Cassandra Peterson, known by her fans as the iconic character “Elvira,” celebrated her 74th birthday on September 17. Peterson took to Instagram to thank fans for the birthday wishes, and they went wild over her post.
Peterson shared a photo showing her as Elvira, holding a pink birthday party blower up to her bright red lips. She did not note when the photo was taken, but it appeared likely that it was from the height of her career.
In the caption, Peterson wrote, “THANK YOU for all of the birthday witches! XX” She has over 1.6 million followers on Instagram, and she was flooded with sweet notes and birthday wishes.
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Over the course of a few hours, the post received over 800 comments and 20,000 likes. Some of the comments came from fellow iconic entertainers.
Entertainer Charo wished Peterson a happy birthday, as did actress, singer, and former adult film star Traci Lords.
One fan commented, “A Hauntingly Happy Birthday to you!!!!”
Another wrote, “Happiest of birthdays to you my Queeeeeen!!!”
Someone else shared, “Happy birthday to my favorite actress!”
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Reddit users in the “’80s” sub started a thread filled with birthday wishes for Peterson as well.
“She is still gorgeous,” noted one fan.
Someone else suggested, “possible actual vampire,” perhaps due to how youthful Peterson still looks even at the age of 74.
Another fan wrote, “She is still so incredibly beautiful! Happy birthday to her!”
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In 2021, Peterson wrote an essay for Lit Hub and told the story of how she became Elvira.
She was originally supposed to take over the role of Vampira, which years before had been played by Maila Nurmi. When a television station wanted to bring Vampira back to life, Peterson landed the gig.
However, on the day filming was slated to begin, Nurmi’s attorney insisted they couldn’t use the name Vampira. Everybody on set scrambled, and someone came up with the idea of Elvira.
Peterson admitted she didn’t care for the name at first, as it made her think of the Oak Ridge Boys song of the same name. Despite that, she became Elvira, and Elvira’s Movie Macabre debuted soon after.
Long after the television show was canceled, Peterson continued portraying Elvira on other shows. Variations of shows featuring Elvira continued until 2021. Peterson still has a website featuring various items showcasing her as Elvira.
In 2021, Peterson told Today, “I really, honestly, never imagined that being the rest of my life. It was such a cheesy, low-budget show. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, this is probably going to last about a week.’ But here I am, 40 years later still doing it.”
