Grace Dell Nichols was born on 28 December 1932, in Robbins, Illinois, USA. She is an actress and singer, best known for performing with the bands Lionel Hampton and Duke Ellington. She was also part of the “Star Trek” television series and films, playing the character Lieutenant Uhura. Her efforts helped put her net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Nichelle Nichols? As of mid-2016, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $8 million, mostly earned through a successful career in music and acting. She is considered one of the first African American actors not to portray a role as a servant. She has also worked with NASA, and all of these have ensured the position of her wealth.
Nichelle Nichols Net Worth $8 million
After studies, Nichols’ big break came from her appearance in the musical “Kicks and Co.” which was a satire of Playboy magazine. After the play closed, she drew the attention of Hugh Hefner who booked her to become part of the Chicago Playboy Club. She continued to appear in productions such as “Carmen Jones” and “Porgy and Bess”, and while acting, she also performed as a singer and did some modeling work.
In 1967, she was featured on the January cover of Ebony magazine and then toured around several countries. She performed with Lionel Hampton and Duke Ellington before appearing in more plays such as “The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd” and “Blues for Mister Charlie”. She was earning great reviews and her popularity was increasing, and then she was cast to become a part of “Star Trek”.
Nichelle became one of the first black women to be featured on major television, portraying a supporting role in the spaceship tSS Enterprise. She originally intended to leave after the first season to pursue a Broadway career, but a conversation with Martin Luther King, Jr. convinced her to stay in the show.
Her net worth would start to rise dramatically as she continued with “Star Trek”, and she even had an on-screen kiss with actor William Shatner, which is now referenced as one of the first interracial kisses on major television. After the “Star Trek” series was canceled she continued to be a part of other “Star Trek” projects. She voiced Uhura in “Star Trek: The Animated Series”, and then would become part of six “Star Trek” films.
After “Star Trek”, Nichols would start to do other television and film roles including “Truck Turner” and “Doctor, You’ve Got to Be Kidding!” She then did a lot of voice work, lending her voice in “Batman: The Animated Series”, “The Simpsons”, and “Futurama”. She also became a part of the films “Snow Dogs”, and “Lady Magdalene’s”. Nichelle had a recurring role in the NBC series “Heroes”, and one of her latest projects is “The Cabonauts”.
Aside from acting, Nichelle regularly volunteered at NASA to help recruit female personnel. It was successful, as she helped influence a lot of women to become part of NASA. Nichols remains an advocate of space exploration and continues to be active in events that involve space travel.
For her personal life, it is known that Nichols was romantically involved with Gene Roddenberry who created “Star Trek”. She has been married twice, firstly to Foster Johnson in 1951, but it only lasted a year; they had one child. In 1968, she married Duke Mondy but they divorced four years later. In 2015, Nichols suffered a mild stroke just a few months after the death of “Star Trek” co-star Leonard Nimoy. Fortunately, she has recovered.
