Nichols’ son, Kyle Johnson, shared the news on his mother’s official Instagram account, saying he was sorry to inform us that “a great light at the firm no longer shines for us as it has for so many years.” Left Image Credit: Michael Tran/FilmMagic “Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away,” Kyle Johnson wrote. “Her light however, like the ancient galaxies we now see 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 a model for us all . “I, and the rest of our family, would appreciate your patience and forbearance as we mourn her loss until we can recover enough to speak further. Her services will be for her family members and closest friends and we ask her and ours to respect privacy.” Nichols was born in Robbins, Illinois in 1932, one of six children. She would grow up in Chicago and make her big acting debut in the musical Kicks and Co. in 1961. She would go on to play other roles after that, including guest-starring in Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s first series, The Lieutenant, but Star Trek was where she made her historical mark. Her legendary run as Nyota Uhura on Star Trek: The Original Series can’t be adequately described in words. She was one of the first black women to appear on a major television series and would pave the way for so many others to follow. However, Nichols almost quit Star Trek after just one year on the series, but Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a huge Star Trek fan, changed his mind and said he “couldn’t quit” because she was making a difference. for black children and young women around the world. Nichols is also part of what is being billed as the first interracial kiss on American scripted television when she kissed William Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek episode “Plato’s Stepchildren.” After Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled in 1969, Nichols would continue as Uhura in Star Trek: The Animated Series and six Star Trek films. After Nichols stopped playing her, the role of Nyota Uhura continued with Zoe Saldana portraying her in the Kelvin Timeline films and Celia Rose Gooding becoming a younger version of her in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. In addition to Star Trek, Nichols received her first Daytime Emmy nomination for her work on The Young and the Restless and also appeared in an episode of Futurama, Gargoyles, Batman: The Animated Series, Snow Dogs, Heroes, The Blacks, and many other. She also worked closely with NASA to help recruit minorities and women into the agency. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
