American actress Nichelle Nichols has died of natural causes at the age of 89.
Known for her role as communications officer Uhura in the ‘Star Trek: The Original’ series and six films, she was one of the few black women to play an authoritative role on American television screens in the 1960s (when most black actresses played servant roles).
Nichols, who is also a singer and dancer, was tempted to leave Star Trek and return to her first love of musical theater when Martin Luther King dissuaded her. The two met at a fundraising event, and Martin Luther King said Nichols was playing an “equal” role in ST that few black actors in American theater could play at the time, and she thought twice about leaving.
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