How much is Nichelle Nichols worth?
| Net Worth: | $700,000 |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional actress |
| Date of Birth: | 28 December 1932 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.65 m |
About Nichelle Nichols
Nichols’ book, titled Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories, was first published in the year 1994. In it, she said that during the final season of Star Trek, she was given the character of Peggy Fair in the television series Mannix, but that producer Gene Roddenberry refused to release her from her contract so that she could take the position.
Nichols performed in a number of minor roles across a variety of mediums, including television and film, after the conclusion of the original Star Trek series and before the animated series and feature films based on the franchise. She had a small part in Doctor, You have Got to Be Kidding! (1967), and portrayed Dorienda, a foul-mouthed madam in Truck Turner (1974), which was her lone appearance in a blaxploitation film and starred opposite Isaac Hayes.
On December 28, 1932, in Robbins, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Grace Dell Nichols was born as the third of six children to Samuel Earl Nichols, a factory worker who was elected both town mayor of Robbins in 1929 and its chief magistrate, and his wife, Lishia (Parks) Nichols, a homemaker. Her father, Samuel Earl Nichols, was elected both town mayor of Robbins in 1929
Nichols did not like her name and begged her parents for a new one. They suggested “Nichelle” which they said meant “victorious maiden”. Nichols did not like this name either. After some time had passed, the family ultimately settled into an apartment in the Woodlawn district of Chicago. Nichols received her diploma from Englewood High School in 1951 after having completed her education there. Beginning when she was 12 years old, she trained at the Chicago Ballet Academy in dance.
Nichols was one of the first African American women to appear in a leading role in a major television series when she appeared in Star Trek. It was unheard of for her to play such a big supporting role as a bridge officer. Nichols had considered quitting the series at one point, but a discussion with Martin Luther King Jr. swayed her opinion in the opposite direction. Nichols was presented with the opportunity to perform in a role on Broadway around the close of the first season of the show.
In addition, Nichols was featured on the cover of Ebony magazine in January 1967. Over the course of the next five years, the magazine published two feature articles about Nichols. Nichols continued her career as a singer by traveling the world with ensembles led by Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton, performing in places such as the United States, Canada, and Europe.
She had roles on the West Coast in productions such as The Roar of the Greasepaint and For My People, and she received acclaim for her work in the James Baldwin play Blues for Mister Charlie. Both of these performances were well received. Nichols was a guest actress on television producer Gene Roddenberry’s first series The Lieutenant (1964) in an episode titled “To Set It Right” which dealt with racial prejudice, before she was cast as Lieutenant Uhura in Star Trek. The episode was about a decade before Nichols was cast as Lieutenant Uhura in Star Trek.
Nichols portrayed a psychiatrist in the film The Torturer, which was released in 2008. She became a member of the cast of The Cabonauts in 2009, which is a sci-fi musical comedy that was initially released on DailyMotion. Nichols is featured not just acting as CJ, the CEO of Cabonauts Inc., but also singing and dancing in the show. On the daytime serial series The Young and the Restless, which has been running for a very long time, she made her debut as Neil Winters’s elderly mother on August 30, 2016. On March 22, 2017, she was recognized for her performance in this role by being nominated for a Daytime Emmy in the category of “Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series”.
Summing-Up
Her performance as Nyota Uhura in the Star Trek film series and its cinematic sequels brought her the most fame. Nichols’ performance as Uhura was a watershed moment for African American actresses working in television in the United States. Nichols dedicated her time to promote NASA’s programs and recruit diverse astronauts beginning in 1977 and continuing all the way up until 2015. This included some of the first female and ethnic minority astronauts.
