Theda Bara as the stage name of Theodosia Burr Goodman (July 29, 1885 - 7 April 1955), a silent film actress. As her stage name is an anagram for "Arab Death" an urban legend claims that it was coined for that reason, but instead Theda is short for Theodosia, and Bara was the middle name of her maternal grandmother. Bara was one of the most popular screen actresses of the time, and the cinema's first sex symbol. She was nicknamed "The Vamp", short for vampire, slang for a sexy predatory woman at the time. Bara, along with the French film actress Musidora, popularized the vamp persona in the early years of silent film and was soon imitated by rival actresses such as Nita Naldi and Pola Negri.