Star-shaped, nonlinear optical (NLO) material was synthesized and its optical, thermal, and electro-optic properties were investigated. Three NLO-active dipolar chromophores containing a phenylene ring substituted with a bulky alkyl chain as a conjugation bridge were chemically bonded to the core of 1,1,1-tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethane to form a dendritic architecture. The chemical structure and purity of the chromophore were verified by NMR spectroscopy. The chromophore exhibited a broad absorption band centered at around 608 nm tailing up to 760 nm in toluene solution and also showed a discernible solvatochromic shift in more polar solvent. The chloroform solution of the dendrimer produced an absorption band with a red-shifted maximum as large as 28 nm when compared to that of the toluene solution. It was thermally stable up to $275^{circ}C$ in a nitrogen atmosphere and had a glass transition temperature of $76^{circ}C$. In a preliminary result, the polymer film containing the dendritic compound exhibited a shift of 19 pm/V taken at $1.55{mu}$.