Yvonne Joyce Craig

Yvonne Joyce Craig (May 16, 1936 - - August 17, 2015) was an American actress, ballet dancer and choreographer. Her most famous work is for her character in Batman's series of the 1960s on TV Batman as well as Marta the Orion slave girl sporting green skin, from Star Trek's 1969 episode "Whom Gods Destruction". The Huffington Post called her "a pioneer in female superheroes on television." Yvonne Craig was born in Taylorville, Illinois, and was raised in Columbus, Ohio. In 1951 , her family moved from Illinois to Dallas. There she attended W. H. Adamson High School in Dallas and Sunset High School. However she didn't graduate as she didn't have "one PE credit". Craig was identified by Alexandra Danilova (a ballerina and teacher) and was accepted into the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and became its youngest corps de ballet member. It was an excellent training that allowed her to do stunts as Batgirl. In 1957, she left the ballet company "over a dispute on changes to casting". She moved to Los Angeles in hopes of continuing her dance career. But she was soon 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. The actress was featured in three films following the show, The Young Land, The Gene Krupa Story and Gidget (all 1959). She also appeared as a guest on the TV series Mr. Lucky, as Beverly Mills, in the episode "Little Miss Wow", also 1959. Craig starred alongside Bing Crosby (1960), and Seven Women from Hell (1961) that starred Cesar Romero. In 1962, she appeared in the television show Western Laramie in the episode "The Long Road Back".Craig appeared in roles with Elvis Presley in two films that were released: It Happened at World's Fair (1963) and Kissin' Cousins (1964). She also appeared in the science fiction film Mars Needs Women (1966) as well as in In Like Flint (1967) as an in-character Russian ballet dancer opposite James Coburn.