Editing Nichelle Nichols (section)

== Personal life ==
[[File:Nichelle Nichols Photo Op GalaxyCon Minneapolis 2019.jpg|thumb|right|Nichols in 2019]]
In her autobiography, Nichols wrote that she was romantically involved with ''Star Trek'' creator [[Gene Roddenberry]] for a few years in the 1960s. She said the affair ended well before ''Star Trek'' began, when she realized Roddenberry was also involved with her acquaintance Majel Hudec (known as [[Majel Barrett]]). Hudec went on to marry Gene Roddenberry and have a regular supporting role as nurse [[Christine Chapel]] on ''Star Trek''.<ref name="autobio">{{Cite book |last=Nichols |first=Nichelle |url=https://archive.org/details/beyonduhurastart00nich |title=Beyond Uhura |date=October 1994 |publisher=[[G. P. Putnam's Sons]] |isbn=9780399139932 |location=New York |url-access=registration}}</ref>

When Roddenberry's health was fading, Nichols co-wrote a song for him, "Gene", which she sang at his memorial service.<ref name="var31jul2022" />

She also wrote that she had "a short, stormy, exciting relationship" with [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] in 1959.<ref name="autobio" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Fishgall|first=Gary|title=Gonna Do Great Things: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780743227414|url-access=registration|access-date=January 14, 2011|date=September 30, 2003|publisher=Scribner|isbn=978-0-7432-2741-4}}</ref>

Nichols married twice—first to dancer Foster Johnson (1917–1981), whom she married in 1951 and divorced the same year. They had one child together, [[Kyle Johnson (actor)|Kyle Johnson]], who was born August 14, 1951. She married Duke Mondy, in 1968; they divorced in 1972.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bedard |first=Mike |date=July 31, 2022 |title=The Devastating Death Of Nichelle Nichols |url=https://www.looper.com/445176/the-devastating-death-of-nichelle-nichols/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801033237/https://www.looper.com/445176/the-devastating-death-of-nichelle-nichols/ |archive-date=August 1, 2022 |access-date=July 31, 2022 |website=Looper.com}}</ref>

Nichols' younger brother, Thomas, was a member of the [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]] cult. He died on March 26, 1997, in the cult's [[mass suicide]] that purposefully coincided with the passing of [[Comet Hale–Bopp]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nichelle Nichols' Connection to the Heaven's Gate Cult Tragedy |url=http://www.reocities.com/Hollywood/6952/nichols.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624125458/http://www.reocities.com/Hollywood/6952/nichols.htm |archive-date=June 24, 2013 |access-date=September 29, 2014 |website=[[Reocities]]}}</ref> A member for 20 years, he frequently identified himself as Nichelle's brother in promotional materials released by the cult.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bearman |first=Joshuah |author-link=Joshuah Bearman |date=March 21, 2007 |title=Heaven's Gate: The Sequel |work=[[LA Weekly]] |url=http://www.laweekly.com/news/heavens-gate-the-sequel-2147951 |url-status=live |access-date=August 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161125175611/http://www.laweekly.com/news/heavens-gate-the-sequel-2147951 |archive-date=November 25, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 28, 1997 |title=Some members of suicide cult castrated |work=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9703/28/mass.suicide.pm/ |url-status=dead |access-date=May 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990222131949/http://www.cnn.com/US/9703/28/mass.suicide.pm/ |archive-date=February 22, 1999}}</ref>

On February 29, 2012, Nichols met with President [[Barack Obama]] in the [[Oval Office]]. She later [[Twitter|tweeted]], "…[President] Obama was quoted as saying that he'd had a crush on me when he was younger… I asked about that, and he proudly confirmed it! President Obama also confirmed for me that he was definitely a Trekker! How wonderful is that?!"<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jackson |first=David |date=April 5, 2012 |title=Obama gives Vulcan salute with Lt. Uhura |work=[[USA Today]] |url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/04/obama-gives-vulcan-salute-with-lt-uhura/1#.WJG_tYVOLkk |url-status=live |access-date=February 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150827024410/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/04/obama-gives-vulcan-salute-with-lt-uhura/1#.WJG_tYVOLkk |archive-date=August 27, 2015}}</ref>

