Eartha Mae Kitt was an American actress and singer.
Biography[]
She was born in a cotton plantation in the town of North, South Carolina. She began her career as a singer joining the Katherine Dunham Company in 1942. She had a dinstinctive way to sing, and has a number of songs that became hits at the time, the most famous being the 1953 song Santa Baby. She became fluent in French language and seemed to have a soft French feel.
In 1943, she had her first film role in the movie Stormy Weather. She premiered in the stages with the role of Helen of Troy in a staging by Orson Welles. She also was cast in the musical revue New Faces of 1952, for which she made two songs that were also performed in Fox's movie version of the revue. She had a memorable career as a performer and singer over the years, even having a role in a Broadway spectacle.
She joined the cast of The Emperor's New Groove to voice Yzma. Due to her distinct voice, she did well at her role and had a good reception, winning a Annie for her performance at the time. She voiced Yzma in Kronk's New Groove as well, and in The Emperor's New School, the same. For her performances in the series, she won a total of two Daytime Emmys plus two new Annies, one for each season in both cases. She's also portrayed several characters in other animated series.
Eartha Kitt died in Christmas Day of 2008 from colon cancer, and The Emperor's New School was canceled.
Filmography[]
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1948 | Casbah | Uncredited | |
| 1951 | Parigi è sempre Parigi | Herself | |
| 1954 | New Faces | Herself | |
| 1957 | The Mark of the Hawk | Renee | |
| 1958 | St. Louis Blues | Gogo Germaine | |
| 1958 | Anna Lucasta | Anna Lucasta | |
| 1961 | Saint of Devil's Island | Annette | |
| 1965 | Uncle Tom's Cabin | Singer | Uncredited role |
| Synanon | Betty | ||
| 1971 | Up the Chastity Belt | Scheherazade | |
| 1975 | Friday Foster | Madame Rena | |
| 1979 | Butterflies in Heat | Lola | |
| 1985 | The Serpent Warriors | Snake Priestess | |
| 1987 | Master of Dragonard Hill | Naomi | |
| Dragonard | Naomi | ||
| The Pink Chiquitas | Betty / The Meteor (voice) | ||
| 1989 | Erik the Viking | Freya | |
| 1990 | Living Doll | Mrs. Swartz | |
| 1991 | Ernest Scared Stupid | Old Lady Hackmore | |
| 1992 | Boomerang | Lady Eloise | |
| 1993 | Fatal Instinct | First Trial Judge | |
| 1996 | Harriet the Spy | Agatha K. Plummer | |
| 1997 | Ill Gotten Gains | The Wood (Voice) | |
| 1998 | I Woke Up Early the Day I Died | Cult Leader | |
| The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story | Bagheera (voice) | ||
| 2000 | The Emperor's New Groove | Yzma (voice) | |
| 2002 | Anything But Love | Herself | |
| 2003 | Holes | Madame Zeroni | |
| 2005 | Preaching to the Choir | Ms. Nettie | |
| Kronk's New Groove | Yzma (voice) | Direct-to-video | |
| 2007 | And Then Came Love | Mona | |
| Television | |||
| 'Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1952–1963 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Herself | 15 episodes |
| 1963–1978 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Herself | 8 episodes |
| 1964–1979 | The Mike Douglas Show | Herself | 16 episodes |
| 1965 | I Spy | Angel | Episode: "The Loser"
Nominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama |
| 1965 | The Eartha Kitt Show | Herself | |
| 1967 | Mission: Impossible | Tina Maria | Episode: "The Traitor" |
| 1967–1968 | Batman | Selina Kyle / Catwoman | 3 episodes |
| 1969 | The Dick Cavett Show | Herself | 1 episode |
| 1972 | Lieutenant Schuster's Wife | Lady | TV movie |
| 1973–1978 | The Merv Griffin Show | Herself | 3 episodes |
| 1974 | The Protectors | Carrie Blaine | Episode: "A Pocketful of Posies" |
| 1978 | Police Woman | Amelia | Episode: "Tigress" |
| To Kill a Cop | Paula | TV movie | |
| 1983 | A Night on the Town | Unknown role | TV movie |
| 1985 | Miami Vice | Santería Priestess Chata | Episode: "Whatever Works" |
| 1989 | After Dark | Herself | Episode: "Rock Bottom?"
