Her death was confirmed on Instagram on Sunday (July 31) by the actor’s son Kyle Johnson. “Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away,” he wrote. “Its light, however, like the ancient galaxies we are now seeing for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from and draw inspiration from.” “Her life was a good life and such a role model for all of us,” Johnson added. Nichols rose to fame when she was cast in the 1966 space adventure series Star Trek as Lt. Nyota Uhura, the ship’s communications officer. The role was significant for many reasons: It was one of the first major roles for a black woman in a US television series, it was among the first performances of a black woman in a military-type role in any format, and it would later culminate in one of the first on-screen kisses between a white actor, William Shatner, and a black co-star. Her time in this role lasted only a few years, with the show being canceled in 1969, but her importance would last for decades. In fact, he was reportedly persuaded by legendary civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to remain in the role during the show’s short-lived run. Nichols would later reprise the role of Lieutenant Uhura in several Star Trek films, including The Search for Spock. In conjunction with her Star Trek career, Nichols would work with NASA, the US space agency, in an effort to recruit more women and people of color into its astronaut and science programs. The effort led to the recruitment of Sally Ride, the first American astronaut. She talked about how her work on Star Trek had led to the expansion of NASA’s efforts to recruit women during a 2012 interview with StarTrek.com. “[My] The legacy continues in the modern astronaut corps, where gender and color no longer matter … as they should,” he said. “I continue to be proud to have been chosen to make these first women and minorities. [in the space program] a reality”. In her later years, she would retire from appearing at fan conventions where she and other members of the original cast were treated like royalty. He made an appearance at Los Angeles Comic Con as recently as 2021.