Known For: American actress (born 1951)
Category: Actresses
Country: United States of America
City: Manhattan
Language English
Cassandra Gay Peterson is an American actress best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV in her stage persona as Elvira, hosting Elvira's Movie Macabre, a weekly B movie presentation. A member of the Los Angeles-based improvisational and sketch comedy troupe The Groundlings, Peterson based her Elvira persona in part on a "Valley girl"-type character she created while a member of the troupe.
| Website | https://www.elvira.com/ |
| Wikipedia | Cassandra_Peterson |
| therealelvira |
Peterson was born on September 17, 1951 in Manhattan, Kansas. When she was a toddler, she was scalded by boiling water, which required skin grafts to cover over 35% of her body to heal, resulting in her having to spend three months in the hospital. In a 2011 interview, Peterson stated that as a child, she was more fascinated by horror-themed toys while other girls were occupied with Barbie dolls. In elementary school, she watched House on Haunted Hill, which was the first horror film she ever saw. During her teens, Peterson worked as a drag queen go-go dancer in a Colorado Springs, Colorado gay bar and as a go-go dancer at Club A-Go-Go, a nightclub in Colorado Springs, and for soldiers at Fort Carson. She graduated from Palmer High School in Colorado Springs.
