Grace Dell Nichols was born in Robbins, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Her parents were factory worker Samuel Nichols, who was elected mayor of Robbins in 1929, and the former Lishia Parks. The family moved into the Woodlawn neighborhood in Chicago. In 1951, Grace Nichols graduated from Englewood High School. Her first break in show business came in 1961, when she made an appearance in the musical Kicks and Co. She later appeared as the title character in a Chicago production of Carmen Jones, and a appeared in a New York production of Porgy and Bess. She also sang with the Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton bands and made a guest appearance on the Gene Roddenberry series The Lieutenant.
In 1966, Rodenberry hired Nichols to play communications officer Lt. Uhura on his show Star Trek, which ran for three years, and due to its sequels and related movies is now known as Star Trek: The Original Series. This made her one of the first black women to be featured in a major television series. Toward the end of the show's first year, Nichols considered leaving, but was talked out of it by none other than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In one episode, Uhura kissed Captain James Kirk, played by white actor William Shatner, which was one of the earliest known interracial kisses seen on television.
Nichols continued her acting career after Star Trek, making both live appearances and cartoon voiceovers. She recorded two albums and sang on two Star Trek episodes. She also worked with NASA in a project to recruit women and minorities to the agency.
Nichols was married twice, first to dancer Foster Johnson and later to Duke Mondy. Although her first marriage lasted less than a year, she and Johnson had a son named Kyle, by whom she is survived.
