Nichelle Nichols facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nichelle Nichols
Nichols in 1979
Born	Grace Dell Nichols (1932-12-28)December 28, 1932 Robbins, Illinois, U.S.
Died	July 30, 2022(2022-07-30) (aged 89) Silver City, New Mexico, U.S.
Education	Englewood High School
Occupation	Actress singer dancer
Years active	1959–2019
Notable credit(s)	Nyota Uhura in Star Trek
Spouse(s)	Foster Johnson ​ ​ (m. 1951; div. 1951)​ Duke Mondy ​ ​ (m. 1968; div. 1972)​
Children	Kyle Johnson

Nichelle Nichols (born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is most famous for playing Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in the TV show Star Trek and its movies. Her role as Uhura was very important for African American actresses on American television. From 1977 to 2015, Nichols also worked with NASA. She helped them find and hire many different kinds of astronauts, including women and people from various ethnic backgrounds.

Nichols was born in Robbins, Illinois, a town near Chicago. She started her career as a dancer, singer, and model. Later, she became a stage, television, and film actress.

Early Life and Education

Grace Dell Nichols was born on December 28, 1932. She was the third of six children. Her parents were Samuel Earl Nichols and Lishia (Parks) Nichols. Her father was a factory worker who became the mayor of Robbins, Illinois. Nichelle did not like her first name, Grace. Her parents suggested "Nichelle," which they said meant "victorious maiden."

Later, her family moved to Chicago. Nichelle went to Englewood High School and finished in 1951. She started studying dance at the Chicago Ballet Academy when she was 12 years old.

Nichelle Nichols' Career

Nichelle Nichols began her career as a singer and dancer in Chicago. She traveled across the United States and Canada with famous bands like Duke Ellington's and Lionel Hampton's. In 1959, she was the main dancer in the movie Porgy and Bess.

Her big acting chance came in 1961. She appeared in Kicks and Co., a musical by Oscar Brown. She also played Carmen in a Chicago play called Carmen Jones. She performed in a New York production of Porgy and Bess too. When she wasn't acting or singing, Nichols sometimes worked as a model.

In January 1967, Nichelle Nichols was on the cover of Ebony magazine. She had two articles about her in the magazine over five years. Before Star Trek, Nichols was a guest star on a TV show called The Lieutenant in 1964. This show was created by Gene Roddenberry, who later created Star Trek. The episode she was in, "To Set It Right", was about racial prejudice.

Star Trek and Lieutenant Uhura

Nichols as Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek, 1967

On Star Trek, Nichelle Nichols was one of the first Black women to have a big role on a major TV show. Her character, Lieutenant Uhura, was a bridge officer on the spaceship Enterprise. This was a very important role for the time.

Nichols almost left Star Trek after the first season. She was offered a role on Broadway, which she preferred. She told Gene Roddenberry she was leaving. He asked her to think about it over the weekend. That weekend, Nichols met Martin Luther King Jr. at an event.

King told her he was her biggest fan. He said Star Trek was the only show he and his wife, Coretta, let their children watch. He explained that her role as Uhura was incredibly important. He said that for the first time on TV, Black people were shown as smart, capable, and beautiful. He told her she could not leave the show. King said her role was not just a Black role or a female role. He said it showed that anyone, even an alien, could fill such a role.

King's words made Nichols realize how important her role was for the civil rights movement. The next day, she told Roddenberry she would stay. He was so happy that he showed her the resignation letter she had given him, which he had already torn up.

Nichelle Nichols' role inspired many people. Former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison said Uhura inspired her to become an astronaut. Whoopi Goldberg also said Nichols influenced her. Goldberg later asked for a role on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the character Guinan was created for her. Mae Jemison even appeared in an episode of the series.

In a Star Trek episode from 1968, "Plato's Stepchildren", Nichols as Uhura kissed William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk. This is often called the first interracial kiss on U.S. television. It was seen as a big step forward, even though the kiss was forced by aliens using mind control. Most people praised it, and there was very little negative reaction.

Even after the show ended in 1969, Star Trek remained a part of Nichols' life. She voiced Uhura in Star Trek: The Animated Series. In one episode, Uhura even took command of the Enterprise. Nichols later said she was frustrated this never happened in the original live-action series. She also appeared in six Star Trek movies. The last one was Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Other Acting Work

Nichelle Nichols in September 2012

In 1994, Nichols wrote her autobiography called Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories.

