Theda Bara (pronounced /ˈθiːdə ˈbærə/) (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). The term "vamp" soon became a popular slang term for a sexually predatory woman. Bara, Valeska Suratt, and Musidora popularized the vamp persona in the early years of silent film and spawned imitators like Louise Glaum, Nita Naldi and Pola Negri..