Yvonne Craig, television's first and original Batgirl has died aged 78, confirmed by her family in a poignant tribute who said she had passed away on Monday, August 17 in California.
"Yvonne was a very private person, so from the onset of her battle with cancer, she decided to share with immediate family and very close friends.
"She wanted to spend all of her energy concentrating on winning her battle. She was adamant about this and wanted to tell her story when she was cured and feeling better. We all respected that wish.
"Having spent time with her over these past months, she made her wishes known... Wish Number One is that her family, friends and fans would know how much she loved them and always treasured her time with them.
"Wish Number Two was that no-one waste a moment of their time in mourning for her loss in sadness, but instead celebrate the awesome life she had been fortunate enough to live. She felt that she lived a wonderful life and was blessed in many ways."
Battling breast cancer for over two years, Craig is known as a major key player in some of the biggest television series of the 1960s.
Making her debut as Barbara Gordon in 1967 during the third season of ABC's Batman, she starred alongside Adam West and Burt Ward, originally cast to attract a broader audience including more women to the serial.
The 1970s saw her reprise the iconic role during a public service announcement, calling for equality in pay for women.
Craig also shared the screen with Elvis Presley in two movies - It Happened at the World's Fair and Kissin' Cousins - before making an appearance as a green-skinned Orion slave named Marta in an episode of Star Trek.
More recent years saw Craig become an estate agent working with both commercial and residential property, and she also published an autobiography in 2000 named From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond.
She is survived by husband Kenneth Aldrich, sister Meridel Carson and nephews Christopher and Todd Carson.