Nichols’ son, Kyle Johnson, announced her death via Facebook. Nichols suffered a stroke in 2015, and her son said she died Saturday, July 30, of “natural causes.” “I’m sorry to inform you that a great light in the firmament no longer shines for us as it has for so many years,” he wrote on Instagram. Play as Nyota Uhura, her character was in a position of power and had a high profile on screen, on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. “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,” Johnson wrote. Nichols was born in Robbins, Illinois in 1932 and raised in Chicago. Co-star George Takei tweeted that his heart was heavy, “my eyes shine like the stars you now rest among, my dear friend,” and he’d have more to say about the “incomparable” lead soon. I will have more to say about the groundbreaking, incomparable Nichelle Nichols, who shared the bridge with us as Lt. Uhura of the USS Enterprise, and who died today at the age of 89. For today, my heart is heavy, my eyes shine like among the stars you are resting, my dear friend. — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) July 31, 2022 Prominent Georgia Democrat and voting rights organizer Stacey Abrams, who is running for governor again and is a longtime Star Trek fan, tweeted a photo of herself with Nichols. “One of my most treasured photos – Godspeed to Nichelle Nichols, champion, warrior and formidable actress. Her kindness and bravery lit the path for many. May he live among the stars forever,” she wrote. Nichols’ role in the 1966-69 series as Lt. Uhura earned her a lifelong honorary status with the show’s rabid fans, known as Trekkers and Trekkies. It also earned her praise for breaking stereotypes that limited black women to acting roles as maids, and featured an on-screen interracial kiss with co-star William Shatner that was unheard of at the time. Like other members of the original cast, Nichols also appeared in six big screen spinoffs beginning in 1979 with Star Trek: The Motion Picture and frequented Star Trek fan conventions. She also served for many years as a recruiter for the US space agency Nasa, helping to bring more minorities and women into the astronaut corps. The original Star Trek premiered on NBC on September 8, 1966. Its multicultural, multiracial cast was creator Gene Roddenberry’s message to viewers that in the far future, in the 23rd century, human diversity would be fully accepted. “I think a lot of people took it to heart … that what was being said on television at the time was a reason to celebrate,” Nichols said in 1992 when a Star Trek exhibit was on display at the Smithsonian Institution. She often recalled how civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was a fan of the show and praised her role. She met him at a civil rights rally in 1967, at a time when she had decided not to return for the show’s second season. “When I told him I was going to miss my co-stars and was leaving the show, he got really serious and said, ‘You can’t do this,’” she told The Tulsa World in a 2008 interview. “You’ve changed the face of television forever, and as a result, you’ve changed people’s minds,” the civil rights leader told her. Nichols said, “That insight that Dr. King had was a lightning bolt in my life.” Most recently, she had a recurring role on TV’s Heroes, playing the aunt of a young boy with mystical powers. Nichols, who trained as a dancer and also worked as a nightclub singer, with the Washington Post reporting that she thought joining Star Trek would be a “nice stepping stone” to Broadway fame, not realizing that the television series and her character will be an iconic and enduring success. Actor Wilson Cruz tweeted that “representation matters.” Nichols “modeled it for us. With her very presence and grace she shed light on who we are as people of color and inspired us to reach our potential. Rest well, sparkling diamond in the sky,” she wrote. The Smithsonian tweeted a photo of Lt. Uhura’s iconic red mini dress and noted that Nichols made “history for African-American women in television and film. Nichols also volunteered to recruit women and people of color for NASA.” Today we remember Nichelle Nichols. She starred as Lt. Uhura on “Star Trek” wearing this outfit now at our @NMAAHC, making history for African-American women in TV and film. Nichols also volunteered to recruit women and people of color for NASA. #BecauseOfHerStory pic.twitter.com/fZZqfGlomz — Smithsonian (@smithsonian) July 31, 2022