'Star Trek' actress Nichelle Nichols dead at 89
By Tracy Wright
"Star Trek" actress Nichelle Nichols died on Sunday, according to a post shared by her son Kyle on her official Facebook page. She was 89.
"I regret to inform you that a great light in the firmament no longer shines for us as it has for so many years," he wrote.
"Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away. 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."
Nichols was known for playing Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on all three seasons of the original show, which ran from 1966-69. She also starred in each of the six "Star Trek" films from 1971 through 1991.
"Star Trek" acterss Nichelle Nichols died at the age of 89. The star was pictured at Day Three of the 2021 Los Angeles Comic Con held at Los Angeles Convention Center on December 5, 2021. (Albert L. Ortega)
She earned accolades for breaking stereotypes for black actresses, with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. personally encouraging her to stay with the series. She met him at a civil rights gathering in 1967, at a point when she had decided not to return for the show's second season.
He
said, 'You cannot do that,'" Nichols recalled. "You've changed the face
of television forever, and therefore, you've changed the minds of
people," she said the civil rights leader told her.
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