Lori Bara

Lori Bara (born Esther de Coppet Bara Goodman; 30 October 1897 – 4 August 1965) was an American screenwriter and actress. She is best known for her work as a writer and scenarist on the films Samarang (1933) and The Soul of Buddha (1918).

Bara was born in the Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father, Bernard Goodman, was a prosperous Jewish tailor originally from Poland. Her mother, Pauline Louise Françoise (née de Coppett; 1861–1957), was born in Switzerland.

After her younger sister Theodosia achieved fame under the stage name Theda Bara, the family legally adopted the surname Bara.^[1]

Bara worked in the American film industry as both an actress and a screenwriter.^[2]

• The Soul of Buddha (1918)
• Samarang (1933) (story)
• Hate in Paradise (originally Tea Leaves in the Wind) (1938)

• Seven Chances (1925) – Mother of underage girl (uncredited)
• Tell It to the Marines (1926) – Navy nurse (uncredited)

For a time, Bara shared a two-bedroom apartment with the actress Nola Luxford on Ivar Avenue in Hollywood.^[3]

In 1920, Bara married Francis W. Getty, a journalist with the London bureau of The New York Times, in London.^[4] Contemporary reports noted that the couple met aboard the steamship Vestris.^[5] The marriage ended in divorce.

In 1927, Bara married director, actor, and writer Ward Wing in Tijuana.^[6] A report in The Film Mercury called the pair a writing team for MGM in 1930. The marriage ended in divorce.^[7]

Following the death of her sister Theda in 1955, Lori inherited the majority of her estate, valued at approximately $100,000 at the time.^[8] Upon her own death, Lori bequeathed $222,000 to the Samuel Goldwyn Foundation in memory of her sister.^[9]