Nichelle Nichols

Nichelle Nichols began her professional singing and dancing career in her home town, Chicago, at the tender age of 14. As a teenager she was discovered by the great Duke Ellington, who hired her to choreograph and perform a ballet for one of his musical suites, and finished the tour as his lead singer. When Nichelle was cast by Gene Roddenberry to create Chief Communications Officer Lt. Uhura, fourth in command of the Starship Enterprise, in his legendary TV series Star Trek – in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King – “The first non-stereotypical role portrayed by a black woman in television history.”

Nichelle was awarded her much deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 9, 1992. Just a few weeks before she became the first African-American to place her handprints and signature in the cement walk at the famous Mann’s (Grauman’s) Chinese Theatre. At the behest of NASA Nichelle now travels to NASA Ames Research Center in California, Johnson Space Center in Houston TX, Cape Canaveral in Florida, NASA Headquarters in Washington DC and other youth oriented programs in support of STEM education and the space program. @RealNichelle