Kitt Shapiro

A luminous and inspiring portrait of a Black pioneer and artistic force—Eartha Kitt—and one of the most moving mother/daughter stories in Hollywood history. In this unique combination of African-American, music, and cultural history, we come to know one of the greatest stars the world has ever seen—Eartha Kitt—as revealed by the person who knew her best, her daughter. Eartha, who was a mix of Black, Cherokee, and white, identified as Black, but Kitt, her biological daughter by a white man, is blonde and pale. This is the story of a little white girl raised by her natural mother, who was the biggest Black celebrity in the world. For three decades until Kitt finally married, they traveled the world together, mother and daughter. Eartha came from a hard background (she was born on a cotton plantation) and did not have her own familial ties to lean on—she and Kitt were each others whole world. Eartha’s legacy is still felt today. Not only do we still listen to “Santa Baby” every Christmas, she starred as Helen of Troy opposite Orson Welles in "Dr. Faustus" and stole the show in The Emperor's New Groove. Lupita Nyong'o was recently asked to name the two people she admired most. Her choices were Eartha Kitt and Katherine Hepburn. In these pages, Eartha Kitt comes to life so vividly you will feel as if you'd met her. FIlled with love and poignant laughter, Eartha & Kit captures the passion and energy of two remarkable women.

A Daughter's Love Story in Black and White

Eartha & Kitt

Jas 🐸

“The only thing I can sell and still own is my talent.”

"I don't carry myself as a black person but as a woman that belongs to everybody" she told The Washington Post in 2005. "After all, it's the general public that made me-not any one particular group. So I don't think of myself as belonging to any particular group and never have.”

"You can't be held down. You can't be held back. You are anything and every-thing you want to be.”

And maybe she never ate too much, in part, so that there was always something left over.

Eartha & Kitt quotes

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