Yvonne Joyce Craig

Yvonne Joyce Craig (May 16 1937 - 17 August the 17th of August, 2015) was an American dancer and actress best known for her role in the role of 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 in female superheroes that were adapted for television." Yvonne Craig was raised in Columbus and was born in Taylorville in Illinois. In 1951, her family moved to the Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas, Texas, where she went to W. H. Adamson High School as well as Sunset High School, from which she didn't be able to graduate due to the absence of "a single PE credit". Craig joined Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as the the youngest dancer in the corps de ballerina, after being identified by Alexandra Danilova who is a dancer and instructor. It was an excellent training that enabled her to do stunts as Batgirl. In 1957, she quit the company's ballet program due to disagreements about casting changes. She later moved to Los Angeles with the hope to continue her career in dance. However, she did find herself appearing in film roles. Her first TV appearances 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. In the years following her appearances on The Young Land, The Gene Krupa Story (all 1959) and Gidget (all 1958) she also guest-starred as Beverly Mills on the TV show Mr. Lucky (also 1959). Craig made an appearance with Bing Crosby in High Time (1960) as well as in Seven Women from Hell (1961) was a co-star with Cesar Romero. In 1962, she was the guest on Western Laramie's "The Long Road Back" episode. Craig also appeared alongside Bing Crosby in High Times (1960) as well as Seven Women from Hell (1961), both of which included Cesar Romero. Craig also starred in two Elvis Presley films: It happened at the World's Fair (1963), as well as Kissin Cousins (1964). In 1966, she starred in Mars Needs Women. In 1967, she appeared as an Russian ballet dancer in In Like Flint.