Nichelle Nichols, the Star Trek legend who played Nyota Uhura on Star Trek: The Original Series, has died at the age of 89.
Nichols’ son, Kyle Johnson, shared the news on his mother’s official Instagram account, saying he was sad to tell us that “a great light in the firmament no longer shines for us as it has for so many years.”
Left Image Credit: Michael Tran/FilmMagic
“Last night my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away,” Kyle Johnson wrote. “However, its light, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from and draw inspiration from.” Hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us all.
“Myself and the rest of our family would appreciate your patience and restraint as we grieve her loss until we recover enough to speak further.” Her services will be for family members and her closest friends and we ask that her and our privacy be respected.”
Nichols was born in Robbins, Illinois in 1932, one of six children. She would grow up in Chicago and make her first major acting appearance in the musical Kicks and Co. in 1961. She would go on to star in other roles after that, including guest-starring in Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s first series The Lieutenant, but Star Trek was where she made her historical mark.
Her legendary performance as Nyota Uhura on Star Trek: The Original Series cannot be accurately expressed in words. She was one of the first black women to star in a major television series and would pave the way for so many others to follow.
However, Nichols almost quit Star Trek after just one year on the show, but Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a huge Star Trek fan, changed his mind and said he “couldn’t quit” because he was making such a difference for black kids and young women around the world.
Nichols was also part of what is cited as the first interracial scripted kiss on American television when she kissed William Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek episode “Plato’s Stepchildren.”
After the cancellation of Star Trek: The Original Series in 1969, Nichols would continue as Uhura in Star Trek: The Animated Series and six Star Trek films.
After Nichols stopped playing her, the role of Nyota Uhura continued with Zoe Saldana, who played her in the Calvin-era films, and Celia Rose Gooding became her younger version in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
In addition to Star Trek, Nichols received his first Daytime Emmy nomination for his work on The Young and the Restless and has also appeared in episodes of Futurama, Gargoyles, Batman: The Animated Series, Snow Dogs, “Heroes”, “The Blacks”, etc.
She also worked closely with NASA to help recruit minorities and women into the agency.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
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