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Eartha Kitt

Birth Name:
Eartha Mae Keith
Birth Place:
North, South Carolina, United States
Profession
Soundtrack, Actress
Eartha Kitt

Fast Facts

  • Earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 located at 6656 Hollywood Boulevard
  • Earned numerous Annie Awards for her voiceover work as the character Yzma on "The Emperor's New Groove" and "The Emperor's New School"
  • Established the Kittsville Youth Foundation in 1966, a non-profit aimed at educating underprivileged Los Angeles-area children
  • Born on a cotton plantation in South Carolina, her mother was of Cherokee and African-American descent, while her father was German
  • Passed away at age 81 on Christmas Day 2008 after a short battle with colon cancer
  • Quote: "I don't carry myself as a black person but as a woman that belongs to everybody․ After all, it's the general public that made -- not any one particular group․ So I don't think of myself as belonging to any particular group and never have․"
  • Quote: "I have a great need for affection from an audience․"
  • Suffered a minor career setback after voicing her anti-war concerns while visiting the White House in 1968 as a guest of Lady Bird Johnson, a scandal that would ultimately drive her to permanently move to Europe immediately after the fact
  • After more than a decade in Europe, she would return to the United States to perform on Broadway in the 1978 production of Timbuktu!
  • Began her professional singing career at 16-years-old as a member of the Katherine Dunham Company in 1943, a New York City-based group that she would remain with for five years
  • Focused solely on television, film and voiceover roles by the 1990s and 2000s, a career move that would eventually earn her numerous Annie and Emmy nominations
  • Given her first starring stage role by director Orson Welles in his production of Dr․ Faustus in 1950
  • A frequent performer overseas, she became fluent in French after many trips abroad during the height of her career

Awards

  • 1966Primetime Emmy - Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama:Nominated
  • 1996Image Award - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series:Nominated
  • 2001Annie - Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Feature Production:Winner
  • 2001Black Reel - Theatrical - Best Supporting Actress:Nominated
  • 2006DVDX Award - Best Animated Character Performance (Voice and Animation in a DVD Premiere Movie):Nominated
  • 2007Annie - Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production:Winner
  • 2007Daytime Emmy - Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program:Winner
  • 2008Annie - Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production:Winner
  • 2008Daytime Emmy - Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program:Winner
  • 2010Daytime Emmy - Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program:Winner
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