Star Trek icon Nichelle Nichols’ will – conservatorship battle to cutting son out

Nichelle Nichols was a Star Trek icon, having originated the role of Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in The Original Series back in the 1960s.

The actress, who was one of 10 children in her family, went on to score roles in everything from US soap opera The Young and the Restless to adult cartoon Family Guy.

Sadly, the star died in July 2022 of heart failure after a four-year battle with dementia.

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Nichelle’s health issues began in 2015 when she suffered a mild stroke at home, before being diagnosed with dementia three years later in 2018 and retiring from various convention appearances.

The diagnosis led to a long conservatorship battle before her death aged 89.

Daily Star takes a peek inside her will and where her estate ended up.

Twice divorced

Nichelle was married twice in her lifetime, first to Foster Johnson in 1951 and then to Duke Mondy from 1968 until 1972.

Both marriages ended in divorce, though Nichelle welcomed her son Kyle with her first husband.

Interestingly, Nichelle’s younger brother Thomas was a member of the Heaven’s Gate cult, who died in a mass suicide event to coincide with the passing of the Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997.

Conservatorship battle

Beloved TV icon Nichelle was placed into a conservatorship in 2018 after her dementia diagnosis, with her son Kyle Johnson becoming her conservator and put in charge of her estate.

He claimed his mum’s condition made her susceptible to exploitation and wanted to protect her from any fraudsters.

But this began a legal battle between her son Kyle and her former manager Gilbert Bell.

In 2019 Bell filed a lawsuit against Nichols’ son, accusing him of “aggressive and combative behaviour” and also of attempting to remove Bell from Nichols’ guest home, where he had lived since 2010.

Bell also had power of attorney over the star.

Johnson then filed a countersuit, claiming Bell “exerted his undue influence and took control over Ms Nichols’ assets and personal affairs”.

It was further alleged that Bell “stole over a million dollars” from Nichelle – a claim he fiercely disputed, with his attorney claiming: “The truth is that Ms Nichols has not owned a million dollars in all of the time Mr Bell has known her.”

Meanwhile, Nichelle’s close friend Angelique Fawcette was battling for Nichelle to stay at her home in Woodland Hills, and pushed for visitation rights to see her friend.

Protestors soon rallied around the #FreeNichelle movement after begging for fellow celeb Britney Spears to be released from her own conservatorship – with Fawcette arguing she didn’t need to be under one at all.

To make matters even more complicated, Nichelle’s family set up a GoFundMe in 2020 to help fund her legal battle – something Bell wasn’t happy about.

Son sells home

Eventually Fawcette lost her own battle to have Nichelle stay in her California home, and her son Johnson made the decision to sell the property.

Nichelle’s home and guesthouse were sold for almost $2.2million (£1.8m) to Baron Construction and Remodelling Co. in 2021.

The guesthouse was where Bell had been living for just $300 (£241) per month – for a building that she could have charged as high as $3,500 (£2.8k) monthly for.

Fawcette told People Magazine of the sale: “It’s been horrendous. It’s been painful to watch her go through this experience.

“When the house was sold, I was very hurt for her. She has no place to go back to anymore. She stated that she wanted to remain in her home, yet the court let her son move her out.”

Reports later emerged that the Star Trek star ended up living in a rental house in New Mexico, with her son “serving as her primary caretaker”.

He told The Times: “The house is smaller, a little more modest than being in Los Angeles, but meeting our needs.”

Net worth

At the time of her death, Nichelle had a net worth of around $10m (£8m) according to ExactNetWorth – and had been earning anywhere from $10,000 (£8k) to $50,000 (£40k) per convention appearance before her retirement.

Nichelle carved a prolific career for herself in the acting world, as well as working with NASA – where she paved the way for more women of colour to work in the space industry.

She embarked on a high-altitude mission on NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy in 2015, and attended the christening of the first space shuttle along with other Star Trek cast members.

All in all, it’s not surprising she amassed such a large fortune.

Cut son out of will

In a handwritten will issued by Nichelle, she allegedly cut her son Kyle out of her $10m (£8m) fortune entirely.

According to Radar Online, the star wrote: “I, Nichelle Nichols, do hereby declare that I am amending my Last Will & Trust.

“As you have stated to me several times, ‘I can’t wait to get rid of this s**t’ and sell my house and property. He made a decision to amend my Will & Trust,” she claimed of her son.

The letter had been penned in March 2017, a year before she was diagnosed with dementia.

Nichelle said in the document that he would instead receive a cheque twice a year from the “net profits” of her company, N. N. Legacy LLC.

She said that her “memorabilia and property” should be placed in the custody’s company in the event of her death.

Ashes taken to space

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Though Nichelle’s house might not have ended up where she would have wanted, her ashes will – as part of the Celestis company’s Enterprise Flight.

Her ashes will join her co-stars’, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and Scotty star James Doohan.

Her son Kyle confirmed: “The more I thought about it, the more I realised that this was an absolutely perfect send off for my mom and also for her fans, admirers and supporters.”

The cost of sending a loved one’s ashes on the flight is around $12,500 (£10k).

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk