Nichelle Nichols died at the age of 89 in Silver City, New Mexico. The news was shared by his son, Kyle Johnson on the website Uhura.com.
"I'm sorry to inform you that there is a great light on the horizon that no longer shines for us as it has for years," Kyle Johnson wrote Sunday.
"Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols surrendered to God Almighty and passed away," he said.
Kyle Johnson expressed his love for his mother who he said was a model for the family.
Until now, the family has not been able to talk further and asked for time to deal with grief.
Nichelle Nichols' funeral was also closed to family members and closest relatives, Kyle asked to respect the family's privacy.
"I, and our entire family, will appreciate you and your patience as we mourn the loss of our beloved mother until we recover enough to speak further," he said.
Launching NPR, Monday (1/8/2022), Nichelle Nichols was one of the first black women to appear in the main TV series, Star Trek.
Nichols came into the spotlight in 1968 when he had a kissing scene with Captain James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner in “Plato's Stepchildren”.
The kiss was referred to as an interracial kiss which was quite revolutionary and became the first moment that aired on TV.
During his time on Star Trek, the role of Lieutenant Uhura became a well-known character line. Uhura is described as an expert translator and communications officer specializing in linguistics,philology, and cryptography.
In the original television series, the character of Lieutenant Uhura was played by Nichelle Nichols, who reprised the role for the first six Star Trek feature films.