Yvonne Joyce Craig

Yvonne Joyce Craig (May 16 1937 - August 17 the 17th of August, 2015) was an American actress and ballet dancer popular for her character in the role of 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 in female superheroes" on television. Yvonne Craig was raised in Columbus and was born in Taylorville in Illinois. In 1951 , her family relocated from Illinois to Dallas. In Dallas, she attended W. H. Adamson High School in Dallas and Sunset High School. However, she did not finish her education because she had only "one PE credit". After being spotted by Alexandra Danilova, a ballerina as well as an instructor, Craig joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as the youngest corps de ballet member. This training was helpful when she was performing stunts performing as Batgirl. She left the ballet troupe in the year 1957 "over an argument over casting decisions" and moved to Los Angeles in the hopes of continuing her dancing career, but found herself playing films. She first appeared in an TV episode of Perry Mason ("The Case of the Lazy Lover") along with Neil Hamilton. Hamilton later was appointed the Batgirl's police commissioner James Gordon. After that, she appeared in three films--The Young Land, The Gene Krupa Story, and Gidget (all 1959)--and was also a guest in the TV series Mr. Lucky as Beverly Mills in the episode "Little Miss Wow" (also 1959). Craig was seen in the films Bing Crosby and Seven Women from Hell (1960), where she was in a duet with Cesar Romero. In 1962, she guest-starred 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). She also starred as an Russian ballet performer opposite James Coburn in Mars Needs Women (1966).