Theda Bara was the first screen vamp. She was also the first star to have a screen personality specially created for her. Bara wore erotic costumes which often scarcely concealed her breasts or buttocks.

"A couple of loosely spun spider's webs did duty for a bra, or else an asp curved snugly around the contours of each breast, while a few bead whorls appliquéd on her hip bone by gum arabic looked like some satyr's erotic doodling."

She also had a liking for wearing metal chains against the naked flesh "in a way that carried an undertone of perversion".

Theda Bara began her epic career before the First World War.