Umeki Sanyoshi joined the singing company RCA Records from 1950 to 1954, and performed in the film "Seishun jazu musu" (Seishun jazu musu). She also had a unique take on American jazz music, when she sang jazz music in a mixture of English and Japanese or only in one of the languages. Songs she sang during this period include It Isn't Fair, Sentimental Me, My Foolish Heart, With A Song In My Heart, Again, Vaya Con Dios, (How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window? and I'll Walk. Alone. Umeki later immigrated to the United States in 1955 and acted in Arthur Godfrey (she was a main cast member for one season). She also signed a contract with Mercury Records and released several singles and 2 albums.

Umeki's performance on the Godfrey show brought her to the attention of director Joshua Logan, which led to her acting in the film Sakura Love. Umeki Sanyoshi also won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for "Sakura Love", becoming the first Asian artist to win an Oscar. She later sang "How Deep is the Ocean" on the NBC variety show "The Gisele MacKenzie Show" in 1958.

She was also nominated for the Trust Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the musical "Flower Drum Opera" that premiered on Broadway in 1958. This musical also ran for 2 years. "Time Magazine" also wrote an article about Umeki Miyoshi with the title "Her passion for art makes her performances a kind of quiet magic". She went on to star in the film adaptation of the musical Flower Drum Opera, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Although he served as a guest on many TV variety shows, until 1962, Umeki Sanyoshi only appeared in 4 feature films, namely "Flower Drum Opera" (1961) and "Cry for Happy" (1961). ), "The Horizontal Lieutenant" (1962) and "A Girl Named Tamiko" (1963). From 1969 to 1972, she played a woman (Mrs. Livingston) in the TV series "The Courtship of Eddie's Father", for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for the third time. Eventually she announced her retirement as the show ended. Umeki Sanyoshi married TV series director Wynn Opie in 1958, but they ended up divorcing in 1967. However, she immediately married director Randall Hood in 1968, had a son, Michael, and ran a company in Los Angeles that rented equipment to production companies and university film courses. Randall Hood later died in 1976. Umeki Sanyoshi lived in North Hollywood for a long time in his early years, and later moved to Missouri because of his son. She died of cancer on August 28, 2007, in a nursing home in Licking, Missouri.