A Love Letter To Eartha Kitt - Arts & Culture
I wouldn’t bother to describe me. I’m Eartha Kitt.

Once upon a time, everyone was in-love with a stunning, eccentric, sensuous woman named Eartha Kitt. The singer slash dancer entranced millions all over the world with her seductive, mysterious aura, that of which meshed perfectly well with her very eccentric nature.


Yesterday, the fabulous Eartha Kitt would have lived 91 extraordinary years here on Earth, loved and adored by all…even if she, herself, had only known her true birthdate at the ripe age of 71. We’ll save this tragic tale for another time, however. Today, we celebrate all the ups in Eartha’s life, as well as the triumphs that have made her who she is to us now.

"A man has always wanted to lay me down but he never wanted to pick me up."
“A man has always wanted to lay me down but he never wanted to pick me up.”

Once deemed by Orson Welles as “the most exciting woman in the world”, the eccentric Eartha started her extraordinary life from the most unpleasant of roots. Dirt-poor and abandoned by her mother, she lived with an aunt during the formative years of her life. Eartha eventually made a name for herself as a famous nightclub singer in Paris, where the latter mentioned Orson Welles had discovered her. He then proceeded to cast her as Helen of Troy in his production of Dr. Faustus.

Eartha Kitt and Orson Welles rehearsing for Dr. Faustus.
Eartha Kitt and Orson Welles rehearsing for Dr. Faustus.

This significant turn of events catapulted Eartha into stardom, landing her big roles on Broadway that eventually eased her into a singing career. As years progressed, the world was gifted classics such as “Santa Baby”, “C’est Si Bon”, and “Je Cherche Un Homme” made specially by Eartha, with love. She also landed a role as the vixen “Catwoman” back in the 1960s, which now stands as one of her most iconic roles to-date.

Eartha Kitt on set as 'Catwoman'.
Eartha Kitt on-set as ‘Catwoman’.

Eventually, the light of Eartha’s life came in the form of her baby girl, Kitt McDonald (now Kitt McDonald Shapiro).

Eartha and Will with their daughter, Kitt.
Eartha and Will with their daughter, Kitt.
Eartha & her daughter, Kitt.
Eartha & her daughter, Kitt.

While most expected Eartha to settle down after having a child with her then-husband, William McDonald, they were all proven wrong.

The mother-daughter tandem is one of pure, unconditional love.
The mother-daughter tandem is one of pure, unconditional love.

Eartha’s lust for a life of love never faded. All the way up to her 70s, she continued to entertain millions with various award-winning performances, making room for a little bit of light in her brutally heartbreaking life off-screen. She took a final bow on Christmas Day of 2008, when she peacefully passed due to colon cancer.

A young, vibrant Eartha.
A young, vibrant Eartha.

Eartha Kitt, the magnificent woman that she was, taught the world how to truly fall in-love amidst all circumstances.

Having battled tough social constructs throughout the entirety of her life, she remained positive, enigmatic, and truly Eartha-esque in fashion. She exuded a unique type of fire for life that no other person in the industry seemed to match at the time, so much so that Charles Revson, the billionaire founder of Revlon cosmetics, even created a lipstick shade as an homage to her, called ‘Fire and Ice’. He was smitten, and so was the rest of the world.


I am the original ‘Material Girl.’

Eartha, life may have not been so kind to you, but because you became kind to life, you are a woman deserving of all the love the cosmos has to offer.

Happy birthday!

by Samantha Masigan

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