EARTHA KITT is an international star who gives new meaning to the word versatile. She has distinguished herself in film, theater, cabaret, music and on television. Miss Kitt is one of only a handful of performers to be nominated for a Tony (three times), the Grammy (twice), and an Emmy Award. She has enthralled New York nightclub audiences during her extended stays at THE CAFÉ CARLYLE and made a triumphant return to this epitome of chic with a sold out run this summer. Her performance has been captured in her newest recording, Eartha Kitt, Live At The Carlyle. Miss Kitt’s distinctive voice has enthralled an entirely new generation of fans. Young fans loved her in the role of YZMA, the villain, in Disney’s animated feature THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE, (2001 ANNIE Award for Best Vocal Performance / Animated Feature). Miss Kitt was also featured in the sequel, THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE II, and recently finished recording upcoming episodes of the Saturday morning series based on the film. Miss Kitt has also endeared herself to young people through her on-camera performance as Mme. Zeroni in the Disney adaptation of the classic children’s book, HOLES.

Eartha Mae Kitt was ostracized at an early age because of her mixed-race heritage. At eight years old, she was given away by her mother and sent from the South Carolina cotton fields to live with an aunt in Harlem. In New York her distinct individuality and flair for show business manifested itself, and on a friend’s dare, the shy teen auditioned for the famed KATHERINE DUNHAM DANCE TROUPE. She won a spot as a featured dancer and vocalist and before the age of twenty, toured worldwide with the company. During a performance in Paris, Miss Kitt was spotted by a nightclub owner and booked as a featured singer at his club. Her unique persona earned her fans and fame quickly, including Orson Welles, who called her “the most exciting woman in the world”. Welles was so taken with her talent that he cast her as Helen of Troy in his fabled production of DR. FAUST.

Back in New York, Miss Kitt was booked at The Village Vanguard, and was soon spotted by a Broadway producer who put her in NEW FACES OF 1952 where every night she wowed audiences with her sultry rendition of Monotonous. Her show stopping performance in NEW FACES, which ran for a year, led to a national tour and Twentieth Century Fox film by the same name. Broadway stardom led to a recording contract and a succession of best-selling records including Love For Sale, I Want to Be Evil, Santa Baby and Folk Tales of the Tribes of Africa, which earned her a Grammy nomination. During this period, she published her first autobiography, THURSDAY’S CHILD. Miss Kitt then returned to Broadway in the dramatic play MRS. PATTERSON, and received her first Tony nomination. Other stage appearances followed, as did films including THE MARK OF HAWK with Sidney Poitier, ANNA LUCASTA with Sammy Davis, Jr. and ST LOUIS BLUES with Nat King Cole.

In 1967, Miss Kitt left her indelible mark as the infamous CATWOMAN in the television series, BATMAN. She immediately became synonymous with the roll and her trademark growl became a part of pop culture. Thanks to the popularity of the series, Miss Kitt can still be seen as the famous villain on TV LAND and cable re-broadcasts. Singing in ten different languages, Miss Kitt has performed in over 100 countries and was honored with a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. In 1966, she was nominated for an Emmy for her role in the series, I SPY. In 1968, Miss Kitt’s career took a sudden turn when, at a White House luncheon hosted by Lady Bird Johnson, she spoke out against the Vietnam War. For many years afterward, she was blacklisted by many in the U.S. entertainment industry and was forced to work abroad where her status remained undiminished. In 1974, she returned to the United States, professionally, in an acclaimed CARNEGIE HALL concert and, in 1978, received her second Tony nomination for her starring role in the musical TIMBUKTU. Miss Kitt’s second autobiography, ALONE WITH ME, was published in 1976, and the third volume, I’M STILL HERE: CONFESSIONS OF A SEX KITTEN, was released in 1989. Her fourth best-selling book, REJUVENATE! (IT’S NEVER TOO LATE), was released by Scribner in May, 2001.