Selina Kyle was born on the parallel world known as Earth-Two in the year 1920. By the time Selina was eighteen-years-old, she found herself trapped in an abusive marriage to a man who valued personal wealth and status over family. She eventually left her husband, and turned her aggression towards crime. In 1938 she donned a disguise and become a professional jewel thief known as the Cat.

In one of her earliest adventures, the Cat made a play to steal a valuable diamond necklace from a rich heiress named Martha Travers. Several criminal gangs likewise sought the necklace, and the theft earned them the attention of Batman and Robin. Robin was the first to learn about the mysterious Cat and revealed his findings to Batman. Batman encountered the disguised thief, whereupon she attempted to convince him to give up his heroic lifestyle and join her crew. Batman was unwilling to entertain such a notion, but found himself attracted to the seductive thief nonetheless. Even though he captured her, he "allowed" her to escape his clutches.

A short time later, Batman encountered the Cat a second time; however, she had now adopted a feline costume, calling herself the Cat-Woman. Batman discovered her in the midst of a jewel robbery, but she distracted him by giving him key evidence regarding the whereabouts of a much deadlier adversary – the Joker. Although the Dynamic Duo gave pursuit, Catwoman managed to escape by diving into Gotham River.

Later, an organization known as the Diamond Syndicate hired the Catwoman to steal a large quantity of diamonds. The theft was actually a front, enabling the Diamond Syndicate to collect on the insurance money. Batman and a Gotham City police detective named McGonigle investigated the case, but once again, the Catwoman managed to elude capture.

Catwoman soon resurfaced, this time assuming the guise of wealthy socialite Margerite Tone. As Tone, Catwoman and her gang prompted a faux scavenger hunt, which turned out to be yet another scheme to steal precious valuables. Batman investigated the case, and captured the Catwoman, whereupon she kissed him. Once again, Batman found himself in an awkward position and allowed Catwoman to escape from captivity.

Not long after this event, Catwoman met playboy millionaire Bruce Wayne. Unaware of Wayne's dual identity as the Batman, she ironically began to fall in love with him. Wayne was determined to bring Catwoman to justice, but unlike his other foes, Bruce believed that he could reform Catwoman. Disliking the idea of rehabilitation, Selina continued to conduct a crime spree, though ultimately Batman captured her – this time sending her to prison.

Selina soon escaped confinement and embarked upon one of her most courageous schemes to date. Selecting Bruce Wayne as her next target, Selina adopted the identity of a socialite's maidservant, Belinda. She lured Wayne's butler, Alfred Beagle, into a trap – a trap that culminated in bringing Batman and Robin to her lair. She managed to capture the Dynamic Duo, and used their captivity as an opportunity to raid Wayne Manor. Batman and Robin managed to escape however, and using Alfred as a decoy, succeeded in apprehending the Catwoman.

Never one to stay in prison for very long, Selina soon escaped and reformed her criminal gang. More villainous than ever, she accentuated the feline nature of her crimes, often using household cats to aid her in her criminal endeavors. She actually held more confidence in her cats than she did in her various henchmen. Not only did she pursue items of great monetary value, but she also expressed an obsessive desire for any object based upon the theme of a cat.

After nearly a decade of daring adventures, Batman eventually put a stop to the Catwoman's crime-spree. In 1950, a brick struck Selina Kyle in the head re-awakening years of suppressed memories. Selina claimed to have suffered from partial amnesia for the past ten years, and attributed her criminal lifestyle as a side effect of the amnesia. With her "true memory" restored, Selina Kyle renounced her life as a criminal and revealed her secret identity to Batman. Batman learned years later, that Selina lied about her amnesia. She believed that the fabrication was the only way that Batman could truly love her.

Working on the side of law and order, she assisted Batman and Robin in capturing a criminal known as Mister X. She later used the guise of Catwoman to apprehend a gangster named "Whale" Morton – a man who unsuccessfully attempted to lure Selina back into a life of crime. Shortly after this brief heroic stint, Selina hung up the cape and cowl for good, turning her costume and arsenal over to police commissioner James Gordon.

As a civilian, Selina Kyle opened up her own pet shop in Gotham City. [9] However, an unforeseen series of circumstances caused Selina to resume her past criminal lifestyle. Following a brief stint as a cat burglar, Selina reformed herself and swore to abandon the Catwoman identity once and for all.

By 1955, Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne had resumed their romantic relationship, and in the summer of that year, the two were wed. Although Selina was retired from costumed adventuring, Bruce Wayne continued to function as Batman, and together they gave birth to a daughter, Helena Wayne. Helena would ultimately follow in the footsteps of her parents, and grew up to become a costumed adventurer known as the Huntress.

By 1976, Selina's criminal past caught up with her. One of her former underlings, a henchman named "Silky" Cernak blackmailed Selina into resuming her Catwoman identity. He forced Selina's obedience by way of a falsified photograph which showed her murdering a Gotham City police officer. Cernak forced Catwoman to rob the Gotham City Civic Center. Commissioner James Gordon caught wind of the incident and contacted Batman for assistance. The aging crime-fighter arrived at the Civic Center and fought with Cernak's goons. Kicking a gun from an assailant's hand, the weapon went off, shooting Catwoman in the chest. The blow knocked Selina from a fourth floor mezzanine, where she subsequently fell to her doom. She died cradled in Batman's arms, claiming that "I did it all for you".

Shortly after her mother's death, Helena Wayne donned the costume of the Huntress and brought "Silky" Cernak to justice. Silky confessed to doctoring the photograph and Bruce and Helena learned that Selina Kyle had never murdered anyone in her life.