- Born
- Died
- Birth nameGrace Dell Nichols
- Nickname
- Nichelle
- Height5′ 3½″ (1.61 m)
- Nichelle Nichols was one of 10 children born to parents Lishia and Samuel Nichols in Robbins, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. She was a singer and dancer before turning to acting and finding fame in her groundbreaking role of Lt. Nyota Uhura in the Star Trek (1966) series.
As long as she could remember, she wanted to do nothing but sing, dance, act and write, despite no one else in her family following any of those tracks, though her father could tap dance. He not only became mayor of their town, Robbins, IL, but also a magistrate. On stage, Nichelle was twice nominated for the Sarah Siddons Award as Best Actress of the Year; while on film she danced with Sammy Davis Jr. in Porgy and Bess and opposite James Garner in Mister Budwing (1965). In a complete turn around, soon after the Star Trek television series came to an end, she played a blousey madam, then co-starred with Lynn Redgrave in Antony and Cleopatra. She was married twice and had a son, Kyle Johnson, from her first marriage to a tap dancer.
- IMDb mini biography by: Tonyman 5
- SpousesDuke Mondy(December 20, 1967 - March 1972) (divorced)Foster Charles Johnson(1951 - ?) (divorced, 1 child)
- Children
- ParentsSamuel Earl NicholsLishia Parks Nichols
- RelativesEric Nichols(Sibling)Samuel Gillespie Nichols(Grandparent)Thelma Nichols(Sibling)Thomas Nichols(Sibling)Minerva Emma Hibbitts(Grandparent)James Nichols(Great Grandparent)Henry Parks(Great Grandparent)Aaron Parks(Grandparent)Lydia Annie Myers(Grandparent)
- Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on Star Trek (1966) and six of the Star Trek films
- Natural black hair
- Seductive deep voice
- Long slender legs
- Frustrated with the racist harassment, culminating with her learning that the studio was withholding her fan mail, she submitted her resignation from Star Trek (1966) after consulting with series creator Gene Roddenberry. She stated in several interviews that the harassment made her go back to work in theater until attending an NAACP fundraiser. The fundraiser was where a Star Trek fan was about to meet her for the first time and, to her astonishment, the fan turned out to be Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. King stated that his wife and children had seen Star Trek on TV and it was the only television series that he had approved of. He said that her role as the fourth in command of the USS Enterprise became a positive role model for African-Americans. She withdrew her resignation from the series when King personally convinced her that her role was too important as a breakthrough to leave.
- With Star Trek (1966) co-star William Shatner, she shared the first on-screen kiss between a black female and white male on American television. This resulted in a deluge of mail - 99% of which was positive.
- Her role as Uhura on Star Trek (1966) was one of the first times that an African-American actress was portrayed in a non-stereotypical role. Previously, African-American actresses were depicted as maids or housekeepers, and Nichols' role broke the stereotype barrier among African-American actresses. Like Sidney Poitier, whose characters were three-dimensional (e.g., Detective Virgil Tibbs), Nichols portrayed a character that was non-stereotypical.
- Became the first African-American to place her handprints in front of Hollywood's Chinese Theatre, along with the rest of the cast of Star Trek (1966).
- Former NASA astronaut Dr. Mae C. Jemison was inspired by Nichelle when she decided to become the first African-American female astronaut. Jemison was a huge fan of Star Trek (1966).
- [on the Star Trek (1966) fans] I'm a fan of the fans. I love them. They're fabulous. I love being around them. I love their madness and their caring. I love watching them take off for a weekend, don the costumes, and become characters from the 23rd century and beyond. I thank the fans for giving us--me--so much support and love. I want them to know I love them. They will always be my friends. I'll see the fans, always. They can rest assured of that.
- Star Trek (1966) represented, and still does represent, the future we can have, a future that is beyond the petty squabbles we are dealing with here on Earth, now as much as ever, and we are able to devote ourselves to the betterment of all human kind by doing what we do so well: explore. This kind of a future isn't impossible - and we need to all rethink our priorities to really bring that vision to life.
- Gene's whole vision was that minorities weren't on set because we were minorities, we were on set because in the future, our diverse world would all be working together as equals. I understand that everyone needs to see role models that can inspire them and talk to them and represent them, but I believe that we need to move to a future that transcends race, gender, or anything else. We're all people.
- All the people in Star Trek (1966) will always be known as those characters. And what characters to have attached to your name in life! The show is such a phenomenon all over the world. I think anybody with any intelligence sits down and sees Star Trek not as a children's show.
- I was very blessed in always knowing what I wanted to do, and by the grace of God, I've been able to succeed in my chosen career. It's just coincidental that the acting took off first over everything else.
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