Nichelle was one of 10 children born to a Chicago family and was a singer and dancer before turning to acting and and finding fame when she joined the cast of the Star Trek series .As long as she can remember she had always wanted to sing, dance, act and write despite no one else in her family following in any of those tracks although her father could tap dance which she didn't find out until she was about 13.. He not only became mayor of their town but also a magistrate. She doesn't know where her gifts came from but she never wanted to do anything else but act. On stage she was twice nominated for the Sarah Siddons Award as Best Actress of the Year while on film she danced with Sammy Davis Jr in Porgy and Bess, and opposite James Garner in Mister Budwing (1965) and in a complete change around soon after the Star Trek television series came to an end played a blousey madam then co starred with Lynn Redgrave n Antony and Cleopatra. She's been married twice and has a son Kyle Johnson from her first marriage to a tap dancer.