Nettleton won two Emmy Awards during her career. She won one for her role as Susan B. Anthony in the television film "The American Woman: Profiles in Courage" (1977), and for "A Gun for Mandy" (1983), which was an episode of the religious anthology "Insight". She received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for an episode of "The Golden Girls". She also received Emmy nominations for her work in the TV movie "Fear on Trial" (1975) (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Special) and for a recurring role on the series "In the Heat of the Night" in 1989 (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series). Nettleton appeared in a 2006 Christmas TV movie special titled "The Christmas Card".