Tracy Nelson

. She also sang "Monster Rap" and "Haunted House" on the Elvira's Monster Hits album. She is the daughter of the late teen pop idol, Ricky Nelson, and sister to the Nelson twins, Matthew and Gunnar Nelson of the brotherly rock duo, Nelson. Elvira has become a symbol of Halloween, and owns the trademark to her wig and costume. Tracy Nelson is best known for playing the part of 'Sister Stevie' (the sidekick of Father Dowling in the tv show of "Father Dowling Mysteries") that starred Tom Bosley of "Happy Days" fame and the late Mary Wickes. One of the first successful horror hostesses, Vampira (Maila Nurmi), later sued Peterson over character rights issues. Shortly after her marriage to Mark Pierson (now her business manager) in 1981, she created the character Elvira after a successful audition to be a horror movie show host. She was the first such host to be nationally syndicated.

Back in the US, she joined the Los Angeles-based improvisational troupe The Groundlings. In Italy, she was the lead singer in a rock band and a chance encounter with Federico Fellini led to a small part in Roma (1972). She became a showgirl at The Dunes in Las Vegas at age 17. Born in Manhattan, Kansas, Peterson grew up in Colorado.

She gained fame wearing dark, gothic, and cleavage-enhancing clothing as host of Elvira's Movie Macabre, a weekly horror movie presentation. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark is the screen persona of Cassandra Peterson (born September 17, 1949).