If there was ever a female comic book character that’s always been famous, it’s Wonder Woman. I mean Supergirl. I mean Batwoman. I mean Jean Grey. And apart from all those, there was also Catwoman! We’ve known her for years as Selina Kyle, the seductive anti-hero known for stealing jewelry and Batman’s heart on occasion.
If there’s something Catwoman hasn’t quite nailed though, it’s her implementation on the silver screen. Let’s take a look at all the versions we’ve seen, starting with the worst and ending it with the best.
Halle Berry
‘Nuff said. Anyone that expected anything else hasn’t seen another version of Catwoman on the silver screen. Or hasn’t read a comic book.
Maggie Baird
She appeared briefly in flashback scenes on the show Birds of Prey and had less lines than Arnold did in Terminator. And even considering all that, she did a better job than Halle Berry.
Eartha Kitt
The first African-American actress to play Catwoman in a movie! If you remember that other African-American actress from two spots up, you’ll see why this one isn’t ranked any higher. I know it’s not fair because Eartha did a decent job, but she paved the way for Halle Berry and that’ll cost her points.
Lee Meriwether
Lee played Catwoman in Batman: The Movie. Considering what we had at the time and the fact that she was a stand-in for Julie Newmar (who portrayed the role in the tv show), this was pretty decent. Horribly dated if you look at it now, but decent.
Camren Bicondova
Playing a much younger Selina Kyle on Gotham, the main reason why she is so high on this list is because of the stellar writing in her backstory. Her acting isn’t always the best, but at least her character is grounded in a sense of reality.
Anne Hathaway
I mean, it was a decent Catwoman. But like many characters in the Nolanverse, some creative freedom was taken in her characteristics. I can’t even remember if Catwoman had a whip in that movie. Then again, no one minded the Joker not having his signature laugh in the Nolanverse either.
Julie Newmar
Without being dismissive of Julie’s portrayal of Catwoman, isn’t it kind of sad that we’ve almost had no good Catwoman performances since the mid-sixties? Yeah. For many people, she was the penultimate Catwoman – and who can disagree!
Michelle Pfeiffer
This was pretty much the perfect Tim Burton-inspired Catwoman. Her story was well-written, the acting was good, the suit was 110% Burton and it was just good. We need more Catwomen like this. Or Julie Newmar, either is fine.
