Eartha Kitt was the personification of the word
"fierce," with a six-decades-long career worthy of being lusted over. Or, rather,
purred over. Although she
grew up poor on a South Carolina
cotton plantation, she moved to New York City at a young age and was quickly thrust
into the arts, taking up dancing, singing and acting.
By 25, she was considered a
Broadway star with a starring role in
New Faces of 1952. Of the performance, the
New York Times reported, "Eartha Kitt not only looks incendiary, but she can make a song burst into flame."
Throughout the ensuing decades, which would include her giving the world
"Santa Baby" and being cast —
at 40, no less — as
Catwoman on
Batman, she would earn a reputation as one of the
first black sex symbols, with director
Orson Welles calling her "the most exciting woman alive." READ MORE