Actress Nichelle Nichols Suffers Minor Stroke.

Nichelle Nichols
(Jason Kempin/Getty Images North America)


Actress Nichelle Nichols, 82, reportedly suffered a minor stroke on Thursday. According to a statement posted to Nichols’ official Facebook page by Zach McGinnis of Galactic Productions,

Last night while at her home in LA, Nichelle Nichols suffered from a mild stroke. She is currently undergoing testing to determine how severe the stroke was. Please keep her in your thoughts.

McGinnis later offered an update:

Nichelle Nichols has had both a CAT scan and an MRI today. The CAT scan came back negative and we are awaiting the results from the MRI. Currently she is awake, eating, in good spirits and able to have full conversations. Her right side has shown minor signs or mobility loss but she is not showing any signs of paralyses.

Nichols, a pioneering actress, is best known for her role as Lt. Uhura on Star Trek, when the show first aired in 1966. The character made Nicols the first African American woman on primetime television. She acted along William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Her onscreen kiss with Shatner was the first interracial kiss ever shown on television.

Lt. Uhura was even once cited by Martin Luther King, Jr. as “the first non-stereotypical role portrayed by a black woman in television history.”

Nichols has received an outpouring support from fans and followers once her health complications became widely. Based on the latest update, it looks like she will be able to recover.