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Theda Bara was the stage name of Theodosia Burr
Goodman (July 29, 1885 - 7 April, 1955), a silent
film actor|actress.  As her stage name is an
anagram for "Arab Death" an urban legend claims
that it was coined for that reason, but instead
Theda is short for Theodosia, and Bara was the
middle name of her maternal grandmother.

Bara was one of the most popular screen actresses
of the time. She was nicknamed "The Vamp", short
for vampire, slang for a sexy predatory woman at
the time.

Named after the daughter of American politician
Aaron Burr, Theodosia Burr Goodman was born in
Avondale, Ohio, a wealthy suburb of Cincinnati, a
daughter of a Switzerland|Swiss mother and a
Jewish wiktionary:tailor|tailor father, and though
she achieved fame as a raven-haired vamp, she was
actually born blonde. She attended Walnut Hills
High School in 1899-1903 and lived at 823 Hutchins
Avenue. After attending the University of
Cincinnati for two years, she worked in theater
productions, moving to New York City in 1908.

Briefly known professionally as Theodosia de
Coppett, Theda Bara made more than 40 feature
films between 1914 and 1926 of which complete
prints of only three still exist. She made her
Broadway debut in "The Devil" (1908), and her film
debut was a bit part in "The Stain" (1914),
directed by Frank Powell for Pathé Frères. A
large portion of her films are now lost, to the
regret of later generations of fans.

Bara was a sex symbol of the era, and in a number
of her films appeared in risqué transparent
costumes that left little to the imagination. Such
outfits were banned from Hollywood films after the
Hays Code went into effect a few years later,
which may have been a factor in declining interest
in her films, which could no longer be
commercially shown in the United States.  At the
height of her fame, however, her vamp image was
notorious enough be refered to in various popular
songs of the day. A line in "Red-Hot Hannah" said 
"I know things that Theda Bara's just startin' to
learn - make my dresses from asbestos, I'm liable
to burn...." "Rebecca Came Back From Mecca"
contains the lyrics "She's as bold as Theda Bara;
Theda's bare but Becky's bare-er".

In 1926, five years after marrying British-born
American film director Charles Brabin (1883-1957),
Bara retired. Theda never attempted a "comeback." 
She was quite happy to leave Hollywood and the
movies behind her.  She spent the remainder of her
life as a prominent hostess in Hollywood and her
native Cincinnati. She died of cancer in Los
Angeles, California and was interred in the Forest
Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale,
California.

Theda Bara has a star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame and in 1994, she was honored with her image
on a List of people on stamps of the United
States|United States postage stamp designed by
caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.

== Filmography ==
# The Stain (1914 in film|1914) 
# A Fool There Was (1915 in film|1915) 
# The Kreutzer Sonata (film)|The Kreutzer Sonata
(1915 in film|1915)
# The Clemenceau Case (1915 in film|1915)
# The Devil's Daughter (1915 in film|1915)
# The Two Orphans (1915 in film|1915)
# Lady Audley's Secret (1915 film)|Lady Audley's
Secret (1915 in film|1915)
# Sin (film)|Sin (1915 in film|1915)
# Carmen (film)|Carmen (1915 in film|1915)
# The Galley Slave (1915 in film|1915)
# Destruction (film)|Destruction (1915 in
film|1915)
# Siren of Hell (1915 in film|1915)
# The Serpent (1916 film)|The Serpent (1916 in
film|1916)
# Gold and the Woman (1916 in film|1916)
# The Eternal Sappho (1916 in film|1916)
# East Lynne (1915 film)|East Lynne (1916 in
film|1916)
# Under Two Flags (1916 in film|1916)
# Her Eternal Life (1916 in film|1916)
# Romeo and Juliet (1916 film)|Romeo and Juliet
(1916 in film|1916)
# The Vixen (1916 in film|1916)
# The Tiger Woman (1917 in film|1917)
# Her Greatest Love (1917 in film|1917)
# Heart and Soul (1917 in film|1917)
# Camille (1917 film)|Camille (1917 in film|1917)
# Cleopatra (movie)|Cleopatra (1917 in film|1917)
# Madame Du Barry (film)|Madame Du Barry (1917 in
film|1917)
# The Rose of Blood (1917 in film|1917)
# The Darling of Paris (1917 in film|1917)
# The Forbidden Path (1918 in film|1918)
# Salome (film)|Salome (1918 in film|1918)
# When a Woman Sins (1918 in film|1918)
# Under the Yoke (1918 in film|1918)
# The Soul of Buddha (1918 in film|1918)
# The She Devil (1918 in film|1918)
# The Light (1919 in film|1919)
# A Woman There Was (1919 in film|1919)
# Kathleen Mavourneen (1919 in film|1919)
# La Belle Russe (1919 in film|1919)
# When Men Desire (1919 in film|1919)
# The Siren's Song (1919 in film|1919)
# The Lure of Ambition (1919 in film|1919)
# The Prince of Silence (1921 in film|1921)
# The Unchastened Woman (1925 in film|1925)
# Madame Mystery (1926 in film|1926)

== External links ==
* imdb name|id=0000847|name=Theda Bara
*
http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~pringle/silent/ssot
m/May96/ Biography at monash.edu.au
* http://silentladies.com/PBara.html Theda Bara
photo galleries at SilentLadies.com