Gotham City has spawned a lot of supervillains, but only a few have been as intriguing as the Catwoman. The feline fatale is always portrayed as a person of ambiguous morality, an anti-hero or a heroic villain.

She has long been romantically involved with the Batman, frequently bringing in colour to his dark life. The Batman is reminded of his humanity and tries hard to reform her, to lead her out of a life of crime. It is her bad side that appeals to us though, so we continue to read stories about her, secretly hoping that Batman does not succeed.

The portrayals of the character on the big screen have been far from purrrfect. With the release of The Dark Knight Rises featuring Anne Hathaway as the Catwoman drawing closer, we look at the women who previously played the part.

Text : Shivankar Jay