Eartha Kitt: The Life Story Behind the Catwoman Star

Eartha Kitt had a voice like no one else in the world. It was low, it was purring, it was playful, and it was dangerous, all at the same time. When she sang “Santa Baby” in 1953, the song became a Christmas classic that is still played every year. When she played Catwoman on television in the 1960s, she became one of the most famous villains in popular culture. When she sang “C’est si bon” in French, audiences in Paris and in New York fell in love with her. She was a singer, a dancer, an actress, and a star, and she was entirely herself, in a way that few performers ever are.

She was born in South Carolina in 1927, the daughter of a Black mother and a white father she never knew, and she grew up in poverty, in a world of cotton fields and hard work. She was given away as a child, she was raised by an aunt in Harlem, and she found her way to the stage through dance. She joined the Katherine Dunham dance company, she travelled to Paris, and she became a star in Europe before she became a star in America. Her life was a journey from the cotton fields of the South to the stages of Paris, London, and New York, and it was a journey she made on her own, with talent, with courage, and with a voice that no one could forget.

Her story is also about a woman who spoke the truth and paid a price for it. In 1968, at a White House luncheon, she spoke honestly about the Vietnam War, and her career in America was damaged for many years. She worked in Europe, she kept singing, and she returned to America in the 1970s, stronger than before. She played Catwoman, she voiced Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove, and she won awards on Broadway in her seventies. She died on Christmas Day in 2008, at the age of eighty-one, and the world remembered her with love. This is the story of a girl from South Carolina who became one of the most original stars in the world.

A Child of the Cotton Fields

Eartha Mae Kitt was born on 17 January 1927 in North, South Carolina, a small town in the cotton country of the American South. Her mother, Annie Mae Keith, was a Black woman who worked in the cotton fields, and her father was a white man whose name she never knew. Eartha grew up in poverty, in a world where Black children worked in the fields and where life was hard. She was a small, thin girl, and she was often hungry. She has spoken about those early years with honesty, about the pain of not knowing her father, and about the feeling of being different, of belonging nowhere. It was a difficult start to life, and it left a mark on her that lasted forever.

When she was still a young child, she was sent to live with an aunt in Harlem, New York City. Her aunt, Mamie Kitt, raised her, and Harlem in the 1930s was a world of music, art, and ideas. Eartha went to school, she learned to read and write, and she discovered that she loved to perform. She sang, she danced, and she found that the stage gave her a freedom she did not feel in everyday life. She was still a child, but she knew that she wanted to be a performer, and she was determined to make it happen.

As a teenager, she joined the Katherine Dunham dance company, one of the most famous dance companies in America, led by the great dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham. The company toured the world, and Eartha travelled with them, dancing in Europe, in South America, and in the United States. She learned to dance with grace and with power, and she learned how to perform for audiences in many different countries. She was in her late teens, and she was already a professional dancer, travelling the world and earning a living from her art. The girl from the cotton fields was now a dancer on the world stage.

In Paris, she began to sing in nightclubs, and audiences fell in love with her voice. She sang in French and in English, and she had a way of singing that was playful, sexy, and intelligent. She was discovered by the famous filmmaker Orson Welles, who cast her in a stage production of Faust in Paris, and who called her the most exciting woman in the world. She was twenty-three years old, and she was becoming a star in Europe. She had left South Carolina behind, but she had not forgotten it. The pain of her childhood stayed with her, and it gave her singing a depth that audiences could feel.

Santa Baby, Broadway, and a Star in America

In the early 1950s, Kitt returned to America and became a star on Broadway. She appeared in the revue New Faces of 1952, a show that introduced new talent to Broadway audiences, and she stopped the show every night with her songs. She sang “Monotonous,” a song about a woman who is bored with her lovers, and audiences laughed and cheered. She was funny, she was sexy, and she was entirely original. The show was a success, and it made her a Broadway star. She was twenty-five years old, and she had conquered Paris and New York.

In 1953, she recorded “Santa Baby,” a playful song in which a woman asks Santa Claus for expensive gifts, including a sable coat, a yacht, and a ring. The song became a huge hit, and it is still played every Christmas, more than seventy years later. It is one of the most famous Christmas songs ever recorded, and it made Kitt a household name. She sang it with a purr, with a wink, and with a humour that made it clear she was in on the joke. The song was sexy, it was funny, and it was unforgettable. It is still her most famous recording, and it is played in shops, on radio, and in films every December.

