Nichelle Nichols of Star Trek dies at 89

Nichelle Nichols, best known for her groundbreaking role as Nyota Uhura in the original Star Trek series, died at age 89. 

Nichelle Nichols was the first black female to hold a leading role on television. Her son Kyle Johnson informed her fans about her demise by posting on Nichols’s Instagram account. He wrote, “Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away.”

Nichols started her career on tour with jazz artist Duke Ellington as a singer and dancer. She starred in the film Porgy and Bess (1959) and The Lieutenant (1964), a television series. Nichols joined the cast of Star Trek in 1966 as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura. For a career on Broadway, she almost left Star Trek but, after a meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., convinced her to stay on the show. Dr. King was a Star Trek fan himself, reminding her of the significance of her role, which led her to take back her resignation. Nichols was in Star Trek until the original series ended in 1969.

She also partnered with NASA to encourage the recruitment of astronauts from underrepresented backgrounds. Her work helped bring the first Black man, Colonel Guion Bluford, and the first woman, Sally Ride, to space. Last December, after making a final appearance at the LA Comic Con, she announced her retirement from space advocacy.