Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols died of natural causes yesterday at the age of 89 in New Mexico, her son Kyle Johnson announced today.
“Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away,” says the post on her official FB page and her website Uhura.com (archive). “Her light, however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration. Hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us all.”
Nichelle Nichols played the role of Lt. Nyota Uhura on the sci-fi tv series in the 1960s. She helped break ground on American TV by becoming one of the first African-American women to play a major role in a TV series.
The last name Uhura comes from the Swahili word Uhuru for “freedom.”
She made the news when Lt. Uhura and Captain James T. Kirk (role played by William Shatner) kissed in the episode titled “Plato’s Stepchildren.”
She also met her self-proclaimed number-one fan during an NAACP fundraiser: Martin Luther King Jr. He asked her not to quit the show.
“For the first time, we are being seen the world over as we should be seen. Do you understand that this is the only show that my wife Coretta and I will allow our little children to stay up and watch?”
George Takei shared a tweet about the passing of Nichelle Nichols.
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