She also recorded “C’est si bon,” a French song that became a hit in America, and she became known as a singer who could sing in many languages. She sang in French, in German, in Spanish, and in Turkish, and she did it with a natural ease. She was a world star, and she travelled the world, singing in nightclubs and in concert halls. She was beautiful, she was talented, and she was in demand. She appeared in films, including St. Louis Blues in 1958, playing a singer, and she worked on television. She was now one of the most famous Black women in the world, and she had done it on her own terms.

In the 1950s and 1960s, she also became known for her outspokenness. She was not afraid to speak her mind, and she spoke about race, about poverty, and about the lives of Black people in America. She was a woman who had grown up in the cotton fields, and she knew what injustice looked like. She did not hide her opinions, and she did not try to be polite when she felt that something was wrong. That honesty would later cost her dearly, but it was also part of what made her great. She was not just a singer. She was a woman with a voice, in every sense of the word.

Catwoman and the White House Luncheon

In the late 1960s, Kitt took on one of her most famous roles: Catwoman in the television series Batman. She played the villain in the third season, from 1967 to 1968, and she brought a purring, playful menace to the role that no one else had matched. She wore a black catsuit, she purred her lines, and she made Catwoman sexy, funny, and dangerous. Audiences loved her, and her performance became iconic. She was the first Black woman to play Catwoman, and she made the role her own. Even today, when people think of Catwoman, many of them think of Eartha Kitt.

But in 1968, her career in America came to a sudden halt. She was invited to a luncheon at the White House, hosted by Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of President Lyndon Johnson, to discuss the problems of young people in America. At the luncheon, Kitt was asked for her opinion, and she spoke honestly about the Vietnam War, saying that young men were being sent to fight a war they did not understand, and that mothers were losing their sons. Her words were reported in the newspapers, and they caused a storm. She was criticised, she was called unpatriotic, and her work in America dried up. She was, in effect, blacklisted, and she could not get work in the United States for many years.

She has spoken about that time with honesty, saying that she was simply telling the truth as she saw it, and that she did not regret it. She moved to Europe, where she continued to sing and to act, and she was welcomed by audiences in London, in Paris, and in other cities. She worked in theatres, in nightclubs, and in films, and she kept her career alive. She was a star in Europe, even when America had turned its back on her. It was a hard time, but it was also a time that showed her strength. She did not apologise for speaking the truth, and she did not give up. She kept singing, kept working, and kept being herself.

Her blacklisting lasted for many years, and it was a great injustice. She had spoken honestly at a luncheon where she had been asked for her opinion, and she had been punished for it. But she survived, and she returned to America in the 1970s, when the political climate had changed. She began to work again, on stage and on television, and she was welcomed back by audiences who had missed her. Her return was a triumph, and it showed that talent and truth cannot be silenced forever.

A Triumphant Return and a New Generation

In the 1970s and 1980s, Kitt returned to American stages and screens. She appeared in the musical Timbuktu! on Broadway in 1978, playing Shaleem-La-Lume, and she was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance. The show was a success, and it proved that she was still a great performer. She also appeared in films, including the comedy Erik the Viking in 1989, and she worked on television. She was now in her fifties and sixties, and she was still singing, still dancing, and still captivating audiences.

In 2000, she voiced the character Yzma in the Disney animated film The Emperor’s New Groove, playing a villain who is funny, wicked, and unforgettable. The film was a success, and her voice performance brought her to a new generation of children who had never heard “Santa Baby” or seen her as Catwoman. She returned to the role in the television series and in the sequel, and she won awards for her voice work. She was now a Disney villain, and she was magnificent in the role. Her voice, that low, purring voice, was perfect for Yzma, and audiences loved it.

She also returned to Broadway in the 2000s, appearing in the musical Nine and in other productions, and she won a Tony Award nomination for her work. She was in her seventies, and she was still working on Broadway, still singing, and still receiving standing ovations. She also recorded new music, she appeared in concerts, and she continued to perform until the end of her life. She was a woman who never stopped, who never gave up, and who never lost her talent. Her return to America was complete, and it was a triumph.

She also became a mother, raising a daughter, Kitt Shapiro, who was born in 1961, and she was a grandmother. She has spoken about her love for her daughter, and about the importance of family. She lived in Connecticut and in New York, and she enjoyed a life that was full of art, music, and love. She was a star who had survived blacklisting, who had returned to America, and who had found a new audience. Her story is a reminder that a great talent cannot be silenced, and that truth, spoken with courage, will eventually be heard.

The Later Years and a Christmas Day Goodbye

In her later years, Kitt continued to work, to sing, and to perform. She appeared in concerts, she recorded music, and she gave interviews in which she spoke with wit and with wisdom about her long career. She was a woman who had seen the world change many times, and who had remained herself through all of it. She was elegant, she was funny, and she was not afraid to speak her mind. She was a legend, and she knew it, but she did not let it make her proud. She remained grateful for her audiences, and she remained true to her art.

