THEDA BARA Biography - Actors and Actresses

 
 

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THEDA BARA

Name: Theda Bara                                                                     
Birth name: Theodosia Burr Goodman                                                   
Born: 29 July 1885 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.                                           
Died: 13 April 1955 Los Angeles, California, U.S.                                   
                                                                                     
Theda Bara was the stage name of Theodosia Burr Goodman (July 29, 1885 - April       
13, 1955), an American silent film actress. Movie executives made promotional       
claims that her stage name was chosen because it is an anagram for "Arab Death."     
In reality, "Theda" was a childhood nickname for Theodosia. "Bara" was a             
shortened form of her maternal grandfather's last name, Baranger.                   
                                                                                     
Bara was one of the most popular screen actresses of her era, and was one of         
cinema's earliest sex symbols. Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The   
Vamp" (short for vampire). The term "vamp" soon became a popular slang term for     
a sexually predatory woman. Bara, along with the French film actress Musidora,       
popularized the vamp persona in the early years of silent film and was soon         
imitated by rival actresses such as Nita Naldi and Pola Negri.