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IMDbPro

Nichelle Nichols(1932-2022)

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Additional Crew
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Nichelle Nichols in Snow Dogs (2002)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:04
Woman in Motion (2019)
29 Videos
99+ Photos
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; although 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 changearound soon after the Star Trek television series came to an end, she played a blousey madam, then co-starred with Lynn Redgrave n Antony and Cleopatra. She was been married twice and had a son, Kyle Johnson, from her first marriage to a tap dancer.
BornDecember 28, 1932
DiedJuly 30, 2022(89)
BornDecember 28, 1932
DiedJuly 30, 2022(89)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 5 wins & 6 nominations

Remembering Nichelle Nichols: 1932-2022

Remembering Nichelle Nichols: 1932-2022

Celebrate the life of Nichelle Nichols, best known for her role as Lieutenant Uhura in "Star Trek."
See the gallery
View image
Photos

Photos133

Nichelle Nichols in TCM Remembers 2022 (2022)
Yaphet Kotto and Nichelle Nichols in Truck Turner (1974)
Nichelle Nichols in Truck Turner (1974)
Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek (1966)
Nichelle Nichols in Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017)
Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Kim Cattrall, Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, Denise Lynne Roberts, and David Keith Anderson in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, Christopher Plummer, David Warner, Rosanna DeSoto, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, David Warner, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, Christopher Plummer, David Warner, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Walter Koenig and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Known for

Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek (1966)
Star Trek
8.4
TV Series
  • Lieutenant Nyota Uhura
Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, and DeForest Kelley in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
7.2
  • Nyota Uhura
  • 1991
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
7.3
  • Uhura
  • 1986
Kirstie Alley, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, and Ricardo Montalban in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
7.7
  • Uhura
  • 1982

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Inside Space
    • Host
    • TV Series
  • Moment of Impact
    • Michelle McHalls
    • Pre-production
  • 12 to Midnight (2021)
    12 to Midnight
    • Devorah
    • TV Series
    • 2021
  • Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Loren Lott, Jackie R. Jacobson, and Chalet Lizette Brannan in Renegades: Ominara (2021)
    Renegades: Ominara
    • Ominara
    • 2021
  • Space Command (2020)
    Space Command
    • Octavia Butler
    • TV Series
    • 2020
  • Surge of Power: Doctor Who Tribute (2020)
    Surge of Power: Doctor Who Tribute
    • Omen
    • 2020
  • Mark Ashworth, Vince Canlas, Barry Corbin, Stan Harrington, Matt Green, Nichelle Nichols, Tara Ochs, Kenneth Smith, Harold Stafford, Robert Pralgo, Adam Minarovich, James Smith, Paul Telfer, April Billingsley, Robert Bryan Davis, Brandon Thane Wilson, Natalie Shaheen, Autumn Dawn Nierode, Zeke Flatten, John Patrick Pruner, Diany Rodriguez, Christine Chaffee, Keith Brooks, and Brianna Ferris in Star Trek First Frontier (2020)
    Star Trek First Frontier
    • Nyota Uhura
    • 2020
  • Snoop Dogg, Chase Masterson, Tim Russ, and Garrett Wang in Unbelievable!!!!! (2020)
    Unbelievable!!!!!
    • Sensei
    • Aunt Petunia
    • 2020
  • Surge of Dawn (2019)
    Surge of Dawn
    • Omen
    • 2019
  • American Nightmares (2018)
    American Nightmares
    • Mystic Woman
    • 2018
  • Olivia Thirlby in White Orchid (2018)
    White Orchid
    • Teresa
    • 2018
  • Tara Reid, Ian Ziering, and Cassandra Scerbo in Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017)
    Sharknado 5: Global Swarming
    • Secretary General Starr
    • TV Movie
    • 2017
  • Renegades (2017)
    Renegades
    • Adm. Grace Jemison
    • Admiral Jemison
    • TV Series
    • 2017
  • Allison Tolman, Samm Hodges, and Ned the Dog in Downward Dog (2017)
    Downward Dog
    • Deejay Devine
    • TV Series
    • 2017
  • Walter Koenig and Adrienne Wilkinson in Star Trek: Renegades (2015)
    Star Trek: Renegades
    • Admiral Grace Jemison
    • TV Series
    • 2017
  • Eileen Davidson, Bryton James, Joshua Morrow, Gina Tognoni, Justin Hartley, Melissa Claire Egan, and Peter Bergman in The Young and the Restless (1973)
    The Young and the Restless
    • Lucinda Winters
    • TV Series
    • 2016
  • Linda Blair, Robert Picardo, Eric Roberts, Gil Gerard, Jay Underwood, Lou Ferrigno, Reb Brown, Carl Ciarfalio, Joseph Culp, Shannon Farnon, Alex Hyde-White, Eric Allan Kramer, Nichelle Nichols, Rex Smith, Rebecca Staab, Bruce Vilanch, John Venturini, and Vincent J. Roth in Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel (2016)
    Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel
    • Omen
    • 2016

Producer

  • Snoop Dogg, Chase Masterson, Tim Russ, and Garrett Wang in Unbelievable!!!!! (2020)
    Unbelievable!!!!!
    • executive producer
    • 2020
  • Nichelle Nichols in Woman in Motion (2019)
    Woman in Motion
    • co-producer
    • 2019
  • Nichelle Nichols as Lady Magdalene, front and center. From left to right: Hope McBane ("Sinead"), Claudia Lynx ("Scheherazade"), Keyaria Rodriguez ("Pixie"), Ethan Keogh ("Jack Goldwater"), Susan Smythe ("Angel"), Mara Marini ("Nurse Gretchen"), Michele Redmond ("Eden").
    Lady Magdalene's
    • executive producer
    • 2008

Additional Crew

  • Nichelle Nichols as Lady Magdalene, front and center. From left to right: Hope McBane ("Sinead"), Claudia Lynx ("Scheherazade"), Keyaria Rodriguez ("Pixie"), Ethan Keogh ("Jack Goldwater"), Susan Smythe ("Angel"), Mara Marini ("Nurse Gretchen"), Michele Redmond ("Eden").
    Lady Magdalene's
    • choreographer
    • 2008
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos29

The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series
Clip 1:11
The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series
The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series
Clip 1:21
The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series
The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series
Clip 1:02
The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova
Trailer 0:43
Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova
Woman in Motion
Trailer 2:04
Woman in Motion
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: Celebrating 50 Years
Trailer 1:19
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: Celebrating 50 Years
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Trailer 2:14
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster
Trailer 1:44
Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster
Truck Turner
Trailer 0:17
Truck Turner
Snow Dogs
Trailer 1:01
Snow Dogs
Star Trek: The Cloud Minders
Trailer 1:40
Star Trek: The Cloud Minders
Star Trek: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
Trailer 0:56
Star Trek: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Duke & Nichelle
  • Height
    • 5′ 3½″ (1.61 m)
  • Born
    • December 28, 1932
    • Robbins, Illinois, USA
  • Died
    • July 30, 2022
    • Silver City, New Mexico, USA(heart failure)
  • Spouses
      Duke MondyDecember 20, 1967 - March 1972 (divorced)
  • Children
    • Kyle Johnson
  • Parents
      Samuel Earl Nichols
  • Other works
    TV commercial: Psychic Encounters
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 12 Interviews
    • 8 Articles
    • 6 Pictorials
    • 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    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. 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.
  • Quotes
    [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.
  • Trademarks
      Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on Star Trek (1966) and six of the Star Trek films
  • Nickname
    • Nichelle

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