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.

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.

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).

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.

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).

From the late 1970s until 1987, she was employed by NASA and in charge of astronaut recruits and hopefuls. Most of the recruits she launched were minority candidates of different races and/or ethnicities, as well as gender, like Guion Bluford (the first African-American male astronaut), Sally Ride (the first American female astronaut), Judith A. Resnik (one of the original female astronauts recruited by NASA, who perished during the launch of the Challenger on January 28, 1986), and Ron McNair (another victim of the Challenger disaster). She resided in Houston, Texas during her years as a Johnson Space Center employee.

In her autobiography "Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories", she confessed that she once had a close, personal relationship with Star Trek (1966) creator Gene Roddenberry.

Although ignored in the famous actors/actresses in African-American cinema, including famous celebrities during Black History Month, Nichols was one of the first black actresses to portray a character on a television series and science-fiction series who was treated the same as characters of other races, and to all Star Trek (1966) fans, the television series and films that followed set the standard for multiculturalism (where people of different races, ethnicities and genders are integrated and a sense of equality coexists).

Discovered by Duke Ellington in her mid-teens, she toured with both Ellington and Lionel Hampton as a lead singer and dancer. Decades later, in 1992, she went back to her singing roots, starring in a dramatic one-woman musical show called "Reflections", in which she became 12 separate song legends. She was also able to use her singing skills several times on Star Trek (1966).

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6633 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on January 9, 1992.

She was awarded the Lifetime Career Award at the 2016 Saturn Awards for science fiction entertainment, the musical arts, and her tireless support of NASA and space exploration.

In early 1951, at age 18, she married a dancer who was 15 years her senior. Within four months they separated, and in August 1951, she bore his son. In 1968, she remarried this time to a songwriter, but that marriage also ended in divorce four years later.

On May 3, 2018, she was suffering from severe short-term memory loss as a complication of advanced dementia.

An asteroid discovered on August 16, 2001 has been renamed 68410 Nichols in her honor.

On June 3, 2015, she suffered a mild stroke at her Los Angeles home and was admitted to a Los Angeles-area hospital.

On March 26, 1997, her younger brother Thomas Alva Nichols died by suicide with the other members of the notorious Heaven's Gate cult in Rancho Santa Fe, near San Diego, California.

On July 14, 2010, she toured the space shuttle simulator and Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center.

She was a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Space Institute and has worked with NASA and has produced, directed and starred on a film for the Smithsonian Institute's National Air and Space Museum.

She was an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Has appeared in episodes of three different series with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and George Takei: Star Trek (1966), Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973) and Futurama (1999).

Dr. Martin Luther King introduced himself to Nichelle when she was planning to leave Star Trek after the first season. Speaking 'as a fan' of the series, he persuaded her to remain with the show, saying (quote from the book "Beyond Uhura"): "This is not a Black role, and it is not a female role. You have the first nonstereotypical (sic) role on television - male or female. You have broken ground...You must not leave. You have opened a door that must not be allowed to close..." Needless to say, she remained with Star Trek and created history.

Made both her first (episode The Corbomite Maneuver (1966)) and last (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)) "Star Trek" appearances with DeForest Kelley.

Childhood friends with Marla Gibbs. Friends with William Shatner.

Ranked #17 on Wizard magazine's Sexiest Women of Television for her role as Uhura on Star Trek (1966). (March 2008)

Nichols grew up in Robbins, a small village south of Chicago, one of just "four all-Black governed towns in America". Her father, factory worker Samuel Earl Nichols, was both the mayor and chief magistrate. In her autobiography Beyond Uhura, Nichols recalls how her parents once stood up to the Capone gang...and lived to tell the tale.

Received an honorary degree from Los Angeles Mission College in Los Angeles, California on June 8, 2010.

Her grandfather, Samuel Gillespie Nichols, was born in the south, to an Irish-born father and an African-American mother.

She was the daughter of Lishia Mae (Parks) and Samuel Earl Nichols. Her father was Mayor and chief magistrate of Robbins, Illinois, the suburb of Chicago where she was born.

Best known by the public (and by many sci-fi fans) for her role as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on Star Trek (1966).

A picture of her as Uhura, as part of the Star Trek (1966) ensemble, appears in a majority of shots during sequences of Elvis (2022) that recreate the making of Elvis: The Comeback Special (1968). Nichelle Nichols passed away when the biopic was still in theaters.

Attended FedCon 18 in Bonn, Germany on May 1-3, 2009.

She was a lifelong Democrat and practicing Presbyterian.

She died on the same day as character actress Pat Carroll.

Sister of Thomas Nichols, Thelma Nichols, and Eric Nichols.