Nichelle Nichols Biography: Age, Death, Children, Net Worth, Parents, Movies & TV Shows, Height

Nichelle Nichols was an American actress, singer, and dancer whose portrayal of Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on the original Star Trek television series broke new ground for Black women in science fiction and on American television in general.

Her work in that role not only made her widely recognized but also opened doors for more inclusive representation in media. Beyond acting, she devoted significant efforts to recruiting women and people of color into NASA programs, linking her on-screen legacy to real-world advancement in space exploration.

Profile

• Full name: Grace Dell “Nichelle” Nichols
• Date of birth: December 28, 1932
• Age: Deceased
• Gender: Female
• Place of birth: Robbins, Illinois, U.S.
• State of origin: Illinois
• Nationality: American
• Profession: Actress, singer, dancer
• Parents: Samuel Earl Nichols (father), Lishia Mae Nichols (mother)
• Siblings: She was the third of six children; one brother, Thomas Nichols, is publicly documented among them
• Spouse: Foster Johnson (m. 1951, divorced 1951), Duke Mondy (m. 1968, divorced 1972)
• Children: Kyle Johnson
• Relationship status: Deceased at time of record
• Ethnicity: African American
• Net worth: $5 million at the time of her death

Early Life and Education

Nichelle Nichols was born on December 28, 1932, in Robbins, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She grew up as the third child in a family of six children. Her father, Samuel Earl Nichols, worked in a factory and later held local civic roles in Robbins, while her mother, Lishia Mae (Parks) Nichols, was a homemaker.

The family later relocated to the Woodlawn area of Chicago, where Nichols attended Englewood High School and graduated in 1951. From a young age, she studied dance (beginning formal instruction at about age 12) and sang in local venues, eventually touring with musical acts such as those led by Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton.

Personal Life

Nichelle Nichols’s personal life included two marriages and a notable romantic involvement. In 1951 she married dancer Foster Johnson; that marriage lasted less than a year but produced her only child, Kyle Johnson (born August 14, 1951). In 1968 she married musician Duke Mondy; that marriage ended in divorce in 1972.

In her autobiography, Nichols revealed that in the 1960s she had a romantic relationship with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, which ended before the show began in earnest. She also reported a brief relationship with entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. in 1959. Her brother Thomas Nichols was a member of the Heaven’s Gate cult and died in the group’s mass suicide in 1997.

Career

Nichols’s career began in performance arts as a dancer and singer. She toured with big band orchestras and performed in nightclubs. Her early acting roles included dancing in the 1959 film Porgy and Bess, and she participated in theatrical productions such as the Oscar Brown musical Kicks and Co. on Broadway, Carmen Jones, and Blues for Mister Charlie.

In 1964 she made a guest appearance in the television series The Lieutenant in an episode tackling racial prejudice, which brought her to the attention of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. In 1966 she was cast as Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek: The Original Series.

That role ran through the original series until 1969 and she later reprised it in Star Trek: The Animated Series and in six Star Trek feature films from 1979 to 1991. During her career she also appeared in films like Truck Turner (1974), Snow Dogs (2002), Are We There Yet? (2005), and others. In television she held guest and recurring roles, including a recurring role on Heroes (2007) as Nana Dawson and a guest role in The Young and the Restless.

Beyond acting, Nichols volunteered from about 1977 into the 2010s with NASA, helping to recruit women and diverse candidates to astronaut programs. She also served on the board of the National Space Society and flew aboard NASA’s SOFIA observatory for an outreach mission.

Awards

• Sarah Siddons Award (nomination) — for Kicks and Co.
• Sarah Siddons Award (nomination) — for The Blacks
• Hollywood Walk of Fame star (1992)
• Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Life Career Award (2016)
• Inkpot Award (2018)

Net worth

Nichelle Nichols’s had an estimated net worth of at least $5 million at the time of her death.

Death

Nichelle Nichols died on July 30, 2022, in Silver City, New Mexico, from heart failure at the age of 89. Her ashes were later launched into space along with those of Majel Barrett and Douglas Trumbull.

Social Media

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Filmography

• Porgy and Bess
• Tarzan’s Deadly Silence
• Doctor, You’ve Got to Be Kidding!
• Truck Turner
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
• The Supernaturals
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space
• Snow Dogs
• Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes

Discography

• Down to Earth (1967)
• Uhura Sings (1986)
• Out of This World (1991)

Books

• Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories
• Saturn’s Child
• Saturna’s Quest