Theda Bara was a silent film actress nicknamed “The Vamp” for her darkly beautiful looks and gothic persona. She was an object of both fear and lust, and at one point the most famous actress in the world.
A 1915 Fox publicity report said of her:
“Have the physical attributes of scheming Delilah, of cruel Lucretia Borgia, or of diabolical Elizabeth Bathory fatefully found reincarnation?
Are the souls of those monsters of ancient and medieval times welded with others to form the soul of Mlle. Theda Bara, the moving picture actress known as the most wicked-faced woman in the world?”
Mary Pickford wrote:
“After Theda, a vampire wave surged over the country.
Women appeared in vampire gowns, pendant earrings, and even young girls were attempting to change from frank, open-eyed ingenues to the almond-eyed, carmine-lipped woman of subtlety and mystery.”
