Nichelle Nichols, a pioneering figure in both Star Trek and America’s space program and one of the most important and iconic women in the history of science fiction, has died (according to Variety). Nichols played communications officer Lt. Uhura on Star Trek and later used her status and influence to work with NASA to help the agency recruit more women and people of color. No specific cause of death has been given, although he had various health problems in recent years (including a stroke in 2015). Nichols was 89 years old. Born in Illinois as Grace Dell Nichols in 1932, Nichols began her career as a stage actress. Her first break in acting came from an appearance in Kicks And Co. by Oscar Brown, which earned her a nomination for Chicago’s Sarah Siddons Theater Acting Award and brought her to the attention of Hugh Hefner—as the show included a subtle parody of Playboy. Hefner booked Nichols, who was also a singer and dancer, at his Chicago Playboy Club. Nichols’ first TV appearance was in an episode of Gene Roddenberry’s The Lieutenant, and she revealed later in life that the two had been dating for years before he cast her in Star Trek (as the story goes, Nichols broke up with him after realizing that he was in love with Majel Barrett, his future wife and future Star Trek nurse Christine Chapel). But it was Nichols’ own role on Star Trek that defined her career and made her an iconic figure in pop culture. Lt. Uhura was not only a prominent character on Black TV at a time when that was unusual, but she was in a position of power—an officer on a starship—and clearly had a lot of authority on the bridge of the Enterprise. In Star Trek, Nichols and her co-star William Shatner also had one of the first interracial kisses on American television (even if it was controlled by aliens at the time), with Nichols and Shatner later saying that alternate takes without a kiss. were planned, but that they were dropped on purpose so that the kiss would have to be seen. Also, while the kiss is seen as a controversial moment, Variety notes that Nichols claimed that the message she received about it was “overwhelmingly positive and supportive.” In another famous story from Nichols’ life, she had planned to quit Star Trek after its first year so she could return to the stage, but Martin Luther King Jr. himself personally convinced her to stay after he told her how much it was important. to see a black woman like Uhura on TV. This obviously meant a lot to Nichols, who began working with NASA after Star Trek ended, specifically to try to find more minorities who could be astronauts. Dr. Mae Jemison, the first black woman to ride in the Space Shuttle, said Star Trek inspired her to join NASA. Nichols continued to work in television after Star Trek, often appearing as a voice actor. She also reprized her role as Uhura in various Star Trek projects, including films and the animated series, and did double duty (sort of) as both herself and Uhura in Futurama’s Star Trek reunion “Where No Fan Has Gone Before”. Nichols is survived by her son, Kyle Johnson;