Nyota Uhura (/niˈoʊtə ʊˈhʊrə/) is a fictional character in the
Star Trek franchise. In the original TV series, the character was
portrayed by Nichelle Nichols who later reprised the role for the
first six Star Trek feature films. Since 2009, Uhura has been
portrayed by actress Zoe Saldana.Uhura is a translator and
communications officer who specializes in linguistics, cryptography,
and philology. She was an important part of the original series'
multicultural crew and one of the first black characters to be
portrayed in a non-menial role on an American television series.Gene
Roddenberry had intended his new female communications officer to be
called "Lieutenant Sulu". Herb Solow pointed out how similar this was
to "Zulu" and thought it might act against the plan for racial
diversity in the show, so the name Sulu remained with George Takei's
character. "Uhura" comes from the Swahili word uhuru, meaning
"freedom". Nichols states in her 1994 book Beyond Uhura that the name
was inspired by Robert Ruark's 1962 book Uhuru, which she had with her
on the day she read for the part. When producer Robert Justman
explained to Roddenberry what the word uhuru meant, he changed it to
Uhura and adopted that as the character's name. Coincidentally, the
end credits of the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
incorrectly refer to Uhura as "Uhuru".Uhura's first name was not used
in Star Trek canon until Abrams's 2009 film. The mystery regarding
Uhura's first name is the subject of a running joke in the film, as
Captain Kirk repeatedly tries to find out what it is, before finally
hearing Spock call her "Nyota" in a moment of intimacy. Nyota Uhura Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter