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Yvonne Craig, TV’s Batgirl, Dies at 78

Batgirl, Yvonne Craig, has died aged 78
Batgirl, Yvonne Craig, has died aged 78

Yvonne Craig, the actress who played the role of TV’s sexy Batgirl in the iconic 1960s show, has died at the age of 78.

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The actress’ family made the announcement on her website, revealing the TV favorite had lost her two-year battle against metastasized breast cancer which had spread to her liver.

“She had been in chemo almost continuously for the past two plus years since being diagnosed and that had weakened her immune system as well as her body,” the announcement read. “This didn’t dampen her sense of humor or her spirit, she intended to fight and win this battle. In the end, her mind still wanted to fight but her body had given up.

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Craig’s popular Batgirl character (librarian Barbara Gordon in her non-superhero life) hit the screens in 1967, joining the TV series Batman for its third season.

The actress, who did all her own stunts and motorcycle riding in the show, previously said her character was brought in to “encourage an over-40 male audience and a prepubescent female audience. That’s the real reason why they hired me!”

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Before becoming Batgirl, Craig starred opposite Elvis Presley in the films It Happened at the World’s Fair (1963) and Kissin’ Cousins (1964), and dated the late singer for a while.

Yvonne Craig
Yvonne Craig lost her battle against breast cancer

She also appeared on many other TV shows including The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Six Million Dollar Man, and Kojak, in addition to her well known role as Marta, the green Orion slave girl, who wanted to kill Captain Kirk in Star Trek.

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Craig is survived by her sister Meridel, her husband Kenneth and two nephews. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The Angeles Clinic Foundation.

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