She received many honours in her later years, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and she was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame. She won Daytime Emmy Awards for her voice work in The Emperor’s New Groove, and she was nominated for Tony Awards. She was recognised as one of the great performers of her time, and she was loved by audiences of all ages. Children knew her as Yzma, adults knew her as Catwoman, and older audiences knew her as the singer of “Santa Baby.” She was a star for every generation, and that is a rare achievement.

Eartha Kitt died on 25 December 2008, Christmas Day, at the age of eighty-one, after a long illness with colon cancer. The fact that she died on Christmas Day, the day when “Santa Baby” is played in every shop and on every radio station, was noted by many people, and it felt like a fitting end to a life that had been full of music. The news brought tributes from around the world, from actors, from singers, and from fans who had grown up with her voice. The tributes spoke of her talent, her courage, and her originality, and of the voice that no one could forget. She had been a girl from the cotton fields of South Carolina, and she had become a world star. Her story is a reminder that talent can take you anywhere, and that a voice, used with courage, can change the world.

Timbuktu, Nine, and a Broadway Comeback

In 1978, Kitt returned to Broadway in Timbuktu!, a musical set in Africa, playing Shaleem-La-Lume, a woman who is clever, funny, and powerful. The show was a success, and her performance earned her a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She was fifty-one years old, and she was back on Broadway, singing, dancing, and captivating audiences. The nomination was a recognition of her talent, and it was a moment of triumph after years of working in Europe. She had returned to America, and she had proved that she was still a star.

She also appeared in the film Erik the Viking in 1989, a comedy about Vikings, playing a woman in a strange and funny world. The film was not a great success, but her performance was praised, and it showed that she was still willing to take risks. She did not play safe roles. She played characters that interested her, and she did it with humour and with courage. She was a working actress, and she took the work that came, making each role as good as she could. She was in her sixties, and she was still working, still singing, and still surprising audiences.

In the 2000s, she returned to Broadway again, appearing in the musical Nine in 2003, playing a woman in a story about a film director and the women in his life. Her performance earned her another Tony Award nomination, and it showed that she was still a great performer in her seventies. She sang, she danced, and she received standing ovations. Audiences loved seeing her on stage, and she loved being there. The theatre was where she had begun, and it was where she felt most alive. Her Broadway comeback was a triumph, and it was a reminder that a great talent does not fade with age.

She also recorded new music in her later years, and she appeared in concerts around the world. She sang her old hits, including Santa Baby and C’est si bon, and she sang new songs as well. Her voice had changed a little with age, but it was still unmistakable, still low, still purring, and still full of life. Audiences came to hear her, not because she was young, but because she was Eartha Kitt, and that was enough. She was a legend, and she knew it, but she did not let it make her proud. She remained grateful for her audiences, and she remained true to her art.

She became a mother, raising a daughter, Kitt Shapiro, who was born in 1961, and she was a grandmother. She has spoken about her love for her daughter, and about the importance of family. She lived in Connecticut and in New York, and she enjoyed a life that was full of art, music, and love. She was a star who had survived blacklisting, who had returned to America, and who had found a new audience. Her story is a reminder that a great talent cannot be silenced, and that truth, spoken with courage, will eventually be heard.

She received many honours in her later years, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and she was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame. She won Daytime Emmy Awards for her voice work in The Emperor’s New Groove, and she was nominated for Tony Awards. She was recognised as one of the great performers of her time, and she was loved by audiences of all ages. Children knew her as Yzma, adults knew her as Catwoman, and older audiences knew her as the singer of Santa Baby. She was a star for every generation, and that is a rare achievement. Her life is a testament to the power of talent, courage, and determination.

In her final years, she continued to work, to sing, and to perform, even as her health began to fail. She was diagnosed with colon cancer, and she fought it with the same courage she had shown throughout her life. She did not complain, and she did not give up. She kept working, kept singing, and kept being herself until the end. She died on Christmas Day in 2008, at the age of eighty-one, and the world remembered her with love. Her story is a reminder that a voice, used with courage, can change the world, and that a person who stays true to themselves can survive anything.

My Take:

When I think about Eartha Kitt, the first thing that comes to my mind is her voice. It was like no other voice in the world. It was low, it was purring, it was playful, and it was dangerous, all at the same time. When she sang “Santa Baby,” she did not just sing a Christmas song. She made it sexy, funny, and unforgettable. When she played Catwoman, she did not just play a villain. She purred her lines, and she made the villain the most interesting character on the screen. When she sang “C’est si bon” in French, she made audiences in Paris and in New York fall in love with her. That voice was her gift, and it was a gift that no one else had. I admire it, because it was entirely her own. She did not try to sound like anyone else. She sounded like Eartha Kitt, and that was enough.

