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Among eight prominent live-action screen portrayals, Michelle Pfeiffer is my top Catwoman: Batman Returns gives Selina Kyle the richest transformation and the most memorable blend of danger, wit, and vulnerability. This is a subjective ranking, not a poll or critical consensus. I weigh performance and charisma, characterization and moral complexity, the portrayal’s relationship with Batman, visual identity, and how fully the role develops. Costume matters, but it cannot carry a performance on its own.
The scope is prominent live-action portrayals, not every voice role, double, or brief appearance. The 1960s history includes two television actresses and one film actress—not three successive TV Catwomen.
Who has played Catwoman on screen?
The central live-action portrayals span television and film, and they do not all depict the same point in Selina Kyle’s life—or even the same character identity. DC describes Catwoman as a thief and occasional hero whose uncertain morality complicates her relationship with Batman (DC’s Catwoman character reference).
| Actress | Portrayal | What distinguishes it |
|---|---|---|
| Julie Newmar | Batman television series (1966–1967) | The first actress to play Catwoman in the series. |
| Lee Meriwether | Batman theatrical film (1966) | Played Catwoman opposite Adam West in the film, not as a TV replacement. |
| Eartha Kitt | Batman television series, third and final season | Took over the TV role after Newmar. |
| Michelle Pfeiffer | Batman Returns (1992) | Played Selina Kyle’s transformation into a strikingly volatile Catwoman. |
| Halle Berry | Catwoman (2004) | Played Patience Phillips, a different character identity from the usual Selina Kyle. |
| Anne Hathaway | The Dark Knight Rises (2012) | Played Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan’s Batman story. |
| Camren Bicondova | Gotham (began airing in 2014) | Played Selina’s younger years, before she had fully become Catwoman. |
| Zoë Kravitz | The Batman (2022) | Played Selina Kyle in a separate film interpretation. |
The role and date distinctions are documented in CBS News’ Catwoman gallery, DC’s costume history, Sideshow’s overview, and DC’s character gallery and reference.
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The ranking
1. Michelle Pfeiffer — Batman Returns (1992)
Pfeiffer’s performance makes Selina’s reinvention the emotional center of her Catwoman story. Her sharp shifts between awkwardness, fury, playfulness, and control make the character feel unstable in a purposeful way: Catwoman is not simply a polished criminal with a feline look, but a woman testing what power and freedom might mean after being pushed aside. Her charged dynamic with Batman gives the role a real connection to the story’s central conflict. The black leather costume is an unmistakable visual signature, but the performance gives that image its force. DC’s costume history identifies the design as distinctive and influential (DC costume history).
2. Eartha Kitt — Batman television series
Kitt brought an assured, sly authority to the TV role, making Catwoman’s confidence and capacity for mischief central to her appeal. Her version stands apart from the film portrayals because the television series plays the character through a heightened, comic-book register rather than a psychologically elaborate origin or redemption arc. Kitt’s charisma makes that stylized approach work. She replaced Newmar in the third and final season, a distinct casting chapter rather than a film appearance (CBS News).
3. Julie Newmar — Batman television series (1966–1967)
Newmar established the TV series’ first Catwoman as a poised, teasing adversary who could make a scheme feel like a game. Her comic timing and self-possession give the character an enduring screen identity, and the playful antagonism with Batman is a natural fit for the show’s tone. The role is less concerned with Selina’s interior life than later film versions, but Newmar’s confidence makes the early portrayal more than a costume-and-gadget turn. CBS dates her run to 1966–1967 (CBS News).
4. Zoë Kravitz — The Batman (2022)
Kravitz’s Selina feels grounded in the film’s crime-world setting: guarded, observant, and driven by loyalties that do not line up neatly with the law. Her relationship with Batman develops through shared purpose and friction, rather than instant trust. That gives the portrayal a credible moral tension, even though the film’s version is still developing and has less room to become an independent Catwoman saga than Pfeiffer’s. DC’s official character gallery identifies Kravitz in the role (DC character page).
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5. Anne Hathaway — The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Hathaway plays Selina as an agile strategist whose wit and self-preservation keep her one step ahead. The portrayal’s appeal lies in its balance: she can be charming without seeming harmless, and her shifting alignment with Batman feels tied to practical choices rather than a sudden moral conversion. The film gives her a clear arc, though its large ensemble and plot leave less space for Catwoman’s inner life than Batman Returns. Her wraparound mask and raised goggles that suggest cat ears are a restrained visual interpretation rather than a traditional cowl (DC costume history).
6. Lee Meriwether — Batman (1966)
Meriwether’s Catwoman belongs to the broad, playful world of the 1966 theatrical film, where the character’s appeal comes from polished theatricality and the fun of a conspicuous opponent for Batman. She merits a place alongside the television actresses, but not as a TV-season recasting: she played Catwoman in the film opposite Adam West (CBS News). In a ranking that values extended character development, a single film appearance naturally gives her less room than the longer-running or more psychologically focused portrayals.
7. Camren Bicondova — Gotham
Bicondova plays a young Selina Kyle, not a fully formed Catwoman. The series can therefore show the resourcefulness, suspicion, and survival instincts that precede the familiar persona, but it is a different challenge from playing the adult thief and occasional hero. DC notes that this Selina had not yet become Catwoman and wore a hood rather than a cowl (DC costume history). Her ranking reflects that pre-Catwoman scope, not a claim that the younger character is irrelevant to the role’s story.
8. Halle Berry — Catwoman (2004)
Berry’s film is a major screen portrayal under the Catwoman name, but it departs sharply from the Selina Kyle versions: she plays Patience Phillips, a different character identity (Sideshow). That makes it a useful comparison of how far an adaptation can move from the familiar character, but a less direct interpretation of Selina’s complicated relationship with Batman—the film does not build its story around that relationship. Berry’s place at the bottom of this particular ranking reflects how little the portrayal connects to the traits and dynamics used as the comparison rubric, not a judgment about her effort as an actor.
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Why the 1960s portrayals are easy to mix up
There are three prominent Catwoman performers associated with the 1960s Batman screen era, but only two played her on television. Newmar was the series’ first Catwoman; Kitt took over for its final season. Meriwether played the part in the separate 1966 theatrical film. CBS also notes that Sean Young wore a Catwoman costume while campaigning for the Batman Returns role, but did not play Catwoman on screen; a costume appearance is not a performance to rank (CBS News).
What this ranking does—and does not—cover
This is an editorial ranking of eight prominent live-action portrayals through The Batman (2022), not an exhaustive count of every actor, voice performer, double, or incidental appearance across all media. It also compares unlike roles: Berry’s Patience Phillips is not conventional Selina Kyle, while Bicondova’s character is Selina before she becomes Catwoman. Those distinctions matter more than treating every credit as the same assignment.
There is no authoritative numerical ranking or survey established by the cited sources. The order above is a judgment about performance, character, Batman dynamic, visual identity, and development—not a claim of consensus. For a chronological overview of the costumes and screen versions, see DC’s Catwoman costume history.
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