'I was born in Manhattan, Kansas, and grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I began my career at age 17 as the youngest showgirl in Las Vegas history in the show "Vive Les Girls" at the Dunes Hotel. After receiving advice from "The King" himself, Elvis Presley, I traveled to Europe where I pursued a career as a singer and actor. I worked in several Italian films, including Federico Fellini's Roma (1972) and performed throughout Europe as lead singer of an Italian rock band.

Upon returning to the United States, I toured the country as star of my own musical-comedy show, "Mama's Boys". I eventually settled in Hollywood, where I spent four and a half years with L.A.'s foremost improvisational comedy group, The Groundlings. In 1981, I auditioned for the part of "horror hostess: on a local Los Angeles television station. My show, Movie Macabre (1981), and my newly created character, Elvira, became an overnight sensation.

I have used Elvira's celebrity status to bring attention to many worthy causes and organizations over the years, including my well-known work for animal welfare and raising money and awareness for the prevention of HIV/AIDS. In addition to co-writing and performing in both the local L.A. and nationally syndicated television versions of "Movie Macabre", I co-wrote, produced and starred in two feature films, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988) and Elvira's Haunted Hills (2001). My latest endeavors include producing, writing and starring in the reality series The Search for the Next Elvira (2007) on Fox Reality and the 2011 nationally syndicated series Elvira's Movie Macabre

I have spent over three decades solidifying the Elvira brand and building it into an international cult icon that has become synonymous with Halloween and the horror genre.

My real name is Cassandra Peterson