While Batman has been portrayed in live-action multiple times, so too has Selina Kyle, otherwise known as Catwoman, who has served as his love interest as well as his on-and-off villain and ally. One of the DC Comics superheroes to have received most live-action adaptations throughout the decades is Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman, the brooding protector of Gotham City. With multiple film franchises that have come and gone to several TV shows, fans have never lacked new content for the Dark Knight outside the comics. But wherever Batman goes, his infamous rogue's gallery is usually never far behind.
One of the more complex characters in Batman's mythology is Catwoman, who has played different roles in the DC Universe throughout her existence. Depending on what iteration it is, Catwoman is sometimes a rival to the Caped Crusader. But recent portrayals have leaned more into the romantic relationship between Batman and Catwoman, which goes back and forth. Another more frequent version of Catwoman is her role as anti-hero while still having ties to the Bat-Family. But while she has many connections to Batman's world, Selina has become a character who stands independently.
Like many of the Batman villains and supporting characters, several actresses have brought Catwoman to life over the years, both on television and cinematically. Since every Batman on-screen has gotten darker over the years, Selina has also been reimagined. That has allowed each depiction of Catwoman to be different from what came before. Selina is also one of the Batman characters who has been able to have their teen and adult years portrayed on screen.
Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether & Eartha Kitt (Batman '66 TV Series & Film)
Catwoman's live-action debut came through the Batman '66 series with Adam West as the Dark Knight. But Selina ended up being played by three actresses, starting with Julie Newmar in the first two seasons. For the Batman '66 film, Lee Meriwether took over when Newmar had scheduling conflicts. In the third and final season, they had to recast again as Eartha Kitt became the new Catwoman. While Selina had three actors play her, they still maintained continuity for Catwoman in terms of tone. Similar to every other character on Batman '66, Catwoman was also very campy and comedic. Since the show was engineered towards a younger demographic, Catwoman being just as silly as the villains and heroes made sense. Regardless of the camp, Catwoman on Batman '66 is still a huge part of the entire legacy to this day.
Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns)
Whenever mainstream audiences think of Catwoman, many think of Michelle Pfeiffer's performance in Batman Returns. Almost 30 years later, Pfeiffer is still one of the actors most associated with Catwoman as her portrayal became hugely popular. When Tim Burton brought her into his Batman sequel, Pfeiffer's Selina had a very tragic introduction. After having worked as an unappreciated secretary, Selina's life changed forever when her boss tried to murder her. But as a group of ally cats (for reasons that will probably never be explained) resurrects her, Selina got cat-like abilities and took on the Catwoman identity. Pfeiffer's potentially returning Catwoman was powerful, as her transformation in Batman Returns made her a force to be reckoned with throughout the story. But besides all the incredible action work she did, Pfeiffer's Selina was a fascinating character, especially when seeing her with Michael Keaton as Bruce.
Casey Elizabeth Easlick (Birds of Prey)
It would take over 30 years until Catwoman was ever seen again in live-action on television. In 2002, The WB premiered Birds of Prey, which was a short-lived series focused on the iconic DC female trio Huntress, Oracle, and Black Canary. When it came to Huntress, the series used the Earth-2 iteration of Helena Wayne-Kyle, who was Bruce and Selina's daughter in the comics. Catwoman appeared in the pilot during brief flashbacks, with Casey Elizabeth Easlick playing Huntress's mother. Despite her role being brief, it seemed like the TV show was drawing some elements from Batman Returns, including her costume pretty much being a replica of Pfeiffer's suit. This version of Catwoman was a meta-human, which is why Ashley Scott's Huntress was part-meta-human. The pilot revealed that Selina was killed in front of Helena during her upbringing.
Halle Berry (Catwoman)
After Batman Returns, Pfeiffer's Catwoman was meant to get her own spinoff film which ended up in development hell until she and Burton eventually dropped out of the project. It would take over 10 years until Catwoman got her own movie, but the result wasn't what many were expecting as it had little to do with the actual character from the comics. X-Men's Halle Berry portrayed Patience Phillips, a graphic designer for Hedare Beauty, a cosmetics company run by a villain named Laurel Hedare. Patience's transformation into Catwoman was only one of the bizarre aspects of the film, as an Egyptian Mau cat brought her back from the dead. Putting the weird "Catwoman mythology" aside, the film was a massive critical and commercial bomb. There was little blame to put on Berry and more so on the creative team behind Catwoman. No matter who they had cast as Patience, no one could have done wonders with a script that didn't take the Catwoman character seriously.
Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises)
As Christopher Nolan came back to finish The Dark Knight film series, he brought Catwoman into his take on the Batman universe. Anne Hathaway became the next actress to portray Selina in The Dark Knight Rises exactly 20 years after Pfeiffer played her. While Hathaway's iteration was never referred to as Catwoman, she still suited up as the iconic cat-burglar and was very much like the character from the comics. Initially, Selina and Bruce are at odds before eventually forming a partnership to help save Gotham. Hathaway's Catwoman is also regarded as one of the more powerful incarnations, with Nolan making her very much a femme fatale and was incredibly skilled in ripping off wealthy members of society. Where Pfeiffer's Selina was more tragic, Hathaway's take became more of a mystery, as someone like Bruce was even fooled by her.
Camren Bicondova & Lili Simmons (Gotham)
FOX's Batman prequel series Gotham became the first property ever to feature Selina as a teenager and show how she ended up becoming Catwoman. Camren Bicondova played the young Selina for five seasons until Lili Simmons took over in the series finale as the adult Catwoman. This take on Selina was done to parallel young Bruce's journey after his parents were murdered, as she was a witness that night. Throughout Gotham's run, Selina and Bruce develop the complicated relationship that Batman and Catwoman are known for having in the mythology. Seeing Bicondova grow up along with Selina was one of the show's strongest journeys because the writers got into the character's depth. Therefore, it was disappointing not to see her in the series finale when they did the 10-year time jump. However, Simmons did a solid job honoring Bicondova's characterization, and Bicondova reassured the viewers that it was her choice to let another actress play the adult Catwoman for the final episode.
Zoë Kravitz (The Batman)
While there have been several versions of Catwoman in live-action, there is a new one coming in Matt Reeves' The Batman, which is slated for release in 2022. As Robert Pattinson becomes the next actor to don the cape and cowl, Zoë Kravitz will star alongside him as the new cinematic Selina. Kravitz's version has been described to be in the midst of her own origin story as she isn't known as Catwoman yet in the upcoming reboot. That is similar to what The Batman is also doing with Colin Farrell's Penguin and other Gotham City villains.
From the teaser trailer that was released for The Batman in 2020, Kravitz is suited in a Catwoman-like costume but is likely to be a prototype before she actually takes on that title. The footage only featured Selina trying to break into a safe while also fighting Pattinson's Batman. When the next trailer eventually gets released this year, fans will likely get to see more of Kravitz's Selina. Depending on where the reboot is going, it wouldn't be shocking if Reeves doesn't turn Selina into the oft-portrayed Catwoman by the end of The Batman. Perhaps Selina doesn't become Catwoman officially until The Batman 2 or a later sequel.
While Catwoman is coming soon to the big screen again, it will be intriguing to see where Selina may show up next on television in terms of live-action. Perhaps the Arrowverse might be an option since The CW's DC TV Universe has confirmed that Selina/Catwoman exists in the shared franchise. Depending on if they can get access to the character, maybe Batwoman will introduce Catwoman in a future season.
