The US actress Nichelle Nichols, known from the cult series "Spaceship Enterprise", has died at the age of 89. "I regret to report that a great light in the firmament does not shine upon us as it has for so many years. Last night my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and died," her son Kyle wrote Johnson on the website of the woman who played Communications Officer Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on "Starship Enterprise".
Several US media also confirmed the death, citing the family environment or Nichols manager. Nichols made history in the legendary TV series "Star Trek", as the show was originally called: The African-American woman's 1968 kiss with her colleague William Shatner aka Captain Kirk is widely regarded as the first between a black woman and a white man in the US -TV history. Nichols was also one of the first black women to play a major role in a television series.
Shatner wrote on Twitter, "So sorry to hear about Nichelle's passing. She was a beautiful woman and played an admirable character who did so much to help recreate social issues both here in the United States and around the world to define her. I will surely miss her. Sending my love and condolences to her family."
Originally from Illinois, Nichols worked as an entertainer for decades and performed as a singer and dancer in Chicago as a teenager. She later made her breakthrough on television. In terms of health, she has been considered ailing for several years - in 2015 she suffered a stroke. In the same year, Nichols' "Enterprise" colleague Leonard Nimoy, who had played the half-Vulcan "Mr. Spock", died at the age of 83.