I admire her courage more than her voice, because courage is harder to find than talent. In 1968, at a White House luncheon, she was asked for her opinion about the Vietnam War, and she gave it honestly. She said that young men were being sent to fight a war they did not understand, and that mothers were losing their sons. For telling the truth, she was blacklisted in America, and she could not get work for many years. She did not apologise, and she did not take back her words. She moved to Europe, she kept singing, and she waited for America to change. That is a remarkable act of courage, and it is one that I respect deeply. Many people would have apologised to save their career. She did not. She kept her dignity, and she kept her truth. That is a brave thing to do, and it is a lesson I want to remember.

What moves me most about her story is her childhood. She was born in South Carolina in 1927, the daughter of a Black mother and a white father she never knew, and she grew up in poverty, in the cotton fields. She was given away as a child, she was raised by an aunt in Harlem, and she found her way to the stage through dance. That is a hard start to life, and it is a start that would have broken many people. But it did not break her. It made her strong, it made her determined, and it gave her singing a depth that audiences could feel. She turned pain into art, and she turned art into a career that lasted for sixty years. That is a powerful story, and it is one that gives me hope. A difficult childhood does not have to define you. You can use it to become stronger, and you can build a life that is larger than the one you were born into.

I also think about her as Catwoman, because that role shows her genius. She played a villain, but she made the villain funny, sexy, and unforgettable. She purred, she smiled, and she made the audience love her, even though she was the bad guy. That is a hard thing to do, because villains are often one-dimensional. Kitt made Catwoman a real person, a woman who is clever, who is playful, and who is not afraid to be bad. I think that is a great performance, and it is one that deserves to be remembered. She was the first Black woman to play Catwoman, and she made the role her own. That is a legacy that will last.

Her return to America in the 1970s and her success as Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove are the parts of her story that give me the most joy. She was blacklisted, she was forgotten by many, and she came back. She played on Broadway, she was nominated for Tonys, she voiced a Disney villain, and she won Emmys. She was in her seventies, and she was still working, still singing, and still receiving standing ovations. That is a triumph, and it shows that talent cannot be silenced forever. If you keep working, keep singing, and keep being yourself, the world will eventually listen again. That is a hopeful message, and it is one that I need to hear.

There is a sadness in her story too, and it is the sadness of a woman who was punished for telling the truth. She spoke honestly at a luncheon, and she lost her career in America for many years. That is unfair, and it is a reminder that freedom of speech is not always free. She paid a high price for her honesty, and she paid it with grace. I think that is a lesson for all of us. Speaking the truth can be costly, but silence can be more costly, because it eats away at your soul. Kitt chose to speak, and she paid the price, and she did not regret it. That is a brave choice, and it is one that I admire.

If I have a criticism, it is not of Kitt but of the America that blacklisted her. She was a great artist, and she was punished for an honest opinion at a luncheon where she had been asked to speak. That is a failure of the country, not of the artist. She deserved better, and she deserved to work in her own country without fear. But she survived, she worked in Europe, and she returned stronger than before. That resilience is something I respect very much. She did not let injustice destroy her. She used it to become stronger, and she came back and proved that she was still a star.

For a young reader, I think the lesson of her life is to be yourself, even when the world wants you to be someone else. Kitt was herself, in her voice, in her singing, and in her opinions. She did not try to sound like anyone else, she did not try to be polite when she felt something was wrong, and she did not apologise for who she was. That is a hard lesson to learn, especially for young people who are told to fit in, to be quiet, to not make trouble. Kitt’s life says that you should be yourself, speak the truth, and let the world deal with it. That is a brave way to live, and it is a way that leads to a life that is honest and full.

I also think her story teaches us about the value of a voice. She had a voice that was unique, and she used it to sing, to act, and to speak the truth. A voice is a powerful thing. It can entertain, it can move people, and it can change minds. Kitt used her voice for all of those things, and she did it for sixty years. That is a lesson for all of us. Find your voice, use it well, and do not be afraid to speak. Your voice matters, and it can make a difference, even when the world tries to silence it.

