 theda bara (  ; born theodosia burr goodman, july 29, 1885&nbsp;â april 7, 1955) was an american silent film and stage actress. bara was one of the most popular actresses of the silent era, and one of cinema's earliest sex symbols. her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname the vamp (short for vampire). bara made more than 40 films between 1914 and 1926, but most are now lost because of a fire in 1937 that destroyed most of her films. after her marriage to charles brabin in 1921, she made two more feature films and retired from acting in 1926 having never appeared in a sound film. she died of stomach cancer on april 7, 1955 at the age of 69. ==early life== she was born theodosia burr goodman in the avondale section of cincinnati, ohio. her father was bernard goodman (1853â1936),"theda makes 'em all baras," new york times, nov. 17, 1917 a prosperous jewish tailor born in poland. her mother, pauline louise franÃ§oise (nÃ©e de coppett; 1861â1957), was born in switzerland. bernard and pauline married in 1882. she had two siblings: marque (1888â1954)"marque bara", newport daily news (newport, rhode island), april 26, 1954, p. 2. and esther (1897â1965), who also became a film actress as lori bara and married francis w. getty of london in 1920. bara attended walnut hills high school graduating in 1903. after attending the university of cincinnati for two years, she worked mainly in theater productions, but did explore other projects. after moving to new york city in 1908, she made her broadway debut in the devil (1908). [[file:theda bara, a fool there was (1915) publicity still.jpg|
1885_births 1955_deaths 20th-century_American_actresses 20th_Century_Fox_contract_players Actresses_from_Cincinnati,_Ohio American_people_of_Polish-Jewish_descent American_people_of_Swiss_descent American_radio_actresses American_silent_film_actresses American_stage_actresses Burials_at_Forest_Lawn_Memorial_Park_(Glendale) Cancer_deaths_in_California Deaths_from_stomach_cancer University_of_Cincinnati_alumni