Nichelle Nichols had her groundbreaking role in Star Trek and became the first African-American female actress to play a high-ranking officer on national television. Although she reportedly had plans to leave the show after a year her decision to stay led her to become a household name as the Star Trek "enterprise" expanded.
Impacting the way the world viewed African American woman in entertainment, Nichelle proved that she and others like her are capable of more than simply roles as cooks and nannies on television.
Nichelle Nichols