Julie Newmar

Julie Newmar (born Julia Chalene Newmeyer; August 16, 1933) is an American actress, dancer, and singer known for a variety of stage, screen, and television roles. She is also a writer, lingerie designer, and real estate mogul.

She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as Katrin Sveg in the 1958 Broadway production of The Marriage-Go-Round, and reprised the role in the 1961 film version, earning Newmar a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Actress. In the 1960s, she starred for two seasons as Catwoman in the television series Batman (1966–1967). Her other stage credits include Ziegfeld Follies in 1956, Lola in Damn Yankees! in 1961, and in 1965, as Irma in regional productions of Irma la Douce.

Newmar appeared in the music video for George Michael's 1992 single "Too Funky" and had a cameo as herself in the 1995 film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Her voice work includes the animated feature films Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016) and Batman vs. Two-Face (2017), for which she reprised her role as Catwoman, 50 years after the original television series.

Early life

Newmar was born in Los Angeles, California, on August 16, 1933, as the eldest of three children born to Don and Helene (née Jesmer) Newmeyer. Her father was head of the physical education department at Los Angeles City College, and had played American football professionally in the 1920s with the 1926 Los Angeles Buccaneers of the National Football League. Her Swedish-French mother was a fashion designer, who used "Chalene" as her professional name, and later became a real estate investor.

Newmar has two younger brothers: Peter Bruce Newmeyer, who was killed in a skiing accident, and John A. Newmeyer, who became a writer, epidemiologist, and winemaker.] She began dancing at an early age, and performed as a prima ballerina with the Los Angeles Opera when she was 15.

Personal life

After a broken engagement to novelist Louis L'Amour and romances with comedian Mort Sahl and actor Ken Scott, Newmar married J. Holt Smith, a lawyer, on August 5, 1977, and moved with him to Fort Worth, Texas, where she lived until their divorce in 1984. 
They had a son in 1981.

Newmar has Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease, an inherited neurological condition that affects one in 2,500 Americans.

A legal battle with her neighbor, actor Jim Belushi, ended amicably with an invitation to guest-star in his sitcom According to Jim in an episode ("The Grumpy Guy") that poked fun at the feud.

An avid gardener, Newmar initiated at least a temporary ban on leaf blowers with the Los Angeles City Council. She supported the presidential campaigns of Eugene McCarthy in 1968 and Ron Paul in 2012.

Newmar, whose brother is gay, has been a vocal supporter of LGBT rights. In 2013, she was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing organization in Los Angeles.

Newmar is a classically trained pianist