Actress Yvonne Craig dies at 78

Yvonne Craig, who played heroine Batgirl in the 1960S television series “Batman”, has died of cancer, it was announced today.

Craig was an LGBT ally and spoke to the Blade at length by phone in March after all three seasons of “Batman” were released on DVD after years of legal delay. She appeared in numerous other films, including two with Elvis Presley.

She started her profession as a ballet dancer, the youngest member of The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, with which she toured for 3 years.

Survivors include her husband, Kenneth, a sister and two nephews.

She had complications from breast cancer, her family said.

Craig’s family said on her website that the actress had made clear in her final months that she wanted no-one to mourn for her “but instead celebrate the awesome life she had been fortunate enough to live”.

“This didn’t dampen her sense of humor or her spirit, she intended to fight and win this battle”. She was known for jumping into the fray along with Batman and Robin, and for delivering a few clunks, pows and zaps of her own to villains.

“I hear from women that I was their role model”, she told CNN. “When I was a little girl, I realized that girls could kick butt just like guys”, she said her fans would say. In later life she swapped acting for a career in property, but continued to make regular appearances at comic and fantasy conventions in America.

The dark-haired beauty dazzled audiences when she hit the screens in 1967 in one of her most famous roles.

Her most recent work was from 2009 to 2011 in the TV series “Olivia” as Grandma. Yvonne spent quality time with those that she loved and was able to accomplish many goals and ambitions that she set for herself.

The family asked that, in lieu of flowers, mourners make donations by mail to The Angeles Clinic Foundation, 2001 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, 90404.