Yvonne Joyce Craig

Yvonne Joyce Craig (May 16 1937 - 17 August the 17th of August, 2015) was an American dancer and actress most well-known for her performance as Batgirl in the 1960s' tv series Batman and 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 television. Yvonne Craig was raised in Columbus and was born in Taylorville in Illinois. Her family relocated to Dallas in 1951. She was a student at W. H. Adamson High School, Sunset High School as well as W. H. Adamson High School. However, Craig didn't graduate since she did not receive "one PE credit". After being discovered by Alexandra Danilova, a ballerina and instructor, Craig joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as the youngest member of the corps de ballet. The training helped her when she did stunts performing as Batgirl. In 1957, she resigned from the ballet company "over a disagreement over changes to casting". She relocated to Los Angeles in hopes of being able to continue her career in dance. However, she soon found herself in film roles. Her first TV performances was in the TV series Perry Mason ("The Case of the Lazy Lover") in 1958 alongside 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 guest-starred on the TV series Mr. Lucky, as Beverly Mills, in the episode "Little Miss Wow" which was also a 1959. Craig was seen in the films Bing Crosby and Seven Women from Hell (1960), where she was paired alongside Cesar Romero. In 1962, she was a guest star in Western Laramie's "The Long Road Back" episode. She also appeared with Bing Crosby in High Time (1960) and Seven Women from Hell (1961) and Seven Women from Hell (1961), both of which included Cesar Romero. Craig also starred in two Elvis Presley films: It was at the World's Fair (1963), as well as Kissin' Cousins (1964). She also appeared in the science fiction film Mars Needs Women (1966) as well as in In Like Flint (1967) as a Russian ballet dancer opposite James Coburn.