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Theda Bara: The Wicked Intellectual

© K Cruver

Theda Bara was the first sex symbol of the silver screen. Though most of her films are impossible to see today, at the peak of her career, only Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford surpassed her in popularity. Though Theda often portrayed villains, her fans saw through the publicity and made her one of the most beloved women of her time.

She was born Theodosia Goodman in Avondale, Ohio, a quiet suburb of Cincinnati with a large Jewish population. Though the date has been debated, she was most likely born July 29, 1885. Her father was Russian immigrant Bernard Goodman and her mother was a Swiss woman named Pauline DeCoppet.

Theodosia's father started out as a fabric cutter and worked his way up to co-ownership of a tailor shop. He provided the family with a comfortable home and two servants. She spent a happy childhood with younger brother Marque and sister Lori .

Often young Theodosia preferred staying inside with a book to playing outside with her siblings. She became interesting in acting at an early age, and was performing recitations by the age of seven. She draw the neighborhood kids to her backyard productions with the promise of lemonade and cookies.

By high school, Theodosia was obsessed with actresses and their lifestyles. She was a serious teenager, often garbed in cloaks and black clothing. She wrote for the school newspaper and acted in the drama club. In her spare time, she would go to the newly popular movie theaters.

After high school, in an unusual move for a Victorian era woman, Theodosia enrolled in the University of Cincinnati in 1903. She attended classes for two years before the desire to act overwhelmed her. In 1905, much to the irritation of her father, she dropped out and moved to New York City to pursue a stage career.

With the stage name DeCoppet, she focus all of her energy on making it on Broadway. Though there are no clear records of exactly what she did in her early New York years, she definitely did not make a splash. After nearly a decade of small parts on Broadway and on the road, Theodosia's career was going nowhere.

It may have been the end of Theodosia's life as an actress, but her luck changed; she met movie director Frank Powell. Powell invited Theodosia to play an extra in a crowd scene for The Stain (1914). He thought she might work in the lead of his next project, but he wanted to make sure she could take direction.

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