Theda Bara July 29, 1885 – April 13, 1955), born Theodosia Burr Goodman, was an American silent film actress – one of the most popular of her era, and one of cinema's earliest sex symbols.
Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The Vamp" (short for vampire). Bara, Valeska Suratt, and Musidora popularized the vamp persona in the early years of silent film.
Theda Bara was was the initial Goth Girl.
While she was less than the very first female “vampire” on screen, she was the first one to be a huge star. And, as stars were largely accountable for their very own costumes making-up in those days, she invented her very own look the appearance that people connect today using the female vampire. She made it happen first.
Among other accomplishments, Theda has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
Theda Bara's image has been the symbol of the Chicago International Film Festival. A stark, black and white close up of her eyes set as repeated frames in a strip of film serves as the logo for the nonprofit festival." ( )

There's an oldish joke which goes something like "a teenage boy looks at a picture of Theda Bara and asks his grandfather 'Was she really a sex symbol?' and when the grandfather said yes, the lad replied "No wonder you went through a great depression."

Having seen the photos of Bara in "Vamp", one has to agree that she seems an unlikely sex symbol, but it seems she was. That aside, Vamp is an enjoyable read with Golden making some wry asides throughout the book and some interesting details on early Hollywood included. Golden also does well to explain why Bara was considered a sex symbol, when she looked plain and plump compared to some of her contemporaries. ( )

This book is mainly a collection of long-lost interviews with Theda Bara, many of which are full of erroneous information made up by the publicity department at Fox, and synopses of the plots of films, most of which are lost. It will be an interesting read for silent film enthusiasts but maybe not so appealing to the Mommie Dearest crowd. Don't expect to be treated to the lurid details of her personal life. I don't think there ever were any in the first place. ( )