Nichelle Nichols, a positive rolemodel

1 Introduction

Nichelle Nichols was born Grace Nichols on December 28, 1932. She was born in Robbins, Illinois and grew up in Chicago with her parents and her younger brother. In 1948, she graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School and went on to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Nichelle graduated from there in 1950 and moved to New York City where she began dancing at the Alvin Ailey Dance Company while also doing commercials and acting roles on Broadway.

In 1966, Nichelle got a call from her agent who told her about a new TV show called Star Trek that needed an actress that could speak fluent Klingon. At first, Nichelle didn’t want anything to do with it because she thought it would be just another science fiction show that would have a short run before being cancelled but changed her mind when she found out it would be filmed in Los Angeles where Nichelle had family members living nearby herself so they could visit each other often during filming sessions once production started taking place which made working on set more enjoyable for everyone involved including those behind-the-scenes who helped make this happen by doing their best work possible which resulted in what became known as one of the most successful franchises ever created despite only lasting just three seasons before being cancelled due to low ratings from critics who didn’t understand what kind of show Star Trek really was despite all these critics claiming otherwise even though they were wrong about everything else too except for maybe one critic: Roger Ebert wrote an article about this topic after watching some episodes—and reading some books about them too if I remember correctly—but he said something along the lines of how great this series was even though most people didn’t agree with him or anyone else who said something positive about Star Trek which is why I am writing this blog post right now instead of going outside where I usually go everyday during summer break(s) like many students do when

2 Nichelle Nichols was born Grace Nichols on December 28, 1932.

You might not recognize her name, but you will most certainly recognize her face. Nichelle Nichols was born Grace Nichols on December 28, 1932 in Robbins, Illinois. She was the daughter of a single mother who became pregnant out of wedlock after her father - a jazz musician named Samuel Chapman - was killed in a car accident before she was born. When her mother died when Nichelle was just seven years old, the young girl moved in with her grandmother and lived there until she turned eighteen.

She began dancing professionally at age sixteen and continued to do so until becoming an actress in 1959! After studying drama at Northwestern University (where she appeared onstage in Black Nativity), she moved to New York City where she worked as a dancer for three years at various nightclubs such as The Cotton Club—a historically black venue that opened its doors during Prohibition and remained open until 1964 (and which eventually became known for being owned by gangster John “The Duke” Franklin).

3 Nichelle Nichols was a dancer before becoming an actress.

• Nichelle Nichols was a dancer before becoming an actress.
• She started out as a dancer on Broadway and in the chorus line, then went on to be a featured performer with Duke Ellington at the Apollo Theatre and with Harry Belafonte at the Village Vanguard.
• After appearing in several TV series and films, Nichelle Nichols became famous for her role as Lt. Uhura aboard the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: The Original Series (1966).

4 Star Trek became the first weekly series to feature a Black woman in a leading role.

In the 1960s, Nichelle Nichols appeared in the first weekly series to feature a Black woman in a leading role. Star Trek episodes were filmed in Los Angeles and she became involved with NASA recruitment, which led to her meeting many astronauts in training.

In 1975, she started Women In Motion (WIM), an organization that helped women get jobs as flight attendants or pilots; WIM also provided job training for aspiring actresses and singers like herself.

```

5 Nichols played Uhura on Star Trek for three seasons and in six of the movies.

As Uhura, Nichols played a communications officer on the Enterprise. She was the first black woman to be portrayed in a non-stereotypical role on television and she remains one of only two African Americans to ever appear as a regular character on an American science fiction program. Her appearance was revolutionary because prior to Star Trek’s debut in 1966, African Americans were rarely seen on TV shows except as domestics or slaves. In fact, they weren’t even allowed to use certain bathrooms!

Nichols appeared in three seasons of the original Star Trek series along with six movies before quitting the show in 1970 due to lack of pay equity with her white male co-stars. However, her character continued to make guest appearances until 1974 when she returned for an episode titled “Turnabout Intruder” (which incidentally featured herself). She also had minor roles on several other popular television series including Mission Impossible and Buck Rogers In The 25th Century (1979) before becoming a spokesperson for NASA since 1979 when she met astronaut John Glenn at Cape Canaveral .

6 Nichols is credited with breaking barriers on the small screen.

You may not know that Nichelle Nichols is the first black woman ever to be a regular on a television series. That’s pretty impressive, but she actually broke that barrier twice!

First, she was the first black actress to be a regular on any science fiction series (Star Trek). Then, she went on to become the first black actress to be a regular on any dramatic series (The Lieutenant).

Nichols’ story is inspiring and it shows how important representation in media can be for children—both those who are learning about race and those who are growing up without it being brought up at all.

Born in 1932 as Annie Mae Bullock, Nichelle grew up in East St Louis and experienced racism firsthand when her father was killed by white men because he had married outside of his race. She also struggled with money after her mother passed away when she was just ten years old; this experience encouraged her to pursue acting as way out of poverty. At age fourteen she moved out of Illinois and started living with an aunt in Detroit before moving back home again at eighteen years old where she worked as an insurance agent until 1953 when she decided acting was her true passion so she moved down south where there were more opportunities for black actors/actresses like herself at that time period – New York City wasn’t safe yet due its own racial tensions between African Americans vs Caucasians during World War II era so no one wanted anything happening there yet

7 In her later years, she started the Women in Motion organization.

After leaving Star Trek, Nichelle Nichols became active in many organizations that promoted female empowerment. She co-founded Women in Motion, an organization intended to encourage women to pursue careers in science and technology.

In addition to her work with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Nichelle has also worked with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create a program for minority students interested in pursuing degrees related to science or technology.

Another of Nichols’ achievements was securing funding for the training of NASA’s first female astronauts. The astronaut program had long been dominated by men and white women were not allowed to join until 1978. The first group of six women joined in January 1979, becoming known as “The Mercury 13.”

8 She has been involved with the NASA recruitment project since 1979 and met with astronauts in training at Johnson Space Center several times.

Nichols was recruited by NASA in 1977 to be part of their recruitment project. She met with astronauts in training at Johnson Space Center several times, and has been involved with NASA for many years.

Nichelle Nichols is a positive role model for many people.

9 Nichelle’s autobiography Beyond Uhura was released in 1994.

You can find the book on Amazon.

Nichelle’s autobiography Beyond Uhura was released in 1994, when she was 50 years old and had been working for NASA for over a decade. The book is about her life as an actress and activist, but also delves into how she got to where she is today. Nichelle talks about her time on Star Trek and how it helped shape the world we live in today—for example, how Nichelle’s character became one of the first black women to be seen as a heroine on television.

At the time, Nichelle was working for NASA as a recruiter and helping to bring in more women and minorities into the space program. She talks about how her career at NASA has helped her to be who she is today.

10 Conclusion

Nichols has become a role model for many women in the entertainment industry. She paved the way for African Americans and other minorities to be cast as regular characters on television shows. Today there are numerous actors who owe their success to Nichelle Nichols’ work on Star Trek which gave them an opportunity they might not have had otherwise. In addition, her efforts at NASA recruitment have helped bring thousands of diverse candidates into America’s space program which helps make our nation stronger by including people from all backgrounds.