15 Surprising Secrets About Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman Costume

Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman costume in Batman Returns is one of the most unforgettable looks in movie history. It’s sleek, dangerous, and utterly iconic. But behind the shiny latex and whip-cracking confidence lies a story filled with discomfort, ingenuity, and shocking design secrets. So here are 15 surprising secrets that reveal how far the filmmakers went to bring Gotham’s most seductive antihero to life.

1. Pfeiffer Couldn’t Breathe in the Catwoman Costume

Michelle Pfeiffer says the crew had to help her into the outfit after covering her entire body with baby powder. Then the latex was vacuum-sealed to her body, making breathing practically impossible. The full face mask didn’t help either.

“It would literally just start to squeeze my skin,” she said. “I was only allowed to wear it for so many hours. I thought to myself: ‘I can’t move, I can’t breathe, I can’t think. I’m unhappy. I can’t act.’”

Stay sealed in too long, and she reportedly risked getting lightheaded and passing out. She was miserable, but the role fulfilled a childhood dream.

2. She Dreamed of Becoming Catwoman

“As a young girl, I was completely obsessed with Catwoman,” Pfeiffer revealed in a 2017 interview. “When I heard that Tim Burton was making the film and Catwoman had already been cast, I was devastated. At the time, it was Annette Bening. Then she became pregnant. The rest is history.”

Pfeiffer was eight years old when the 1960s Batman show began. So she grew up watching Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt in the role. There’s no telling exactly which Catwoman inspired her, but it clearly had an impact.

She wasn’t the only one who wanted the part, though. Sean Young showed up unannounced at Burton’s office wearing a catsuit. Security escorted her out. Points for commitment.

3. They Didn’t Have to Redesign the Costume

The iconic 1992 Catwoman costume was a joint effort between Mary Vogt and Bob Ringwood, who worked on the first Batman film. Ringwood’s previous work includes the stunning stillsuits for David Lynch’s 1984 film Dune. Vogt went on to work on Men in Black and Hocus Pocus.

The two had already designed the Catwoman costume for Bening. So would they have to redesign a whole new costume for Pfeiffer?

Thankfully, Annette Bening and Michelle Pfeiffer are similar in height and build. They’re both 5’6 (1.7 m) and weighed about 120 lbs (54 kg) at the time. Pfeiffer has a 32B (70B EU) bra size, while Benning wears a size 36B (80B EU). So instead of starting from scratch, the designers made the necessary adjustments when she took over.

4. The Mask Choked Her

Pfeiffer’s Batman Returns memories include the Catwoman mask constantly “choking” her and “smashing” her face “flat like a pug.”

The cowl was also so tight that she often had trouble hearing her own voice. Tim Burton had to tell her to lower her voice. She kept shouting her dialogue instead of just saying it.

5. Pfeiffer Was Covered in Goo

Ringwood revealed that the Catwoman costume was made of latex rubber, not leather. “We knew we wanted it to be black and sexy and tight and shiny,” Mary Vogt said. “Latex is as black and sexy and tight as you can get.”

But latex alone didn’t have the wet shine the designers wanted. So they decided to brush her in thick liquid silicone for every shot.

“After she had the costume on, we painted the silicone on her with big sponge brushes,” Vogt said. “So she’s dripping all over the place. But silicone, because it’s so shiny, when it was lit, all you saw was the shine. And since she was moving around at night, it looked really fluid.”

So Pfeiffer was always wet and tacky, since the crew kept recoating her in the ooze that gave the suit its sheen. However, that’s not the only thing she was covered with.

6. She Was Covered in Tuna

There’s a scene in the movie when Selina gets pushed out of a window and falls into an alley. She’s swarmed by cats before she wakes up. How do you get cats to follow commands? Food, of course.

The filmmakers reportedly put tuna on a dummy version of Selina and on Pfeiffer’s clothes. The smell was so strong that it followed her home.

“There’s one scene in the film where cats are crawling all over me,” she later said. “And I had like a strong odour by the end of the day. So I took a shower at work — washed myself, my clothes — then went home and took another bath. When I got into bed, my cat Tracy (silly name, but it once had a companion called Spencer) went crazy, baring her fangs. I thought she’d attack me!”

7. She Couldn’t Use the Bathroom

Since fashion often requires discomfort, the suit’s designers didn’t include a way for her to use the bathroom. So every time she had to go “number one,” the shoot had to stop. Then a small army had to help her take the costume off and put it back on.

Eventually, Pfeiffer complained enough that they modified the suit with a hidden zipper. That way, she didn’t need to take a pit crew to the bathroom every time she had to pee. Michael Keaton asked for a zipper in his Batsuit too. Superheroes: they’re just like us.

