The EARTHA KITT Only I Knew

THE PERFORMER’S DAUGHTER OPENS UP ABOUT HER MOM’S STRENGTH, LOVE AND WISDOM

- Alison Gaylin and Fortune Benatar

In a word, she was...purrrfect. Preternaturally alluring and charismatic, Eartha Kitt achieved worldwide fame at a time when most mixed-race performers couldn’t even get hired. Whether she was acting in the films of her mentor and friend, Orson Welles, belting out nightclub staples like Santa Baby (in four languages!), wowing TV audiences as Batman’s most sensual nemesis, Catwoman, or breathing life into animated films with her one-of-a-kind voice, Eartha worked hard to become one of Hollywood’s brightest stars. And nearly 15 years after her passing, her legend still looms large.

Yet Eartha’s greatest joy in life was found out of the spotlight. “[She] was a mother first and foremost — that was her most important role,” Eartha’s daughter, Kitt Shapiro, 60, tells Closer. “It was truly a blessing to be able to live a life knowing how much I was loved.”

A PAINFUL CHILDHOOD