Anyone who's ever watched the gripping afternoon programing on Animal Planet knows there are too many cat ladies in the world (they are Legion), but not nearly enough Catwomen. Last week we learned that Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married, Sex and Other Drugs) will be joining the latter ranks as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. Because we like to keep one finger constantly pressed to the carotid pulse of the zeitgeist (and the rest in many, many pies), we proffer a hierarchal list of those who came before her in the world of film and television. These are but a sampling of the Catwomen immortalized on celluloid, but only the best. Not the rest. You know who those are.
5. Julie Newmar, Batman the TV series (1966-1967)
Sultry as all hell and not so cutesy with the purring and cat puns as to lapse into creepy Eartha Kitt territory. Though she does kind of look like she sculpts her eyebrows with saliva applied to back of her hand. Certainly the most refined Catwoman on our list, the one most at home as one of Gotham's leading socialites. The only thing holding her back from serious acclaim are those kooky sets and seasick canted angles. And, okay, maybe she's not the strongest actress.
4. Gina Gershon (voice), The Batman (2004-2007)
This, I think, is one of the more inspired casting choices to come out of DC animation. Gershon is tough as retractable claws, and her voice alone is enough to amp up the sex appeal. If only the character redesign (based on the modern goggle version, a personal favorite from the comics) wasn't so ear-heavy and unappealing.
3. Michelle Pfeiffer, Batman Returns (1992)
Undeniably the most sexually charged performance in the history of the role, Pfeiffer and Burton's take is only marred by the character's going completely batshit fucking insane. Dial it back just a smidgen and cough up that pigeon. Selina's wild, but she's also a competent jewel thief.
2. Lee Meriwether, Batman the Movie (1966)
Of all four actresses who portrayed Catwoman alongside Adam West, Meriwether offers up the least campy performance. Bad accent aside, she also seems to be the most clever and cunning, a dominating presence next to some terrific actors like Burgess Meredith and Frank Gorshen.
1. Adrienne Barbeau (Voice), Batman the Animated Series (1992-1995)
Batman: The Animated Series got so much right in adapting the Bat mythos, it's nearly suspicious. Here, for maybe the first time outside of comics, Selina is more than just the femme fatale, more than just arm candy. She's an equal part in the cat and winged-mouse game, sometimes a romantic foil, sometimes a clever crook, and always a worthy adversary.
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No Halle Berry?! This list is a sham! A sham, I tell you!
Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman…… Mmmmmmm
Lee Meriwether gets my vote for #1.
Julie Newmar all the way. I think she may have been the source for my first sexual awakening.
@Dan Did you have multiple sexual awakenings? Don’t answer that.
My mom bought me a poster of the Batman Returns Catwoman. In retrospect this is very creepy.
Julie Newmar please.
I am not familiar with the Gina Gershon show. How does The Batman compare to The Animated Series?
It doesn’t really.
what no Ertha Kitt?
I love Adrienne Barbeau’s voice acting in BTAS. I also loved her in the Swamp Thing movie. She was quite endowed the actress.
@bigyanks Read the article for my thoughts on Earth Kitt.
This seems about right.
P.S. I’ve had six sexual awakenings in the last year alone.
@PaulMontgomery I have sexual awakenings on an almost daily basis – much to the chagrin of my missus.
Oh Michelle Pfiefer Catwoman.
The really weird thing about Michelle Pfiefer is she could have made that movie yesterday for all we know. She has some of Nick Fury’s Infinity Serum or something.
Julie Newmar was always my favorite.
@j206 It’s a completely differnt show, but I enjoyed the heck out of it. Especially the final two seasons when they brought in Robin, Batgirl, and the Justice League.
Loved Julie Newmar. Ha!! Finally Conor and I agree on something. In the words of Stockard Channing, she was “just so statuesque.” No, I’m not gay, but I watch a lot of cable. Never knew it Barbeau doing the voice in TAS. That was some sultry vixenry right there. Definitely my fav portrayal in any incarnation.
Most people I know prefer Eartha Kitt amongst the various catwomen from the Adam West show, but Julie Newmar was always my favorite.
Michelle Pfiefer was good, but I never felt like Burton’s Catwoman was the real deal. She’s some psycho zombie cat lady.
@flakbait What? Have you seen her recently she’s not aging well.
Aww I was hoping to see Conor’s picks for this.
On a side note, Gina Gershon was awesome as Catwoman, in fact, she would have made a perfect live action Catwoman as well, watch the film Bound for proof.
@DarkKnightDetective That would be awesome casting.
@Conor – Since I got you on the topic. What about Batman Beyond? That one has always intrigued me. I fear watching other Batman cartoons after the magnificence that was The Animated Series.
@j206 Never seen it other than the RETURN OF THE JOKER movie.
@j206 Not that you asked me, but Batman Beyond is definitely worth watching. Very inventive world-building. It’s a mashup of Batman and Spider-Man in terms of tone.
Julie Newmar is tops on my list. Surprised to see her all the way down at #5, and really surprised to see her behind Lee Meriweather.
Cool. Thanks, Paul.
PS – Conor, being the resident iFanboy cartoon expert. Have you ever thought about doing a piece on the top comic book cartoons of all time? Maybe a top 10 list or something? I throughly enjoyed reading your Justice League write ups as I made it through the series. There’s a lot of other series out there from over the years. It would be sweet to know which ones are worth the time and effort. *Paul would also suffice, if Conor wasn’t interested.
@RaceMcCloud I waffled on this for many, many hours. But I ultimately decided that, were they transported to a modern setting, Lee Meriwether would be the most convincing. It’s a matter of degrees though.
@PaulMontgomery If they ever made a movie of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, I could see Meriwether reprising her role as Catwoman. She looks great for her age.
@PaulMontgomeryMoose – You seem to be a good authority on comic book cartoons. What would you list off the top of your head as the cream of the crop of the genre?
@j206 That’s a list for another day!
“Of all four actresses who portrayed Catwoman alongside Adam West,”
Wait, four? I thought there were only three. Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt and Lee Meriwether. Who was the fourth?
@kenkneisel “An uncredited fourth actress played Catwoman as part of a cameo villain team-up in “The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra”, the penultimate episode of the series.” From Wikipedia.
@conor Ah, ok. No wonder I couldn’t find her name.
I almost thought Paul meant that weird brunette Catwoman with the orange costume from the 70s cartoon New Adventures of Batman, since Adam West did the voice acting in that too.
http://catwomanfan.com/en/tv/1977/index.php
Lee Meriwether. Ever since she did all those Polaroid commercials with James Garner in the 70′s I’ve been a fan.
Julie Newmar was the best, i know a lot about cats trust me