Ever since Bob Kane and Bill Finger decided that “cat” was the opposute of “bat” back in 1940, a lot of people have played the role of Selina Kyle. My high school crush Adrienne Barbeau even voiced her in a Batman cartoon once, and no fewer than three actresses (Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether and the lovely Eartha Kitt) starred opposite Adam West’s Batman back in the late 1960s. As for poor Halle Berry, though she looked good without her mask, her solo Catwoman tale belly-flopped like a cartoon snowman, but the proliferation of actresses who have played Selina Kyle does beg a particular query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) has a deep, abiding love for Eartha Kitt’s “purr-fect” vocalizations, asking: Which actress made the best Catwoman?
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Although Batman The Animated Series has my favorite version of Catwoman, I too have a soft spot for Eartha Kitt’s delivery.
Eartha Kitt. I was only a kid when she played Catwoman, but WOW! The others all paled in comparison to her.
So, this may be a cop out, I can accept that. But for me, my favorite Catwoman performance comes from The Animated Series. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen some of her episodes, but there’s something about them that always makes them come to mind when I think about catwoman. I think it’s the more sarcastic and teasing nature of the voicework. Her words seem to come from a place of sarcasm rather than seduction like a lot of Catwoman portrayals do. A quick IMDB shows that Adrienne Barbeau did the voicework. So, I’m going to say that Adrienne Barbeau is my favorite Catwoman.
And now I’m realizing I should’ve read the whole original post closer.
I get that a lot. :)
Adrienne Barbeau and Eartha Kitt for a tie.
Even as a kid I just couldn’t warm to any of the other Catwoman actresses other than Eartha Kitt. She was just so great in the role and none of the others worked nearly as well in my mind. At some point in my youth I would even change the channel if it was an episode with the other Catwomen.
Usually I have to think on these things, this time not so much.
Julie Newmar; Great material, great performance, great looking in a great suit.
Then Meriwether, Kitt or Barbeau.
I feel like the latter ones could have done better if they had had better material to work with. Neither of the two cinematic ones blew it, they just got a raw deal.
All the 60’s Catwoman were good, but Earth Kitt stood out.
I have to disagree with Doctor Dinosaur. Berry knew what she was getting into; she was a veteran actress at the time. Any movie that sat in Development Hell for nine years should have been avoided.
Going the blasphemy route. As a child of the 90’s, Michelle Pfeiffer’s catwoman from Batman Returns got me feeling a bit funny in my 9 -year old pants. At least in terms of the look, if not staying true to canon.
Julie Newmar for me!
Michelle Pheiffer all the way. I loved the deranged, mentally unstable, sewed together my own damn cat-suit take she brought to the role. No one else has done it quite like her. (and she defined crazy-sexy for a whole generation.)
Julie Newmar, saw her at a comic show and couldn’t speak a word. She’s still awesome.
I’d give second place to Anne.