6 Actresses Who Played Catwoman Throughout The Decades

The first images of the latest Catwoman - Zoë Kravitz, have leaked from The Batman's U.K. set, and it's got the internet excited over the upcoming feature film, where she will star alongside Robert Pattinson.

Kravitz sports an asymmetrical bob, fishnet tights and a matching leather ensemble. This makes for her first look a year after her casting as confirmed by director Mat Reeves. Originally scheduled for a release date in June 2021, the film is now set to be released in March 4, 2022. 

Could she possibly be the most chic catwoman to grace our screens? Well, that's for you to decide... Ahead, we list all the actresses who have slinked into an iconic leather jumpsuit (or ensemble), since the character's creation in 1940, throughout the decades.

First broadcast in January 1966, this TV series by William Dozier follows the adventure of Batman from the comic of the same name by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. As Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson lead a double life a  Batman and Robin, masked vigilantes, they fight crime in the city and make life difficult on a number of bad guys such as Catwoman. The very first Catwoman was assumed by actress Julie Newmar, who came in false eyelashes, heavy winged cat eyeliner, and perfectly arched brows - emblematic of makeup trends of the '60s. 

After the first two seasons of the series signed William Dozier, Julie Newmar gave way to singer and actress Eartha Kitt in 1968, the first African-American artist to do so. The actress, nicknamed Miss Kitt, donned the skin-tight Catwoman costume for the third and final season of Batman, and a high and poufy ponytail that set her apart from the rest.

In 1966, ex-beauty queen Lee Meriwether was chosen to play the role of Catwoman in the American feature film Batman in place of Julie Newmar, initially chosen by Leslie H. Martinson for her film. She was accessorized with a sequin mask and curly, flipped hair.

Yes, Catwoman will always be sexy, but it was Michelle Pfeiffer who upped the ante, with kohl-lined eyes and red lips that inspired many Halloween outfits soon after. 

Batman: The Challenge  was directed by Tim Burton in 1992 and saw a new incarnation of the catwoman. Pfeiffer offers a unique adaptation of Catwoman, offering a strange blend of ultra-eroticism and morbid darkness. with her iconic dressing imagined by the costume designers of the film Mary Vogt and Bob Ringwood.

In 2004, director Pitof chose Halle Berry for the leading character in his feature film Catwoman, making for the second black actress to be given the role, 36 years after Eartha Kitt.

The feature film, complicated by the complex relationship between the French director and his star, wreceived a particularly negative reception from the fans, to the point that the character of Catwoman will take a few years before finding a new incarnation. Either way, no one can forget Berry's titular role as Catwoman, in a half-face mask and lots of leather.

Released in 2012, The Dark Knight Rises , is the third and final part of the saga reinterpreted by Christopher Nolan. This time, Anne Hathaway, previously seen in The Devil wears Prada, takes on the role of the feline in this production, which was considered to be the director's biggest success, and offered a heroine just as clever, but much more discreet than its predecessors.

For his television series Gotham, Bruno Heller chose Camren Bicondova to take on the role of Selina Kyle, also nicknamed "Cat", before she became Catwoman. Chosen for her talent in dance which allowed her to perform feline movements, the actress benefited from the series broadcast from 2014 to 2019 in the United States as a real springboard for her career.