Live Long and Prosper, Nichelle Nichols. The beloved Star Trek: The Original Series actress behind the first woman of colour in Star Trek, Nichelle Nichols, has died aged 89. The announcement was made in the early hours of Australia’s morning to the official Star Trek Instagram page.
Nichelle was the ultimate trailblazer and opened the doors for African-Americans to join the television industry. During the early days of Star Trek’s run, Nichols quit the show but remained thanks to Doctor Martin Luther King.
Since then, she reprised her role as Uhura in films featuring the original cast of characters. To pay tribute, Adam Nimoy, the son of Nichelle’s late costar and original Spock actor Leonard Nimoy, posted his favourite photo of Nichols and his dad on Twitter.
Nichols’ influence would become vital to the Star Trek universe decades after the original show’s cancellation. Other people of colour, both female and male, would appear throughout the various films and spin-off television shows. One would be Sonequa Martin-Green, the actress who plays Michael Burnham, Spock’s adoptive sister in Star Trek: Discovery.
Ms Nichols’ contribution to Star Trek would gain her an invite to the Star Trek: Discovery premiere alongside William Shatner, in 2017.
The role of Nyota Uhura would be played by actresses Zoe Saldana in three films set in an alternate reality. Celia Rose Gooding would play a young Uhura in TOS prequel series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
After her final performance as Uhura, Nichelle played the mother of Cuba Gooding Jr’s character in the 2002 film Snow Dogs. Nichelle suffered a series of small strokes. In addition, her son, Kyle Johnson, announced she had died of heart failure.
