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Theda Bara Biography (1890-1955)

Original name, Theodosia Goodman; name legally changed, 1917; born July 29, 1890 (one source says 1885), in Cincinnati, OH; daughter of Bernard (a tailor)and Pauline Louise Francoise (de Coppet) Goodman; died of cancer, April 7, 1955; married Charles Brabin (a director), 1921.

A character named for Bara was featured in the stage musical Theda Bara and the Frontier Rabbi, by Jeff Hochhauser and Bob Johnston, produced at Playhouse91, New York City, 1993, and Union Square Theatre, New York City, 1994.

Nationality

American

Gender

Female

Birth Details

July 29, 1890

Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Famous Works

• Credits; Silent Film Appearances; Distributed by Fox Film Corporation, Unless Otherwise Noted
• The vampire, A Fool There Was, Box Office Attractions Company, 1915.
• Celia Friedlander, The Kreutzer Sonata, 1915.
• Iza, The Clemenceau Case, 1915.
• La Gioconda, The Devil's Daughter (also known as The Vampire), 1915.
• Lady Audley, Lady Audley's Secret (also known as Secrets of Society), 1915.
• Henriette, The Two Orphans (also known as The Hunchback), 1915.
• Rosa, Sin (also known as The Jewels of Madonna), 1915.
• Title role, Carmen, 1915.
• Francesca Brabut, The Gallery Slave, 1915.
• Fernade, Destruction, 1916.
• Vania Lazar, The Serpent, 1916.
• Theresa Decordova, Gold and the Woman (also known as Retribution), 1916.
• Laura Bruffins, The Eternal Sappho (also known as Bohemia), 1916.
• Lady Isabel, East Lynne, 1916.
• Cigarette, Under Two Flags, 1916.
• Mary Doone, Her Double Life, 1916.
• Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, 1916.
• Elsie Drummond, The Vixen (also known as The Love Pirate), 1916.
• Esmeralda, The Darling of Paris, 1917.
• Princess Petrovich, The Tiger Woman (also known as Behind the Throne andQuicksands), 1917.
• Hazel, Her Greatest Love (also known as Redemption), 1917.
• Jess, Heart and Soul, 1917.
• Marguerite Gauthier, Camille, 1917.
• Title role, Cleopatra, 1917.
• Lisza Tapenka, The Rose of Blood, 1917.
• Nellie Lynne, The Forbidden Path, 1918.
• Title role, Madame du Barry, 1918.
• Priestess, The Soul of Buddha, 1918.
• Maria Valverda, Under the Yorke, 1918.
• Lilian Marchard and Poppea, When a Woman Sins, 1918.
• Title role, Salome, 1918.
• Lorette, The She-Devil, 1919.
• Blanchette Dumond (also known as Madame Lefresne), The Light, 1919.
• Marie Lohr, When Men Desire, 1919.
• Marie Bernais, The Siren's Song, 1919.
• Princess Zara, A Woman There Was, 1919.
• Title role, Kathleen Mavourneen, 1919.
• Title role and Fleurett Sackton, La Belle Russe, 1919.
• Olga Dolan, The Lure of Ambition, 1919.
• The Prince of Silence, 1921.
• Caroline Knollys, The Unchastened Woman, Chadwick Picture Productions, 1925.
• Forty-Five Minutes from Hollywood, Pathe, 1926.
• Credits; Film Appearances; Short Films with Sound
• Title role, Madame Mystery, Pathe, 1926.
• Credits; Stage Appearances
• (As Theodosia de Coppet) The Devil, Broadway production, 1908.
• The Blue Flame, 1919, later 1921-24.
• Also appeared in other stage and vaudeville productions.
• Writings;Storywriter for Films
• The Soul of Buddha, 1918.
• Writings;Nonfiction
• Contributor to periodicals, including Forum.

Further Reference

Books:

• International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 3: Actors and Actresses, edited by Nicholas Thomas, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1992.

Periodicals:

• Back Stage, January 22, 1993, p. 28.
• Motion Picture Magazine, November, 1922.
• Shadowland, March-April, 1920.
• Variety, January 17, 1994, pp. 111-112.