--- title: Yvonne Craig, First On-Screen Batgirl, Dies at 78 description: She also briefly dated Elvis Presley canonical: https://time.com/4002769/yvonne-craig-batgirl-dies-78/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-19T07:35:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:59.971Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Yvonne Craig, the First-Ever On-Screen Batgirl, Dies Aged 78 og:description: The native of Taylorville, Ill., also briefly dated Elvis Presley. og:url: https://time.com/4002769/yvonne-craig-batgirl-dies-78/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19c894a90aad5d19/69885feb0b72e3f8906e5711/gettyimages-103656631.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: YVONNE CRAIG og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Yvonne Craig, the First-Ever On-Screen Batgirl, Dies Aged 78 twitter:description: The native of Taylorville, Ill., also briefly dated Elvis Presley. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19c894a90aad5d19/69885feb0b72e3f8906e5711/gettyimages-103656631.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Yvonne Craig, the First-Ever On-Screen Batgirl, Dies Aged 78 by [Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Aug 19, 2015 7:35 AM UTC  Batgirl Yvonne Craig in 1966–1967 Batgirl Yvonne Craig in 1966–1967ABC Photo Archives—ABC/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Aug 19, 2015 7:35 AM UTC Actress Yvonne Craig, known for playing superheroine Batgirl in the 1960s television series _Batman_, [died](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/yvonne-craig-dead-batgirl-1960s-816226) Monday night at age 78. Craig’s nephew Christopher Carson announced that she had died at her California home after suffering from breast cancer that had spread to her liver, according to the _Hollywood Reporter._ Craig joined for _Batman_’s third and final season in 1967–68, and performed all her own stunts on the show. She had previously starred opposite rock sensation Elvis Presley in two films — _It Happened at the World’s Fair_ and _Kissin’ Cousins —_ and also briefly dated him. The native of Taylorville, Ill., went on to guest-star in an episode of _Star Trek_ as well as other hit TV shows, including _The Six Million Dollar Man_ and _The Man From U.N.C.L.E._ Craig is survived by her husband Kenneth, her sister and two nephews. \[[_THR_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/yvonne-craig-dead-batgirl-1960s-816226)\] ### Meet All the Actors Who Have Played Batman and Robin  Lewis Wilson was the first actor to play Batman on screen, with Douglas Croft joining him as the first Robin in the 1943 film Batman. Columbia Pictures—Getty Images  Robert Lowery was the second to don the guise of Batman, playing the caped crusader in the 15 chapter serial, Batman and Robin in 1949. Everett  Johnny Duncan played Robin to Lowery's Batman in the 1949 Batman and Robin serial. Columbia  Adam West played the role of masked crime fighter for three seasons on the 1960s television series Batman. Mondadori—Getty Images  Burt Ward joined Adam West as his Robin for the Batman television series. Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images  Michael Keaton played Batman in the 1992 film Batman Returns. Warner Bros.  Following Keaton three years later, Val Kilmer portrayed the billionaire playboy in 1995's Batman Forever. Warner Bros.  Chris O'Donnell played Robin for two different Batmen. He was Val Kilmer's Robin in 1995 (pictured above) and then joined George Clooney in 1997 for the widely panned Batman & Robin. Warner Bros.  Hard to remember, but George Clooney once took a turn as Batman, back in the 1997--before the Oscars knew his name so well. Warner Bros.  Christian Bale donned the mask for Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Ron Phillips—Warner Bros  Ben Affleck is the latest to join the ranks of actors who have portrayed the caped crusader, in the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie. DCComics.com  Will Arnett voices Bruce Wayne/Batman in The Lego Batman Movie, a 3D-animated take on the DC superhero and a spin-off of 2014's The Lego Movie. Warner Bros. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4002769/yvonne-craig-batgirl-dies-78/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4002769/yvonne-craig-batgirl-dies-78/"},"headline":"Yvonne Craig, the First-Ever On-Screen Batgirl, Dies Aged 78","datePublished":"2015-08-19T07:35:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:59.971Z","description":"She also briefly dated Elvis Presley","url":"https://time.com/4002769/yvonne-craig-batgirl-dies-78/","keywords":["remembrance","celebrities","Star Trek","Batman","died","1960s"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19c894a90aad5d19/69885feb0b72e3f8906e5711/gettyimages-103656631.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19c894a90aad5d19/69885feb0b72e3f8906e5711/gettyimages-103656631.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"YVONNE CRAIG","caption":"YVONNE CRAIG","creditText":"ABC Photo Archives—ABC/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/remembrance/","name":"remembrance"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4002769/yvonne-craig-batgirl-dies-78/","name":"Yvonne Craig, the First-Ever On-Screen Batgirl, Dies Aged 78"}}]}] ```