Yvonne Joyce Craig

Yvonne Joyce Craig (May 16 1937 - August 17, 2015) was an American dancer and actress famous for her part as Batgirl in the 1960s television series Batman as well as her role as the green-skinned Orion slave girl Marta in the Star Trek episode "Whom Gods Destroy" (1969). The Huffington Post called her "a pioneer in female superheroes" for the screen. Yvonne Craig was born in Taylorville, Illinois, and was raised in Columbus, Ohio. Her family in 1951 relocated to the Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas, Texas, where she attended W. H. Adamson High School as well as Sunset High School, from which she didn't graduate due to the lack of "a single PE credit". After being spotted by Alexandra Danilova, a ballerina and teacher, Craig joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as its youngest corps de ballet member. It was a wonderful experience that enabled her to do stunts as Batgirl. She quit the ballet company in 1957 "over a disagreement on casting decisions" and relocated to Los Angeles in the hopes of continuing her dancing career, but found herself cast in film roles. Her first television role was on the TV series Perry Mason ("The Case of the Lazy Lover") in the year 1958 with Neil Hamilton. Hamilton later was the Batgirl's stepfather, police Commissioner James Gordon. Then, she appeared in three films, including The Young Land, The Gene Krupa Story, and Gidget (all 1959)--and as a guest in the TV series Mr. Lucky as Beverly Mills in the episode "Little Miss Wow" (also 1959). Craig was in the film with Bing Crosby (1960), and Seven Women from Hell (1961), which featured Cesar Romero. In 1962, she was an actress in the Western Laramie episode "The Long Road Back". Craig also starred with Elvis Presley in the roles of happened at the World's Fair (1963), and Kissin' Cousins (64). In 1966, she appeared in Mars Needs Women. In 1967, she was an Russian dancer on In Like Flint.