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Nichelle Nichols |
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Birth Place: Robbins, Illinois, USA
Birthday:December 28, 1933
Height:5' 5"
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- Her younger brother Thomas commited suicide with the cult members in Rancho Santa Fe, near San Diego. [March 1997]
- Her role as Uhura on "Star Trek" (1966) was the first time that an African American actress was portrayed in a non-stereotypical role. Previously, African American female actresses were depicted as maids or housekeepers, and Nichols' role broke the stereotype barrier among African American actresses. Like Sidney Poitier, whose characters were one-dimensional (e.g. Det. Virgil Tibbs), Nichols portrayed a character that was non-stereotypical.
- Although ignored in the "famous actors/actresses" in African American cinema, including "famous celebrities" during Black History Month, Nichols was one of the first actresses that portrayed a character on a TV show and science fiction series that was treated fairly like other races, and to all of Star Trek fans, the TV series and films that followed set the standard for multiculturalism (where people of different races, ethnicities, and gender are integrated and a sense of equality coexist).
- Former NASA astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison was inspired by Nichols when she decided to become the first African American female astronaut. Jemison was a fan of the original "Star Trek" (1966).
- During the late 1970s until ?1987, Nichelle Nichols was employed by NASA and was in charge of astronaut recruits and hopefuls. Most of the recruits that 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 female astronaut), Judith Resnick (one of the original female astronauts recruited by NASA, who perished during the launch of the Challenger on January 28, 1986), and Ronald McNair (another victim of the Challenger disaster). She lived in Houston, Texas during her years as a Johnson Space Center employee.
- With "Star Trek" co-star William Shatner, she shared the first interracial kiss on American television. This resulted in a deluge of mail - 99% of which was positive.
- Measurements: 35-23-37 (as a glamour model in 1960), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
- Became the first African-American to place her handprints in front of Hollywood's Chinese Theatre, along with the rest of the 'Star Trek' crew. In 1992, she earned her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- In early 1951 at age 18, Nichelle married a dancer who was fifteen years her senior. Within four months they split and by August of 1951 she bore his son. She remarried in 1968, this time to a songwriter, but that marriage also ended in divorce a few years later.
- Confessed in her autobiography she once had a close, personal relationship with 'Star Trek' creator Gene Roddenberry.
- Made both her first (The Corbomite Manoeuvre) and last (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) 'Star Trek' appearances with DeForest Kelley.
- Mother of Kyle Johnson.
- Her great-grandfather, James Gillespie, was Welsh.
- Has appeared in episodes of three different series with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and George Takei: "Star Trek" (1966), "Star Trek" (1973) and "Futurama" (1999).
- Author of a book, "Saturn's Child".
- 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 made use of her voice again starring in a dramatic one-woman musical show "Reflections" in which she became 12 separate song legends. She was also able to use her singing skills a few times in the 'Star Trek' series'.
- From the late 1970s until 1987, Nichols was employed by NASA and was in charge of astronaut recruits and hopefuls. Most of the recruits that 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 female astronaut), Judith Resnick (one of the original female astronauts recruited by NASA, who perished during the launch of the Challenger on January 28, 1986), and Ronald McNair (another victim of the Challenger disaster). She lived in Houston, Texas during her years as a Johnson Space Center employee.
- Fed up with the racist harassment, culminating with her learning that the studio was withholding her fan mail, she submitted her resignation from "Star Trek" (1966). She withdrew it when Martin Luther King personally convinced her that her role was too important as a breakthrough to leave.
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Naked
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