Eartha Kitt

Kitt's age was always a Mystery, until 1998, when a group of students from her hometown in South Carolina unearthed her birth certificate. The document revealed that her true birthday is January 17, 1927.

Was inspired to go into show business after witnessing the wild applause that the audience gave José Ferrer after one of his stage performances as Cyrano de Bergerac in 1946.

An out-of-wedlock child, Eartha Kitt was born in the cotton fields of South Carolina. Kitt's mother was a sharecropper of African-American and Cherokee Native American descent. Her father's identity is unknown. Given away by her mother, she arrived in Harlem at age nine. At 15, she quit high school to work in a Brooklyn factory. As a teenager, Kitt lived in friends' homes and in the subways. However, by the 1950s, she had sung and danced her way out of poverty and into the spotlight: performing with the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe on a European tour, soloing at a Paris nightclub and becoming the toast of the Continent. Orson Welles called her "the most exciting girl in the world". She also spoke out on hard issues.

On March 13, 1953, she recorded with Henri Rene and his Orchestra the American version of the French song "C'est si bon" which was written in 1947 by Henri Betti (music) and André Hornez (lyrics). The English lyrics were written by Jerry Seelen in 1949 but Eartha Kitt sings the song in French. Eartha Kitt sang the song in New Faces (1954) and in The Nanny: A Pup in Paris (1996). Her cover version has been used in several American films and television advertisements.

Was in a relationship with Arthur M. Loew Jr. (1954-1955). Loew wanted to marry Eartha, but his mother disapproved of her son marrying a nonwhite.

Her name can be seen on a marquee in the infamously terrible Edward D. Wood Jr. cult film Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957).

Her husband, William O. McDonald, was a real estate developer. They were married from 1960 to 1964. They had one daughter: Kitt McDonald.

She took over the role of Catwoman for the third and final season of the television series Batman (1966), replacing Julie Newmar.

Was virtually exiled from the United States after making anti-war statements during a White House luncheon with Lady Bird Johnson in 1968. However, she was welcomed back to the White House in 1978 by Jimmy Carter who took office in January 1977, after a successful return to Broadway in the original production of the musical Timbuktu!.

Was nominated twice for Broadway's Tony Award: in 1978, as Best Actress (Musical) for "Timbuktu!"; and in 2000, as Best Actress (Featured Role - Musical) for "The Wild Party".

Was nominated in 1996 for a Grammy Award in traditional pop vocal performance for her album "Back in Business".

She was a year older than Adam West, making her the first actress to play Selina Kyle/Catwoman who is older than the actor opposite her playing Bruce Wayne/Batman. The only other actress to achieve this is Camren Bicondova who was two years older than David Masouz on Gotham (2014-2019).