Between the original Star Trek series and the movies, Nichols had smaller roles in TV and films. She was a secretary in Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! (1967). She also played a character named Dorienda in Truck Turner (1974) with Isaac Hayes.

Nichols also did voice acting for cartoons. She voiced her own head in a glass jar in two episodes of Futurama. She was the voice of Diane Maza, Elisa Maza's mother, in Gargoyles. She also voiced a character in Batman: The Animated Series. In 2004, she voiced herself in The Simpsons episode "Simple Simpson".

In the movie Snow Dogs (2002), Nichols played the mother of the main character, played by Cuba Gooding Jr.. She also helped produce the film, choreographed dances, and sang three songs she wrote. She was nominated twice for the Chicago theatrical Sarah Siddons Award for Best Actress.

Nichols had a recurring role on the second season of the NBC show Heroes in 2007. She played Nana Dawson, a grandmother who cared for her orphaned grandchildren after Hurricane Katrina. In 2016, she joined the soap opera The Young and the Restless. She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for this role in 2017.

Music Career

Nichelle Nichols released two music albums. Her first album, Down to Earth, came out in 1967 while Star Trek was still on TV. It was a collection of classic songs. Her second album, Out of This World, released in 1991, had more rock music and was inspired by Star Trek and space.

As Uhura, Nichols sang songs in two Star Trek episodes: "Charlie X" and "The Conscience of the King".

Work with NASA

Nichols (fourth from the left) with most of the cast of Star Trek visiting the Space Shuttle Enterprise at the Rockwell International plant in Palmdale, California, U.S., 1976

After Star Trek was canceled, Nichelle Nichols volunteered to work with NASA. Her goal was to help NASA find and hire more women and minority groups to become astronauts and work for the space agency. She started a company called Women in Motion to help with this.

Her program was very successful. Some of the people recruited because of her efforts include:

• Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.
• United States Air Force Colonel Guion Bluford, the first African-American astronaut.
• Dr. Judith Resnik and Dr. Ronald McNair, who both flew successful missions before they died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.
• Charles Bolden, who later became the head of NASA.
• Frederick D. Gregory, who became a deputy administrator at NASA.

Nichols was a big supporter of space exploration. From the mid-1980s, she served on the board of the National Space Institute, which is now called the National Space Society. This group works to promote space exploration.

In 2015, Nichols flew on NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). This special Boeing 747SP airplane studies the atmospheres of planets like Mars and Saturn. She also visited the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, in 1976 to watch the Viking 1 spacecraft land on Mars.

She also attended the naming ceremony for the first space shuttle, Enterprise, in Palmdale, California. In 2010, she toured the space shuttle simulator and Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center.

A documentary film called Woman in Motion focuses on Nichelle Nichols' important work with NASA.

Personal Life

Nichelle Nichols was married twice. Her first marriage was to dancer Foster Johnson in 1951, but they divorced that same year. They had one son, Kyle Johnson, who was born in 1951. She married Duke Mondy in 1968, and they divorced in 1972.

Nichols met President Barack Obama in the Oval Office in 2012. She later shared that Obama told her he had a crush on her when he was younger. He also confirmed he was a big Star Trek fan.

Nichols was a lifelong member of the Democratic Party and a Presbyterian.

Health and Death

In June 2015, Nichols had a mild stroke at her home in Los Angeles. She received therapy to recover. In early 2018, she was diagnosed with dementia. She then announced she would retire from attending fan conventions.

Nichelle Nichols passed away from heart failure in Silver City, New Mexico, on July 30, 2022. She was 89 years old.

Recognition and Awards

In 1982, the famous science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his novel Friday to Nichelle Nichols. An asteroid, 68410 Nichols, is named in her honor.

In 1992, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to television. In 1999, she won a Goldene Kamera award for "Cult Star of the Century" in Germany. She received an honorary degree from Los Angeles Mission College in 2010.

In 2016, Nichols was the first woman to receive The Life Career Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. This award was given at the 42nd Saturn Awards ceremony. She also received the Inkpot Award in 2018.

Nichols was an honorary member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Film and Television Roles

Here are some of the movies and TV shows Nichelle Nichols appeared in:

Films

Television

Video Games and Theme Park Attractions

Books by Nichelle Nichols

See also

In Spanish: Nichelle Nichols para niños

• Kirk and Uhura's kiss
• Space Shuttle Enterprise
• Star Trek