Extended appearance on British discussion programme, together with Simon Napier-Bell and Pa t Kane among others |
| 1993 | Jack's Place | Isabel Lang | Episode: "The Seventh Meal" |
| Matrix | Sister Rowena | Episode: "Moths to a Flame" | |
| 1994 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast | Herself | Episode: "Batmantis" |
| 1995 | The Magic School Bus | Mrs. Franklin (voice) | Episode: "Going Batty" |
| New York Undercover | Mrs. Stubbs | Episode: "Student Affairs" | |
| Living Single | Jacqueline Richards | Episode: "He Works Hard for the Money"
Nominated–NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | |
| 1996 | The Nanny | Herself | Episode: "A Pup in Paris" |
| 1997 | The Chris Rock Show | Herself | 1 episode |
| 1997–2000 | The Rosie O'Donnell Show | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | The Wild Thornberrys | Lioness #1 (voice) | Episode: "Flood Warning" |
| 1999 | The Famous Jett Jackson | Albertine Whethers | Episode: "Field of Dweebs" |
| 2000 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | The Snow Queen (voice) | Episode: "The Snow Queen" |
| Welcome to New York | June | 2 episodes | |
| 2001 | The Feast of All Saints | Lola Dede | TV movie |
| Santa, Baby! | Emerald (voice) | TV movie | |
| 2002–2006 | My Life as a Teenage Robot | Queen Vexus (voice) | 7 episodes |
| 2003 | Hollywood Squares | Herself | 5 episodes |
| 2005 | Larry King Live | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 2006–2008 | The Emperor's New School | Yzma (voice) | Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production (2007–2008)
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program (2007–2008) |
| 2007 | American Dad! | Fortune Teller (voice) | Episode: "Dope and Faith" |
| 2008 | An Evening with Eartha Kitt | Herself | Hosted by Gwen Ifill for PBS |
| 2009 | Wonder Pets! | Cool Cat (voice) | Episode: "Save the Cool Cat and the Hip Hippo/Tuck and Buck"
Aired posthumously Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program |
| 2010 | The Simpsons | Herself (voice) | "Once Upon a Time in Springfield"
Aired posthumously |
Awards and Nominations[]
| Awards and nominations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 1960 | Walk of Fame | Recording | Winner | |
| 1966 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Oustanding Single Performance by an Actress in leading Role in a Drama | I Spay (Episode: The Loser) | Nominated |
| 1969 | Grammy Awards | Best recording for Children | Folk Tales of the Tribes of Africa | Nominated |
| 1978 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Bets Leading Actress in a Musical | Timbuktu! | Nominated |
| 1995 | Grammy Awards | Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance | Back in Business | Nominated |
| 2000 | Drama Desk Awards | Oustanding Featured Actress in a Musical | The Wild Party | Nominated |
| 2000 | Tony Awards | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | Wild Party | Nominated |
| 2001 | Annie Awards | Best Voicing Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Featured Production | The Emperor's new Groove | Winner |
| 2001 | Black Reel Awards | Best upporting Actress | The Emperor's New Groove | Nominated |
| 2005 | DVD Exclusive Awards | Best Animated Character Performance (Voice and Animation in a DVD Premiere Movie) | Kronk's New Groove | Nominated |
| 2006 | Annie Awards | Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production | The Emperor's New School (Episode: Kuzclone) | Winner |
| 2007 | Annie Awards | Best Voice Acting in Animated Television Television Production | The Emperor's New School(Episode: The Emperor's New Musical) | Winner |
| 2007 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performer in Animated Program | The Emperor's New School | Winner |
| 2008 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program | The Emperor's New School | Winner |
| 2010 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performaer in an Animated Program | Wonder Pets! (Episode "Save the Cool Cat and the Hip Hippo) | Winner |
External Links[]
- Official Website
- Eartha Kitt on IMDB