Nichelle Nichols

Nichols began her entertainment career as a singer for Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. Later she was among the first African American actresses ti have a major role in a prime time television show when she was cast as Uhura in Star Trek 1966. She played this role on television for three years.and in several of the Star Trek movies that were made after the series ended. Life imitated art when, from the late 1970s until the late 1980s, Nichols was employed by NASA as a recruiter for potential astronauts; she recruited several women and men of diverse backgrounds, including Guion Bluford and Sally Ride.