Yvonne Joyce Craig

Yvonne Joyce Craig (May 16 1937 - August 17 the 17th of August, 2015) was an American actress and ballet dancer famous for her part as Batgirl in the 1960s' tv 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 of female superheroes" for the screen. Yvonne Craig was born in Taylorville, Illinois, and was raised in Columbus, Ohio. In 1951, her family moved to the Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas, Texas, where she was a student at W. H. Adamson High School and later Sunset High School, from which she didn't be able to graduate due to the absence of "a single PE credit". Craig was accepted into Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as the most junior ballerina in the company after being recognized by Alexandra Danilova who is a dancer and instructor. While she was performing as Batgirl the training proved extremely beneficial. In 1957, she resigned from the company's ballet program due to disagreements regarding casting changes. Then, she moved to Los Angeles with the hope of making it a career for her. However, she did find herself appearing in film roles. One of her first TV role was on the TV series Perry Mason ("The Case of the Lazy Lover") in 1958 alongside Neil Hamilton. Hamilton later played Batgirl's stepfather, Police Commissioner James Gordon. She was in three films soon after, The Young Land, The Gene Krupa Story and Gidget (all 1959). Craig also appeared on the TV series Mr. Lucky, as Beverly Mills, in the episode "Little Miss Wow" which was also a 1959. Craig starred alongside Bing Crosby (1960), and Seven Women from Hell (1961) in which she was portrayed by Cesar Romero. In 1962, she was an actress on Western Laramie's show "The Long Road Back". Craig also starred with Elvis Presley's roles in It Was at the World's Fair (1963), and Kissin' Cousins (64). In 1966, she appeared in Mars Needs Women. In 1967, she played an Russian ballet dancer in In Like Flint.