it seems like dc writers like to retcon selina’s backstory after every new multiverse reset, but indulges will feature catwoman as an afro-cuban woman. her parents are brian & maria kyle, & her younger sister is magdalene (maggie) kyle.
maria had a penchant for luxury, past what she could give herself & definitely past what brian could provide. she was fiercely independent & it seemed like she attracted stray cats because of it. she died due to her own means when selina & maggie were quite young. brian never got over maria & turned to the drink to ease his misery. this made him an absentee father right before he passed & could seldom hold a job for more than two weeks. selina finds him cold & unbreathing at the age of 12, an empty bottle of cheap tequila spilled at his feet.
selina called the police & ran off, leaving maggie knowing the state would take care of her. eventually, she was caught stealing & taken to seagate, an institution for underage girls who were convicted of some crime. while in seagate, she developed a likeness for the riches of the world just like her mother had, believing this was the way she could have total freedom eventually, she did escape by finding out that the director was stealing money from the state & blackmailing her. she also let out the other girls & they all made their way back to gotham, but selina refused to work with anyone.
in order to survive, selina started to steal more & more. she was already adept at keeping her steps quiet & understanding how to hide herself in shadows. however, yes, she did start sex work as a minor in order to survive as we see in catwoman: her sister’s keeper. this is the reason she is fiercely protective of young girls & will often protect those in a similar situation through any means necessary. eventually, ted grant, aka wildcat, teaches her how to use the whip & fight.
it seems like selina is 16 or 17 while bruce is 26 in batman: year one/catwoman: her sister’s keeper. for obvious reasons, i am changing selina’s age to 20 when she first became catwoman. this will make the age difference between her & bruce six years as opposed to nine or ten. she stops doing sex work after first donning the suit.
batman has a purpose that benefits the public as a whole, but selina is really only interested in benefiting herself & those she wants to protect. it doesn’t seem like she cares much about “ending crime,” but she does detest the use of children by procurers & how gotham’s underworld takes advantage of the most innocent & vulnerable. she will begrudgingly work with others if they have a common goal of antagonizing these people, but otherwise– she works for herself & what she deems worthy of fighting for.