===Health and death===
In June 2015, Nichols suffered a mild stroke at her Los Angeles home and was admitted to a Los Angeles-area hospital.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 5, 2015 |title=Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek's Lt Uhura, suffers stroke |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33018975 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190522042142/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33018975 |archive-date=May 22, 2019 |access-date=August 21, 2019 |website=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Whitney |first=Erin |date=June 5, 2015 |title='Star Trek' Star Nichelle Nichols Hospitalized |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/star-trek-star-nichelle-nichols-hospitalized/ar-BBkHsc3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054211/http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/star-trek-star-nichelle-nichols-hospitalized/ar-BBkHsc3 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=August 21, 2019 |website=MSN.com}}</ref> A [[magnetic resonance imaging]] scan confirmed a small stroke had occurred, and she began [[Inpatient care|inpatient therapy]]. In early 2018, she was diagnosed with [[dementia]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Jess |date=April 10, 2018 |title=Star Trek's Nichelle Nichols Diagnosed With Dementia |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/959320/star-trek-s-nichelle-nichols-diagnosed-with-dementia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111093146/https://www.eonline.com/news/959320/star-trek-s-nichelle-nichols-diagnosed-with-dementia |archive-date=January 11, 2020 |access-date=January 11, 2020 |website=[[E!|E! Online]] |language=en-US}}</ref> and subsequently announced her retirement from convention appearances.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pascale |first=Anthony |date=May 19, 2018 |title=Nichelle Nichols Announces Farewell Tour, Convention And Documentary |url=https://trekmovie.com/2019/05/05/nichelle-nichols-announces-farewell-tour-convention-and-documentary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507131307/https://trekmovie.com/2019/05/05/nichelle-nichols-announces-farewell-tour-convention-and-documentary/ |archive-date=May 7, 2019 |access-date=January 11, 2020 |website=TrekMovie.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Following a legal dispute over the actions of her manager-turned-caretaker Gilbert Bell, her son Kyle Johnson filed for conservatorship in 2018. Before a court granted his petition in January 2019, Nichols' friend Angelique Fawcette, who had already expressed concern in 2017 over Bell's control of access to her, pressed for visitation rights, including by opposing Johnson's petition. That dispute, and a 2019 court case by Bell over being evicted from the guesthouse on Nichols' property, were both ongoing as of August 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Easter |first=Makeda |date=August 15, 2021 |title=Inside the heartbreaking conservatorship battle of a 'Star Trek' legend |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-08-15/nichelle-nichols-star-trek-uhura-dementia-conversatorship-battle |url-status=live |access-date=March 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308200217/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-08-15/nichelle-nichols-star-trek-uhura-dementia-conversatorship-battle |archive-date=March 8, 2022}}</ref>

Nichols died of heart failure in [[Silver City, New Mexico]], on July 30, 2022, at the age of 89,<ref name="Weber">{{Cite news |last=Weber |first=Bruce |date=July 31, 2022 |title=Nichelle Nichols, Early 'Trek' Star Who Boldly Blazed Path, Dies at 89 |page=D8 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/31/obituaries/nichelle-nichols-dead.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731204921/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/31/obituaries/nichelle-nichols-dead.html |archive-date=July 31, 2022 |accessdate=July 31, 2022}}</ref> and her ashes were launched into deep space along with those of [[Majel Barrett]] and [[Douglas Trumbull]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.the-guardian.com/culture/2022/aug/26/nichelle-nichols-star-trek-ashes-space | title=Nichelle Nichols to become latest Star Trek star to have ashes sent into space | website=[[TheGuardian.com]] | date=August 26, 2022 }}</ref>