old. The family lived in Maryland and then Washington, D.C. Hyatt has a BFA from Howard University and received her MFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. During college she did a theater practicum and worked at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. During grad school she worked for Director Spike Lee as an assistant.