Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek’s Lt. Uhura, dies at 89
msn.comThe actress broke new ground for Black women in film and TV, and brought minorities and women into NASA. Nichelle Nichols, the trailblazing actress and singer best known as the USS Enterprise’s communications officer Lieutenant Uhura in the original TV show "Star Tek", has died at the age of 89. “I regret to inform you that a great light in the firmament no longer shines for us as it has for so many years,” wrote her son, Kyle Johnson, on the website Uhura.
com. Born Grace Dell Nichols in Chicago on Dec. 28, 1932, Nichols aspired to star in musical theatre before getting her big break in Oscar Brown’s 1961 musical "Kicks and Co. ", as well as a New York production of “Porgy and Bess”.
She was cast in small roles before signing on for "Star Trek", playing Nyota Uhura – whose name came from the Swahili word for “freedom” – and becoming one of the first African American women to have a recurring speaking role on television.
Up until that point, Black actresses were largely seen in servile or subordinate roles. Trekkies and co-stars have shared their sadness at the news of her death, with "Star Trek" co-star George Takei writing on Twitter: “My heart is heavy, my eyes shining like the stars you now rest among, my dearest friend. ”Celia Rose Gooding, who currently plays Uhura in “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” wrote on Twitter that Nichols “made room for so many of us.
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