Things We Saw Today: Happy 85th Birthday to Star Trek Icon Nichelle Nichols!

Today is Nichelle Nichols’ 85th birthday! You most likely know Nichols as the iconic Uhura from the original Star Trek series, but in case you weren’t aware, she’s still busy acting. In fact, she’s currently working on multiple projects, including a Star Trek parody titled Unbelievable! The LA Times has a brief but sweet interview with Nichols to celebrate her birthday. Here’s my favorite quote from it:

What drove me was probably what drove most performers: I’m an artist, and performing is what I do. So it’s my passion that drives me. There’s never been anything that can hold me back. Maybe it was my passion blinding me, but I never saw myself as a actress; I saw myself as me, Nichelle Nichols. My biggest obstacle, if anything, was trying to decide where to focus — on music or acting. They are both my passion.

People are also sharing touching stories about their encounters with her, or the influence she had on their lives.

What’s your favorite Uhura/Nichelle Nichols moment?

• Bono bemoaned the fact that music today has gotten “very girly.” Ugh, go away, Bono. (via The AV Club)
• Just in case Black Mirror isn’t enough fantastically twisted futuristic viewing material for your Friday, this also drops at midnight!

• Jenna Fischer tweeted out some thoughts about the GOP’s tax bill. Unfortunately, they referenced a part of the bill that had been removed. She got piled on on Twitter and ended up issuing a really thoughtful apology. And all of this was time that Republicans didn’t have actually discuss their monstrous bill. (via HelloGiggles)
• If we could stop writing women off as “crazy,” that would go a long way towards creating the world we all want to live in. (via Harper’s Bazaar)

Happy almost Friday, Internet Friends!

(image: Shutterstock)

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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