Niki Sanders

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Niki Sanders
Heroes character
Ali Larter as Niki Sanders
First appearance	"Genesis"
Last appearance	"Powerless" (alive); "One of Us, One of Them" (corpse)
Portrayed by	Ali Larter
In-universe information
Alias	Jessica Gina
Family	Hal Sanders (adoptive father) Jessica Sanders (adoptive sister) Tracy Strauss (sister) Barbara Zimmerman (sister)
Spouse	D. L. Hawkins (husband)
Children	Micah Sanders (son)
Ability	Superhuman Strength[1]
Real name	Nicole Sanders
Status	(Deceased)

Nicole Sanders is a fictional character portrayed by Ali Larter in the television series Heroes. Niki is the wife of D. L. Hawkins (Leonard Roberts) and mother of Micah Sanders (Noah Gray-Cabey). Niki, a sufferer of dissociative identity disorder, displays superhuman strength. Initially, she is able to access this power only when her alter ego "Jessica" is in control.

Tim Kring, the creator of the show, stated that he created Niki with the power to be in two places at once, which stems from her life as a single mother.^[2] Niki was also written to be a showgirl. However, Ali Larter did not fit their original vision of a showgirl, so the character's profession was changed to internet stripper.^[3] According to writers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite, Niki was written out of the series and replaced with Tracy Strauss so that Larter could play a different role, as they realised that they could not go further with the character. The change also allowed them to tell an origin story, where the character discovers that she has powers.^[4]