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Whoopi Goldberg paid tribute to “Star Trek” icon Nichelle Nichols on Monday’s “The View”.
Goldberg and her fellow co-hosts were remembering some of the high-profile stars who have passed away recently — Bill Russell, Pat Carroll and Heather Gray — when the actress mentioned Nichols.
Nichols, best known for playing Lieutenant Uhura in “Star Trek: The Original Series”, died at age 89 of natural causes on Saturday night in Silver City, New Mexico.
Goldberg called the late star a “trailblazer, a heroine and an extraordinary woman.”
Nichols “inspired millions and millions of people,” Goldberg went on.
“Nichelle was the first Black person I’d ever seen who made it to the future,” she added.
“She was head of communications. This show and this woman was a beacon that said ‘yes we’ll be there.’ And it just made me feel like that was an amazing thing and she helped propel other women to go into space,” calling Nichols a friend.
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“I was lucky enough to spend time with her over the years,” Goldberg recalled. “She was my friend and she’ll be missed.”
Goldberg, who played Guinan on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, previously shared her amazement at seeing a Black woman on TV who was not playing a maid.
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