Trailblazing Star Trek Actress Nichelle Nichols Dies At 89
Nichelle Nichols, best known for playing Lt. Uhura on Star Trek: The Original Series, has passed away at the age of 89. Her performance was absolutely groundbreaking as one of the largest, most mainstream, and un-stereotyped roles any Black performer had given on television up to that point.
The beloved actress passed away on Saturday, July 30 from natural causes, according to an Instagram post from her son Kyle Johnson. Within hours, tributes started pouring in from those who had worked with her, including George Takei, William Shatner, and Lynda Carter.
Star Trek: The Cultural Impact Of Lieutenant Uhura
Her co-star George Takei, who played Sulu on Star Trek, described Nichols as “trailblazing” and “incomparable,” writing: “today, my heart is heavy, my eyes shining like the stars you now rest among, my dearest friend.” William Shatner, the original Captain Kirk, said that Nichols “played an admirable character that did so much for redefining social issues both here in the US and throughout the world. I will certainly miss her.” Lynda Carter, the star of the 1970s live action Wonder Woman TV series, wrote poignantly that, “Many actors become stars, but few stars can move a nation. Nichelle Nichols showed us the extraordinary power of Black women and paved the way for a better future for all women in media.”
The role of Lt. Nyota Uhura, the USS Enterprise’s communications officer, was a landmark moment in the history of U.S. media. While there had of course been major African American film stars before her—such as Hattie McDaniel, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Gone with the Wind (1940), and Dorothy Dandridge, the first African American to ever be nominated for Best Actress with her role in Carmen Jones (1954),
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