Nichelle Nichols born 28 December 1932

Nichelle Nichols (December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer and dancer whose portrayal of Uhura in Star Trek and its film sequels was groundbreaking for African American actresses on American television. 

Grace Dell Nichols was born the third of six children on December 28, 1932, in Robbins, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, to Samuel Earl Nichols, a factory worker who was elected both town mayor of Robbins in 1929 and its chief magistrate, and his wife, Lishia (Parks) Nichols, a homemaker. Disliking her name, Nichols asked her parents for a new one; they suggested Nichelle, which they said meant "victorious maiden". The family later moved into an apartment in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, where Nichols attended Englewood High School, graduating in 1951. From age 12, she studied dance at the Chicago Ballet Academy. 

Nichols began her professional career as a singer and dancer in Chicago. She then toured the United States and Canada with the bands of Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. In 1959, she appeared as the principal dancer in the film version of Porgy and Bess. Her acting break was an appearance in Kicks and Co., Oscar Brown's highly touted but ill-fated 1961 musical In the thinly veiled satire of Playboy magazine, she played Hazel Sharpe, a voluptuous campus queen who was tempted by the devil and Orgy Magazine to become "Orgy Maiden of the Month". 

Although the play closed after a short run in Chicago, Nichols attracted the attention of Hugh Hefner, the publisher of Playboy, who booked her as a singer for his Chicago Playboy Club. She also appeared as Carmen for a Chicago stock company production of Carmen Jones and performed in a New York production of Porgy and Bess. Between acting and singing engagements, she did occasional modeling. 

In 1966, Nichols was cast as Lieutenant Commander Uhura in Star Trek, which marked one of the first times that an African American actress was portrayed in a non-stereotypical role on television. Nichols went on to appear as Uhura numerous times in the Star Trek movie and television series. Despite her success, however, Nichols had initially considered leaving the show. But she was convinced otherwise by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who described her character as the "first non-stereotypical role portrayed by a black woman in television history". 

                                   

As Uhura, Nichols sang on the Star Trek episodes "Charlie X" and "The Conscience of the King". Nichols released two music albums: Down to Earth, a collection of standards released in 1967, during the original run of Star Trek; and Out of This World, released in 1991, a more rock-oriented album themed around Star Trek and space exploration. 

In 1975, Nichols established Women in Motion, Inc., a company that produced educational materials using music as a teaching tool and was expanded to become an astronaut recruitment tool after Nichols won a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This resulted in thousands of women and minorities applying to NASA’s space program such as Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, and Ellison Onizuka. In addition to her autobiography, Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories (1994), Nichols is co-author of Saturn’s Child (1995) and a contributor to publications of the National Space Institute. 

In October of 1984, Nichols was presented with NASA’s Public Service Award for her many efforts towards integrating the U.S. space program. She was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1992, and became the first African American actress to place her handprints in front of Hollywood’s Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, along with the rest of the Star Trek cast. Nichols was elected an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; and, on June 8, 2010, she received an honorary doctorate degree from Los Angeles Mission College. 

In June 2015, Nichols suffered a mild stroke at her Los Angeles home and was admitted to a Los Angeles-area hospital. A magnetic resonance imaging scan confirmed a small stroke had occurred, and she began inpatient therapy. In early 2018, she was diagnosed with dementia, and subsequently announced her retirement from convention appearances. 

Nichols died of heart failure in Silver City, New Mexico, on July 30, 2022, at the age of 89.Her ashes were sent into deep space. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & The History Makers)