Catwoman's 9th Life

Eartha Kitt, was a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality. She was 81 and died of colon cancer.

Kitt, a self-proclaimed "sex kitten" famous for her catlike purr, won two Emmys and was nominated for several Tonys and two Grammys. Her career spanned six decades, from her start as a dancer with the famed Katherine Dunham troupe to cabarets and acting and singing on stage, in movies and on television. Once dubbed the "most exciting woman in the world" by Orson Welles, she spent much of her life single, though brief romances with the rich and famous peppered her younger years.

After becoming a hit singing "Montonous" in the Broadway revue "New Faces of 1952," Kitt appeared in "Mrs. Patterson" Her first album, "RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt," came out in 1954. Kitt also acted in movies, playing the lead female role opposite Nat King Cole in St. Louis Blues in 1958 and more recently appearing in "Boomerang" and "Harriet the Spy" in the 1990s. On television, she was the sexy Catwoman on "Batman", replacing Julie Newmar who originated the role.