A Bite of Eartha Kitt 🍪
How “the most exciting woman in the world” broke barriers of prejudice and changed history
Monday Bites are bite-sized musician spotlights & playlists by Grace Lilly.
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• 3 min read •
“An example of self-actualization for women all over the world”
Eartha made a way for herself, against all odds. A child of domestic abuse, she discovered singing and dance as an escape that flourished into a career.
Facing racial discrimination, she overcame barriers of prejudice and spent years breaking racial taboos.
At a time when women were expected to act and dress a certain way, she wasn’t afraid to do things differently. Embracing her sensuality, she became an international sensation with her bold, sexy persona.
Film, theater, cabaret, music, television — Eartha worked (and thrived) in each. She could truly do it all. One of the most versatile stars in history, she’s been described as “a breathtaking force.”
Eartha Kitt
The basics
🤝 American singer, actress, and activist
🤝 b. 1927 (North, South Carolina) - d. 2008 (Weston, Connecticut)
🤝 The epitome of the sex-kitten chanteuse
Why you should know her: One of the most distinctive voices in history, Eartha broke barriers for many performers as one of the first successful Black singers in America and she embraced her sexuality in ways that were unheard of at the time
If you like
✨ Lana Del Rey
✨ Sabrina Carpenter
✨ Billie Holiday
Known for
🏆 Her highly distinctive throaty “purring” voice and sensuous performances
🏆 Singing in 11 different languages and speaking 4 (English, French, Japanese, and Turkish)
🏆 The first Black woman to play Catwoman
🏆 3 Emmy Awards, 2 Grammy Award nominations, 2 Tony Award nominations
🏆 Her activism — a UNICEF spokesperson for abused children, advocating for the LBGTQ+ community, and speaking out against the Vietnam War
Bite-sized facts
🍪 Ostracized at an early age because of her mixed-race heritage, suffered physical abuse and neglect throughout her childhood
🍪 To escape domestic abuse, spent more time at school with teachers who encouraged her to pursue singing; was accepted into the Metropolitan Vocational High School in New York City
🍪 Started her career at 15 by auditioning for (and winning a spot in) the first African-American modern dance company, the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe — by 20, she was traveling the world touring with them as a dancer and vocalist
🍪 Moved to Paris and became a cabaret singer, rose to fame as a nightclub act centered on her slinky stage presence
🍪 Got her first starring role at 23 when Orson Welles cast her as Helen of Troy in his stage version of Time Runs (1950)
🍪 Reached the height of her success in the 1950s scoring numerous hits like “Santa Baby” and “C’est si bon”
🍪 In 1968, was blacklisted in America for 10 years after making anti-Vietnam War statements at a White House luncheon
🍪 Moved to Europe to make a living, but returned to the U.S. and made a comeback as an actress and singer in the 80s and 90s
🍪 Continued performing and recording into her seventies
In film & TV
Eartha had 72 acting credits across film and television, including:
📺 St. Louis Blues (1958): starred in this musical film alongside Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and Mahalia Jackson
📺 Batman series (1967): starred as Catwoman in the third and last season
📺 The Emperor’s New Groove (2000): voiced Yzma in the film franchise and won two Daytime Emmy Awards for her role
Songs & dates
♫ 1952 “C’est Si Bon” reaches No. 8 on the Billboard Pop charts
♫ 1953 Her singles “Santa Baby,” “Uska Dara” and “I Want to Be Evil” become US Top 30 hits
♫ 1954 “Under the Bridges of Paris” becomes a UK Top 10 song
♫ 1965 “Love For Sale” becomes a hit song
♫ 1984 “Where Is My Man” becomes the first certified gold record of her career
♫ 1989 “Cha-Cha Heels” (featuring Bronski Beat) reaches No. 32 in the UK
She said
⭐ “The public has become my fairy godmother.”
⭐ “The price we pay for being ourselves is worth it.”
⭐ “I have never yearned to stay young, but rather to stay me. The me committed to embracing her uniqueness. The me who feels no shame in championing and cherishing herself. The me who accepts aging as a natural process, not a disease, and who says ‘Thank You Thank You’ when I take care of myself.”
⭐ “I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma.”
Eartha Kitt Playlist
I gathered my fav Eartha songs, from me to you with love. Like & save on Spotify and listen all week 💗
Where to start
“I fall in love with myself....and I want someone to share me with me.”
In this iconic clip from the documentary about Eartha, All by Myself, she talks relationships and being yourself.
〰️
The song that made her famous
Kitt performing “Monotonous” in New Faces (1954), the filmed version of the New Faces of 1952 revue that made her famous.
Down the rabbit hole
If you wanna dive even deeper:
All by Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story (1982)
From Metrograph: A revealing documentary portrait of Eartha Kitt, the sultry chanteuse and actress that Orson Welles once called “the most exciting woman in the world,” All by Myself opens with a glamorous Kitt performing at President Reagan’s Inaugural Ball (she sings “I Want to Be Evil”), then proceeds to reveal the public and private sides of its subject through a combination of live concert footage and candid interviews from her isolated home/refuge, in which she discusses the traumas of her girlhood in the deep South and her blacklisting following criticism of the American presence in Vietnam—all with style, humor, and a sense of unbreakable purpose.
Watch on Amazon.
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Love "Where is My Man?" Big club hit in the 80s! Also saw her in "The Wild Party" on Broadway - great show and a great performance by Miss Kitt.