The Invention of Theda Bara

Theda Bara is often referenced as the first sex symbol, or the first celebrity to have an entire persona crafted by a PR team. Photos of her are synonymous with the word vamp, and 100 years later, still have a certain mysterious appeal. But what was she really like?

Research:

• “Theda Bara at Quimby’s.” The Times Recorded. Oct. 26, 1915. https://www.newspapers.com/image/284870168/?terms=%22theda%20bara%22%20%22Louella%20parsons%22&match=1
• “Gordon Theater.” Democrat and Chronicle. Jan. 10, 1915. https://www.newspapers.com/image/135289009/?terms=%22theda%20bara%22&match=1
• “An Interviewer Sees Theda Bara, the Mysterious.” Waco Morning News. Nov. 5, 1915. https://www.newspapers.com/image/43896475/?terms=%22theda%20bara%22&match=1
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Theda Bara". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Apr. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theda-Bara
• Wasserman, Suzanne. “Theda Bara.” Jewish Women’s Archive. The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/bara-theda
• Golden, Eve. “Vamp: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara.” Vestal Press. 1998.

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