Eartha Kitt has died.  She was an actress, singer and cabaret star, best known for her role as Catwoman in the 1960’s TV series Batman, and for her 1953 song Santa Baby.  Orson Welles once called her the “most exciting woman in the world.”

The famed singer, 81, lost a two year battle with colon cancer on December 25, 2008.   Her publicist Andrew Freedman reported that she had been treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York.    He indicated she had been doing well after treatment and had resumed performing until two months ago and had bookings planned into 2009.

Eartha wrote three autobiographies: Thursday’s Child in 1956, Alone with Me in 1976 and I’m Still Her: Confessions of a Sex Kitten in 1989.

Kitt had been living in Weston, Connecticut and is survived by a daughter Kitt Shapiro and two grandchildren Jason and Rachel.

Check out photos and Santa Baby on video below.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzd6oCP3FKk[/youtube]

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Filed under: Celebrities