8. She Couldn’t Walk in the Heels

Catwoman’s iconic knee-high black boots feature high stiletto heels, pointed toes, and exposed stitching. The film’s costume design even earned a Saturn Award nomination. But Pfeiffer said the boots were hard to walk in.

“My boots weren’t right,” she told Entertainment Tonight about her first week. “I couldn’t walk in them because I kept tilting forward.”

But she wasn’t the only one with a problem. For the scene of Catwoman doing backflips, her stunt double and former gymnast Tricia Peters wore boots with a collapsible heel.

9. Catwoman Was Similar to the Comics

The costume designers created a very unique costume. But, by a bizarre coincidence (or clear inspiration), it looks a lot like what Catwoman wore in the comics at the time. Both feature a skin-tight suit, gloves, high-heeled boots, and a cat-eared cowl.

In the Batman: Year One comic by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, Selina is a dominatrix. Bill Finger and Bob Kane created Catwoman back in 1940, and she picked up a whip along the way. But this comic was the first time the character was depicted as a BDSM figure.

10. There’s a Mask Easter Egg

When Selina is seated in Max Shreck’s (Christopher Walken) office, watch her glasses. The lamp casts a shadow through her eyeglass frames, creating an outline of a pointed “cat’s eye” mask.

That’s the mask Catwoman wore in the original DC comics. Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, and Eartha Kitt all wore it in the 1960s too.

11. She Did Her Own Stunts and Whip Work

The designers reportedly considered giving Catwoman a tail. Thankfully, they went with the whip instead. Pfeiffer trained for months with whip master Anthony De Longis and accidentally cut his face along the way. He kept training her anyway.

It paid off. Pfeiffer performed many of her own stunts, including impressive whip work and fight scenes. She even whipped the heads off those mannequins for real, in one take. Kickboxing coach Kathy Long trained her and doubled for her, while Peters handled the cartwheels.

The suits didn’t hold up as well as she did. Reports put the total between 60 and 70 catsuits, made by Los Angeles clothing company Syren. Each one reportedly cost around $1,000.

12. She Kept the Whip, Not the Suit

Is it any wonder the actress wanted nothing more to do with the Catwoman costume after shooting wrapped? She did keep a souvenir, though. “I still have my whips,” she said in 1992.

Years later, she shared a video of her impressive whip work, and she’s still got it. And yet, despite the discomfort, Michelle Pfeiffer would absolutely consider reprising her role if asked.

13. Catwoman Posters Were Stolen

Unfortunately, the marketing did its job too well. The movie posters were too sexy. In Los Angeles, about 300 posters went up at bus shelters. Within days, more than two-thirds had been stolen.

Warner Bros. had to keep sending replacements. Police reportedly staked out bus stops to catch the thieves.

14. The Suit Was No Match for a Freezing Set

Tim Burton kept the soundstage just above freezing to sell the Penguin’s icy lair. Great for penguins. Not so great for someone dressed only in skin-tight rubber.

“The suit was no protection at all,” Pfeiffer said. “It was like walking down the streets of New York in the middle of winter in a wet wetsuit.”

One scene had to be reshot again and again. Eventually, she realized the problem wasn’t her acting. It was her frozen face.

15. The Costume Falls Apart on Purpose

Finally, keep an eye on those stitches. The seams split wider after every fight. By the end, the Catwoman costume is barely holding together. Just like Selina.

The stitching has a strange origin too. Ringwood reportedly got the idea from a photo of a German sculpture of a patchwork woman. Burton said the stitches represent a fractured character.

Get the Catwoman Look

• Catwoman costume for adults – a stitched catsuit and cowl for Halloween.
• Batman Returns on 4K Ultra HD – see the silicone shine in full detail.
• Batman: Year One – the comic that redefined Selina Kyle.

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Catwoman Costume FAQ

What was Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman costume made of?
The suit was latex, not leather. The crew then coated it in liquid silicone to make it shine.

Who designed the Catwoman costume in Batman Returns?
Bob Ringwood and Mary Vogt designed the Catwoman costume for the 1992 film.

How many Catwoman suits were made for Batman Returns?
Reports range from 60 to 70 catsuits. Each one reportedly cost around $1,000.

Did Michelle Pfeiffer do her own whip stunts?
Yes. She trained for months and performed her own whip work. A stunt double handled the acrobatics.

Who was originally cast as Catwoman?
Annette Bening won the role first. She left after becoming pregnant, and Pfeiffer replaced her.