Star Trek Co-Stars & More Pay Tribute to Nichelle Nichols

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Star Trek co-stars, directors, and other public figures pay tribute to the late Nichelle Nichols on social media. Nichols is best known for having played Nyota Uhura in the three seasons of Star Trek: The Original Series, in addition to voicing the character in the 1973 animated series and reprising her roles for six feature films, from The Motion Picture to The Undiscovered Country. Diagnosed with dementia in 2018, the actress retired from public life and stopped convention appearances. Nichols passed away on July 30 from heart failure at the age of 89.

In playing Uhura on Star Trek: The Original Series, Nichols became one of the first Black women to appear in a television series as a major character, which was unprecedented at the time. After the first season, she accepted a role on Broadway and planned to leave the television series, but a conversation with Martin Luther King Jr. convinced her to stay on. The activist thought her character was a role model for Black children and for other children who would now perceive Black people as equals to the other protagonists of the series. One of the earlier examples of an interracial kiss is featured in the tenth episode of the third season of The Original Series, as Uhura kisses Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner).

Related: Why Modern Star Trek TV Shows Are So Divisive

Now, cast and crew members of Star Trek, alongside other notable public figures, have taken to social media to pay tribute to an actress who broke new ground. This includes those who actually worked with her, like Shatner and George Takei, as well as those who have joined Star Trek in the years since she last appeared onscreen. Outside of the Trek universe, those like Stacey Abrams and Lynda Carter