Nichelle Nichols

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Birth name Grace Dell Nichols
Nationality USA
Birth 28 december 1932 at Robbins (USA)
Death 30 july 2022 (at 89 years)

Nichelle Nichols (born Grace Dell Nichols on December 28, 1932) is an American actress, singer and voice artist. She sang with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton before turning to acting. Her most famous role is that of communications officer Lieutenant Uhura aboard the USS Enterprise in the popular Star Trek television series (1966–1969), as well as the succeeding motion pictures, where her character was eventually promoted in Starfleet to the rank of commander. Multiple novel series have stated that she rose to at least Captain.

Nichols' Star Trek character, one of the first African American female characters on American television not portrayed as a servant, was groundbreaking in U.S. society at the time. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. personally praised her work on the show and asked her to remain when she considered leaving the series.

Biography

Nichols' brother, Thomas, was a member of the Heaven's Gate cult. He died on March 26, 1997 in the cult's mass suicide that purposely coincided with the passing of the Hale-Bopp comet. A member for eleven years, he left a final video message saying: "I'm the happiest person in the world."

In her autobiography, Nichols stated that she was involved in an extramarital affair with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry for several years in the 1960s, well before Star Trek began. She said the affair ended when she and Roddenberry realized he was in love with Majel Hudec, who coincidentally was an acquaintance of Nichols'. When Roddenberry's health was fading, Nichols co-wrote a song for him, entitled "Gene", which she sang at his funeral.

On June 4, 2015, Nichols' booking agency Galactic Productions announced that the 82-year-old had suffered a mild stroke at her Los Angeles home and been admitted to a Los Angeles-area hospital. This was barely three months after the death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) of her friend and Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy. Doctors were conducting tests to determine the severity of the stroke. Nichols was reportedly awake and resting comfortably. An online news article by Frazier Moore of the Associated Press, which cited news updates from the actress's Facebook page, stated that, four days afterward, the still-hospitalized actress was feeling much better and was improving, remaining cheerful and alert and taking the time to read the messages from fans and well-wishers on her Facebook page, of which there were many. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan did reveal a small stroke, but she was able to begin inpatient therapy on Friday, June 5, 2015 to begin rehabilitation and recovery, and to further evaluate her condition and determine the prognosis. Her fellow Star Trek: The Original Series actor George Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu, took the time to wish her well on his Twitter account page, and Zach McGinnis of Galactic Productions has continuously been updating fans on her condition on Facebook.