Yvonne Joyce Craig

Yvonne Joyce Craig (May 16 1936 until August 17 in 2015), was an American dancer, actress and choreographer. She is best known for her role in Batman's 1960s TV series Batman as well as Marta who played an Orion slave girl with green skin, from Star Trek's 1969 episode "Whom Gods Destruction". The Huffington Post called her "a pioneer in female superheroes" for the screen. Yvonne Craig was raised in Columbus and was born in Taylorville in Illinois. In 1951 her family moved from Illinois to Dallas. In Dallas, she attended W. H. Adamson High School in Dallas and Sunset High School. However she didn't finish her education because she had only "one credits for PE". Craig was identified by Alexandra Danilova (a ballerina and teacher) and joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1951, becoming the youngest corps de ballet member. It was a great training that helped her perform stunts in the role of Batgirl. She left the ballet troupe in 1957 "over an argument over casting decisions" and relocated to Los Angeles in the hopes of pursuing her dance career, but she was acting in films. One of her earliest television roles was in an episode from the TV series Perry Mason ("The Case of the Lazy Lover" 1958) with Neil Hamilton, who played her stepfather (later Hamilton played Police Commissioner James Gordon, Batgirl's father). After that, she appeared in three films - The Young Land, The Gene Krupa Story and Gidget (all 1959)--and as a guest in the TV series Mr. Lucky as Beverly Mills in the episode "Little Miss Wow" (also 1959). Craig was seen with Bing Crosby and Seven Women from Hell (1960), in which she was cast alongside Cesar Romero. In 1962, she appeared on the Western Laramie in the episode "The Long Road Back".Craig appeared in roles with Elvis Presley in two films which included It Happened At the World's Fair (1963) and Kissin' Cousins (1964). In 1966, she appeared in Mars Needs Women. In 1967, she appeared as a Russian dancer on In Like Flint.