Elvira

Elvira
General information
Birth name	Cassandra Peterson
Born	September 17, 1951 (age 74)
Gender	Female
Nicknames	Elvira
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1970 - present

Cassandra Peterson (born September 17, 1951), professionally known as Elvira, is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, earning her the title of the "Queen of Halloween".

Controversy with Grande

On October 18, 2024, Elvira hosted a Q&A session at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. A fan asked Elvira which celebrity she had the worst encounter with, to which she replied was Ariana Grande. Elvira went on to explain that Grande brought her friends backstage to take photos with her and to sign autographs for them. She then asked Grande if she can take a photo with her, to which Grande allegedly replied, "No, I don't really do that."

After Elvira posted articles relating to the story on her Instagram page, on October 21, Grande responded to that post with a comment:

“	i’m so disheartened to see this. i actually don’t even remember getting the chance to meet you because i had an anxiety attack and to my memory, left before the rest of my family (this was around 7 years ago and at the time i was really not great with being in public crowds or loud places)… but if i’m misremembering this moment, i sincerely apologize for offending you so. thank you for being so nice to my mom, she told me how lovely you were (she might have different feelings about that now but i’ll talk to her… clearly, we all have our days!) sending love always. ♡ you’ll always be our queen of halloween!	”
–Grande responding to Elvira's claims

After Grande's response, Elvira shut off comments on the Instagram post relating to the claims.

On October 3, 2025, while promoting her cookbook, she told Entertainment Weekly that what Ariana did was "very offensive" and hopes that she will learn to be "a little more humble."