Iconic actress Eartha Kitt passed away this past Christmas Day at the age of 81. In her lifetime, she was a singer, a movie star, a famed TV villain and one of the sexiest women ever to grace the screen.

The former Catwoman suffered from colon cancer, but even in her advanced age she remained active in many film and TV projects.

Kitt’s career began on the stage in the 1940s, where she made an impression with her acting talent and strong vocals. She went on to recording and TV fame in the 1950s. She began appearing movies as early as 1948, but didn’t become a household name until she landed the role of Catwoman in TV’s Batman. Kitt played the beautiful villain in 1968, and was called the “most exciting woman in the world” by actor/director Orson Welles.

She appeared on the stage, where she got her start, as recently as 2005 in The Junfan Project. Kitt regularly voiced the character of Yzma for Disney’s The Emperor’s New School, and appeared in the 2007 movie And Then Came Love. The Tony-nominated singer is perhaps best known in the music industry for recording the Christmas hit “Santa Baby.”