In the end, when I think about Eartha Kitt, I think about a girl from the cotton fields of South Carolina who became a world star, who sang “Santa Baby,” who played Catwoman, who spoke the truth at the White House, who was blacklisted, who worked in Europe, who returned to America, who voiced Yzma, and who died on Christmas Day at eighty-one. She was a singer, a dancer, an actress, a mother, and a woman of extraordinary courage. Her voice will be heard every Christmas, her Catwoman will be remembered, and her example will be an inspiration. I am glad she lived, and I am glad she sang, because her story reminds me that a voice, used with courage, can change the world, and that a person who stays true to themselves can survive anything.

I also admire her Broadway comeback in Timbuktu! and in Nine, because it shows a woman who never stopped growing. She was fifty-one when she was nominated for a Tony for Timbuktu!, and she was in her seventies when she was nominated again for Nine. That is a remarkable achievement, and it shows that a great performer does not fade with age. She grows deeper, and her work becomes more powerful. I think that is a lesson for everyone, not just for actors. Getting older does not have to mean getting smaller. It can mean getting wiser, if you keep learning and keep working. Kitt kept learning, kept working, and kept growing, until she was eighty-one years old. That is a full life, and it is a life worth admiring.

Her voice work as Yzma is another part of her story that I love. She played a villain in a Disney film, and she made the villain funny, wicked, and unforgettable. Children who had never heard Santa Baby or seen her as Catwoman fell in love with her voice, and they became her new fans. That is a rare achievement. Many stars are loved by one generation, but Kitt was loved by many generations, because her talent was timeless. Her voice, that low, purring voice, was perfect for Yzma, and audiences loved it. She won Emmy Awards for the role, and she proved that she could do voice acting as well as she could do everything else. That versatility is something I respect.

I think about her daughter, Kitt Shapiro, and about what it must have been like to grow up as the child of Eartha Kitt. She raised her daughter while she worked, while she was famous, and while her life was in the public eye. She gave her daughter a life that was as normal as she could, and she protected her from the worst of Hollywood. That is a mother’s love, and it is easy to forget when we talk about stars. But it matters. She did not use her daughter for publicity. She kept her close, and she loved her, and that is a mother’s work, done quietly and well.

I also think about her childhood in South Carolina, and about how far she travelled. She was born in the cotton fields, she was given away as a child, and she was raised by an aunt in Harlem. She joined a dance company, she travelled to Paris, and she became a world star. That is a remarkable journey, and it shows that talent can take you anywhere. But it also shows that hard work matters. Kitt did not become a star only because she had a beautiful voice. She became a star because she worked hard, she learned her craft, and she was determined to succeed. That is a lesson for anyone who wants to be successful. Talent is a gift, but hard work is what turns a gift into a career.

In the end, I keep coming back to her voice, and to the way it still echoes every Christmas. Santa Baby is played in every shop and on every radio station, and it will be played for many years to come. Her Catwoman is still remembered, her Yzma is still loved, and her example is still an inspiration. She was a girl from the cotton fields who became a world star, who spoke the truth, who was blacklisted, who worked in Europe, who returned to America, and who died on Christmas Day at eighty-one. She was a singer, a dancer, an actress, a mother, and a woman of extraordinary courage. I am glad she lived, and I am glad she sang, because her story reminds me that a voice, used with courage, can change the world, and that a person who stays true to themselves can survive anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Eartha Kitt most famous for?

She is most famous for singing “Santa Baby” in 1953, a Christmas song that is still played every year, and for playing Catwoman in the Batman television series in 1967 and 1968. She also voiced Yzma in Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove in 2000.

When and where was Eartha Kitt born?

She was born Eartha Mae Kitt on 17 January 1927 in North, South Carolina, the daughter of a Black mother and a white father she never knew. She grew up in poverty in the cotton fields and was later raised by an aunt in Harlem, New York.

Why was Eartha Kitt blacklisted in America?

In 1968, at a White House luncheon hosted by Lady Bird Johnson, she spoke honestly about the Vietnam War, saying young men were being sent to fight a war they did not understand. Her words caused a storm, and her work in America dried up for many years, so she worked in Europe until she returned in the 1970s.

What role did Eartha Kitt play in The Emperor’s New Groove?

She voiced Yzma, the villain in Disney’s animated film The Emperor’s New Groove from 2000, a funny and wicked character whose low, purring voice was perfect for the role. She returned to the role in the television series and sequel, winning Daytime Emmy Awards.

Did Eartha Kitt perform on Broadway?

Yes, she starred in New Faces of 1952, which made her a Broadway star, and she was nominated for Tony Awards for Timbuktu! in 1978 and for other productions. She continued to perform on Broadway into her seventies.

When did Eartha Kitt die?

She died on 25 December 2008, Christmas Day, at the age of eighty-one, after a long illness with colon cancer. The date was noted by many, since “Santa Baby” is played everywhere every Christmas.