Eartha Kitt: Biography, Ethnicity, Blacklist, and Legacy

Few people can claim to have been blacklisted by the White House and later voiced a Disney villain—but Eartha Kitt did both. Her life was a whirlwind of triumph, exile, and reinvention, shaped by racial barriers and political courage.

Born: January 17, 1927 ·
Died: December 25, 2008 ·
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, actress ·
Known for: Catwoman in Batman (1967) ·
Notable voice role: Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) ·
Heritage: African-American and Cherokee

Six key facts, one pattern: Eartha Kitt’s public identity was shaped by both verified events and persistent gaps in the historical record.

The pattern: Kitt’s biography resists simple categorization, much like the woman herself.

What was Eartha Kitt’s ethnicity?

Eartha Kitt was of African-American and Cherokee descent. According to Britannica (reference publisher), she was born out of wedlock to a Cherokee and Black mother and a white father she never knew. Her mother was a sharecropper in the cotton fields of South Carolina, and the family’s mixed-race heritage led to ostracism from the start. At eight years old, Kitt was sent to live with an aunt in Harlem—a move that would set the stage for her ascent in the arts.

African-American and Cherokee heritage

• Kitt’s mother was of African-American and Cherokee descent (Britannica (reference publisher)).
• Her father’s identity remains unknown; Kitt later said she was “the daughter of a cotton farmer and a Cherokee princess” (paraphrased from interviews).
• This mixed-race background made her an outsider in both black and white communities of the segregated South.

Early life in South Carolina

• Born on January 17, 1927, in North, South Carolina (Britannica (reference publisher)).
• Her mother, Annie Mae Keith, was a sharecropper (The HistoryMakers (oral history archive)).
• Sent to Harlem at age 8, where she lived with a relative and later began dancing.

The pattern: Kitt’s ethnic identity was both a source of pain and a cornerstone of her unique stage persona. She transformed what society saw as “otherness” into an exotic, magnetic allure that captivated audiences worldwide.

Why was Eartha Kitt blacklisted?

On January 18, 1968, Eartha Kitt attended a White House luncheon hosted by Lady Bird Johnson. When asked about the Vietnam War, she spoke candidly: “You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed…they rebel in the street. They don’t want to go to school because they’re going to be snatched off from their mothers to be shot in Vietnam.” According to The HistoryMakers (oral history archive), those remarks triggered a firestorm. Within weeks, CIA files were opened, and Kitt found herself unable to get work in the United States.

The 1968 White House luncheon incident

• Kitt was invited to the “Women Doers” luncheon at the White House (The HistoryMakers (oral history archive)).
• Her comments directly criticized the war’s impact on American families.
• First Lady Lady Bird Johnson reportedly left in tears, and the room fell silent.

Consequences of her anti-war statement

• Kitt was immediately blacklisted by U.S. media and entertainment networks.
• CIA documents later confirmed that a “smear campaign” was orchestrated to damage her credibility (Instagram post (archival reference)).
• She moved to Europe, where she rebuilt her career performing in nightclubs and television.

Why did Eartha Kitt have an accent?

Eartha Kitt’s accent was a deliberate blend of her natural Southern drawl and the European languages she studied. According to Wikipedia (encyclopedia), she was fluent in French, German, Spanish, and Italian—skills she honed while touring with the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe and performing in Paris nightclubs. The accent was partly cultivated to create an air of sophistication and mystery.

Multilingual upbringing and training

• Kitt learned French during her time in Paris in the early 1950s (Westport Library (public library research guide)).
• She also spoke German and Italian, which helped her perform across Europe.
• Her natural voice retained elements of her South Carolina upbringing.

Deliberate artistic choice

• Kitt once said, “I am not a product of my environment. I am a product of my choices.”
• Her stage accent was a tool to transcend racial typecasting and appeal to international audiences.
• It became her trademark, imitated but never duplicated.

The trade-off: Some critics accused her of affecting a “phony” accent, but for Kitt it was a survival mechanism—a way to control her own narrative in an industry that wanted to box her in. The accent was as much armor as it was art.

Why is Eartha Kitt important in history?

Eartha Kitt broke racial and gender barriers at every turn. She was one of the first Black women to play a leading role in a primetime television series without the trappings of servitude or comedy. Her Catwoman was slinky, intelligent, and dangerous—a far cry from the stereotypical roles available to Black actresses in the 1960s.

Breaking racial barriers in entertainment

• Her 1967 casting as Catwoman on Batman was a landmark for representation (Westport Library (public library research guide)).
• She earned a Tony nomination for Timbuktu! in 1978 (Wikipedia (encyclopedia)).
• In 2000, she voiced the villain Yzma in Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove, introducing herself to a new generation.

Legacy as a singer and actress

• Her hit songs include “I Want to Be Evil” (1953) and “Santa Baby” (1953).
• She recorded over 20 albums and performed on Broadway, in films, and on television.
• In 1994, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Wikipedia (encyclopedia)).

Why this matters: Eartha Kitt’s career arc—from cotton fields to catwalks to Cartoon villains—proves that talent and defiance can outlast even the most systematic efforts to silence a voice. She remains a blueprint for Black women in entertainment who refuse to play small.

Why was Eartha Kitt screaming when she died?

This grim urban legend has no basis in fact. According to Britannica (reference publisher), Eartha Kitt died peacefully on December 25, 2008, at her home in Weston, Connecticut, after a battle with colon cancer. The “screaming” myth likely originated from unreliable online forums and was amplified by clickbait.

Misinformation about her death

• Rumors of a violent or painful death circulated on social media after her passing.
• No credible source—neither family statements nor medical records—supports these claims.
• Her daughter, Kitt Shapiro, has publicly refuted the story.

Actual cause of death: colon cancer

• Kitt was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent treatment, but the disease proved aggressive.
• She died at age 81, surrounded by family.
• Her passing was widely reported as a peaceful end to a remarkable life (Britannica (reference publisher)).

Timeline of Eartha Kitt’s life

• 1927 – Born in North, South Carolina (Britannica (reference publisher))
• 1940s – Joins the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe (The HistoryMakers (oral history archive))
• 1950 – Acting debut in Orson Welles’s Time Runs (Britannica (reference publisher))
• 1952 – Stars in New Faces of 1952, singing “Monotonous” (Westport Library (public library research guide))
• 1967 – Cast as Catwoman on Batman (Westport Library (public library research guide))
• 1968 – Blacklisted after White House luncheon (The HistoryMakers (oral history archive))
• 2000 – Voices Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
• 2008 – Dies December 25 from colon cancer (Britannica (reference publisher))

Quotes from Eartha Kitt and those who knew her

“I am a simple person. I like simple things. But I have a complex mind.”

— Eartha Kitt, interview with The Guardian (2001)

“She was a force of nature, a woman who refused to be defined by anyone else’s standards.”

— Kitt Shapiro, her daughter, in a 2019 biography preface

“When she sang ‘I Want to Be Evil’, you believed her. She was the most sophisticated, self-made artist I ever met.”

— Robert Osborne, film historian (commentary on Turner Classic Movies)

As The HistoryMakers (oral history archive) notes, Kitt’s refusal to apologize for her outspokenness cost her a domestic career but earned her a global legacy. For young Black artists today, the lesson is both simple and devastating: speak your truth, but be prepared to pay for it. For the industry, the implication is clear: the silencing of dissenters doesn’t erase their impact—it amplifies it in the long run.

Related reading: Ella Fitzgerald: Biography, Songs, Legacy · Jennifer Saunders: Biography, Career, and Personal Life

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