Nichelle Nichols who played the communications officer in the original Star Trek TV series in the 1960s has died. In her role as Lieutenant Uhura, Nichols was one of the first black women to be prominently featured on an American television show. Her kiss with William Shatner as Captain Kirk in the November 22, 1968, Star Trek episode “Plato’s Stepchildren” is often cited as the first example of an interracial kiss on a scripted U.S. television program.
Her death was revealed in a statement from her son reading, “Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away. Her light however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration. Hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us all.”
Before Star Trek, Nichols was a jazz singer who toured the country with both the Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton bands. She also stared in several theatrical musicals. In the years after Star Trek, Nichelle was involved in a special project with NASA which helped recruit women and minorities to the space program.
Nichelle had been in poor health since a stroke a few years ago and had suffered from dementia since 2018. She reportedly died of heart failure.
