Honestly, if you ask most people about Julie Newmar, they immediately picture the ears. The gold belt. That purr. It’s hard to escape the shadow of the 1966 Batman series because she didn't just play Catwoman; she basically invented the DNA of the character. But if you think her career starts and ends with a whip in Gotham, you’re missing out on one of the most bizarre and brilliant trajectories in Hollywood history.
She was a Tony winner long before she was a villain. She was a literal robot. She was an Apache warrior. She even has patents for pantyhose. Seriously.
The Dance Roots Nobody Talks About
Julie Newmar wasn't just a "pretty face" cast for her height—though at nearly six feet tall, she was definitely hard to miss. She started as a prima ballerina. By age 15, she was dancing with the Los Angeles Opera. That’s not a hobby; that’s elite-level discipline.
This training is exactly why she moved the way she did. In her early movies, you can see her popping up as an uncredited dancer in classics like The Band Wagon (1953) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She was even the "Gilded Girl" in Serpent of the Nile, covered head-to-toe in gold paint. It was 1953. People lost their minds.
Then came the first "real" credit: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). She played Dorcas, one of the brides. If you watch the barn-raising dance sequence—which is arguably one of the best dance numbers in cinematic history—you see her athleticism. She wasn't just hitting marks; she was out-dancing half the cast.
The Broadway Peak and the Golden Globe Nod
Most people don't realize she was a heavy hitter on Broadway. In 1958, she starred in The Marriage-Go-Round as Katrin Sveg, a Swedish siren who wanted to have a baby with a married professor played by Charles Boyer.
It sounds like a typical 50s sex comedy, but Newmar’s timing was impeccable. She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress. When they turned it into a movie in 1961, she reprised the role and nabbed a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer.
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She was on the fast track to being a massive leading lady. But she was "too tall." That’s what the studios said. They didn't know where to put her. So, she went to television.
Julie Newmar Movies and TV Shows: The Cult Classics
Before the catsuit, there was My Living Doll (1964). It’s a weird premise: she plays Rhoda the Robot, an android being "trained" by a psychiatrist. It only lasted one season, but it showcased her ability to do physical comedy with a straight face.
Then, 1966 happened.
The Catwoman Era
When she got the call for Batman, she almost turned it down. Her brother had to convince her. She famously tweaked the costume, moving the gold belt from the waist to the hips to highlight her curves. It was a genius move.
She only appeared in 13 episodes. Can you believe that? Just thirteen. Yet, she is the definitive Catwoman for an entire generation. She brought a weird, flirtatious chemistry with Adam West that the show never quite replicated with Eartha Kitt or Lee Meriwether (though they were both great in their own right).
The Sci-Fi Pivot
If you’re a Trekkie, you know her as Eleen in the Star Trek episode "Friday's Child" (1967). She’s the pregnant high priestess who ends up slapping McCoy. It’s a wild performance.
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She also showed up in The Twilight Zone as Miss Devlin—the devil—in "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville." Watching her play a female Satan with horns in a 1963 corporate office setting is peak television.
The Later Years and "To Wong Foo"
By the 70s and 80s, she was doing the guest star circuit. Columbo, The Bionic Woman, The Love Boat, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. She was always the "special guest," the statuesque icon everyone recognized.
Then came 1995. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.
She didn't just have a cameo; she was the literal symbol of the movie. Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo play drag queens who find a signed photo of her and treat it like a holy relic. It introduced her to a whole new audience and cemented her as a queer icon. She showed up at the end of the film as herself, looking just as glamorous as she did in 1966.
Beyond the Screen: A Business Mogul
Newmar didn't just wait for the phone to ring. She became a real estate mogul in Los Angeles, buying up property around La Brea and Fairfax. She’s also an inventor. She literally holds U.S. patents for "pantyhose with shaping band for cheek-to-cheek separation."
Basically, she invented "scrunch butt" leggings decades before Instagram existed.
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Why She’s Still the G.O.A.T.
Even now, at 92, she still makes occasional appearances. She recently showed up at The Hollywood Show in Burbank in early 2026, and the line to see her was out the door. People don't just love her because of a costume. They love her because she was a polymath who never let Hollywood's "too tall" labels stop her.
If you want to dive into her filmography, don't just stick to the Batman clips on YouTube.
- Check out The Marriage-Go-Round to see why she won a Tony.
- Watch the "Friday's Child" episode of Star Trek for her range.
- Rewatch Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and focus only on her during the dance scenes.
She was a dancer, an actress, a businesswoman, and a survivor of the Hollywood machine. Julie Newmar wasn't just playing a character; she was creating a legacy that hasn't faded a bit.
To get the most out of her work today, look for the remastered Blu-rays of the 1966 Batman series—the colors and her costume design pop in a way that low-res streaming just can't capture. If you're into theater history, hunting down the original cast recording of Li'l Abner gives you a sense of the "Stupefyin' Jones" energy that made her a Broadway legend before the world ever heard her purr.
Actionable Insight: To truly appreciate Newmar's impact on modern performance, compare her "feline" movements in Batman (Season 1, Episode 19) to any modern Catwoman portrayal. You'll see the exact moment the character shifted from a comic book thief to a cinematic icon.