Maila Nurmi (December 11, 1922 – January 10, 2008)Maila Elizabeth Nurmimioni [1], Social Security Death Index. was a Finnish-American actress, who created the campy 1950s character Vampira. Her portrayal of this character as television's first horror host and in the Ed Wood cult film Plan 9 from Outer Space was influential over the decades that followed.

Early life

Born as Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi, she claimed to be the niece of the Finnish athlete Paavo Nurmi, who began setting long-distance running world records in 1921, the year before her birth. She moved to the United States with her family when she was two years old and grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio, home to the largest Finnish-American community in the state.