Draculaura

"It is the most romantic story ever told!"

- Draculaura in "Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love?"

Draculaura is the 1,600-year old daughter of Count Dracula. She is a vegan vampire, meaning she doesn't drink blood or eat meat, and she appears to be hemophobic, going so far as to even avoid the word 'blood'. Draculaura is best friends with Frankie Stein and Clawdeen Wolf, and is currently dating Clawd Wolf. She is called "Lala" and "Ula D" by her friends. The name she was given by her mother was just Laura.

Portrayers
She is usually voiced in English by Debi Derryberry in the cartoon series, but in "Ghouls Rule", she is voiced by Dee Dee Green.

In the music video for the Monster High Fright Song, there are several character analogues who received creative interpretation by the video crew. The vampire girl is played by Melanie Mah.

Personality
Draculaura is sweet, friendly, and easy to get along with, though she can come off as a bit childish. She was one of Frankie's first friends and in New Ghoul @ School helped Frankie realize that she just might fit in. Even though she doesn't seem to care much of what other monsters think of her, Draculaura is much of a trend follower, as well as a "gossip ghoul", following Spectra's blog, the Ghostly Gossip by heart.

Draculaura is usually ecstatic and gets distracted easily, making her prone to accidents and mixed information, so she's usually portrayed as naive, but ignorance is bliss as Draculaura's happiness rarely fades. She's also shown to be a bit of a flirt, having the most crushes out of the cast.

Appearance
Draculaura has pale pink skin, pale purple eyes, and dark black hair with pink streaks. Many of her physical features nod to her vampire heritage, such as pointed ears, fangs, and pale skin that's especially sensitive to the sun. She also has a small pink heart right under her left eye, which is a birthmark. In the cartoon series, Draculaura is notably shorter than all her friends, even in heels. In fact, she's the shortest of the main cast, being taller than only a few backgrounders.

Classic Monster
Draculaura is the daughter of Dracula. While it was originally presumed that her father was the titular character of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, this is not the case. Draculaura's school's out diary reveals that her dad was a vampire back "when togas were first coming into fashion", and that the famous Dracula we know of today was a lesser vampire who stole Draculaura's father's identity,and wreaked havoc until he was destroyed, which Draculaura views as a just fate. Draculaura's design nevertheless borrows a great deal from the appearance of Bela Lugosi's as this "impostor" Dracula. The Dracula film, directed by Tod Browning, was released by Universal in 1931. It is based on the stage play of the same name by Hamilton Deane, and John L. Balderston, which in turn is based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.

There was a sequel released in 1936, titled Dracula's Daughter starring Gloria Holden as Countess Marya Zaleska.

While Draculaura may not be based directly on the Gloria Holden's character, her character design takes many cues from traditional portrayals of Dracula, and vampire-related characters. Note that her skin is pale, she has visible fangs and dark hair, all the while speaking with a light Romanian/Transylvanian accent. Additionally, the narrator of the famous pre-Dracula vampire story Carmilla is named Laura, a possible influence on Draculaura's own name. Her pointed ears may be a nod to Max Schrek's Count Orlok from the 1922 film Nosferatu.

Family
Draculaura's School's Out diary reveals that Draculaura is in fact Dracula's adoptive daughter, not biological, and that he took in her and her mother "when no one else would". She also reveals that her father is not the Dracula that Bram Stoker wrote about. Draculaura was born in AD 412 as the daughter of a centurion. Something presumably happened to her father, leaving Draculaura and her mother homeless. After some time, the two made their way to the province of Dacia, the modern day Romania, where Draculaura's mother became a housekeeper of Dracula. She and her mother fell subject to a wasting disease (presumably tuberculosis) and her mother, Alina, died because of it. Draculaura's adopted father turned her into a vampire before she could die too, beginning her life as an immortal. One way or another, Draculaura ended up adopted by Dracula and eventually moved with him to the USA.

Draculaura and her father live on the same street as Holt Hyde/Jackson Jekyll "in what is either a gigantic mansion or a small castle. I guess you'd have to go with mansion, but only because there isn't a moat and a drawbridge." Draculaura gets along with her father, although she thinks he is very old fashioned, (he bought her Victorian dresses for back-to-school clothes). Every year he tries to convince her to be a more traditional vampire, including keeping nighttime hours and drinking blood.

It is also shown that in ghouls rule she has a cousin called "Thad".

In the Monster High book series, she lives with her father (he is leader of the RADs), her grandparents and other relatives. The Ghoul Next Door mentions that she has an uncle named Vlad. In Back and Deader Than Ever, in an argument, Draculaura has a flashback to when her mother dies and she was turned in to a vampire.

Friends
Draculaura is best friends with Clawdeen Wolf, and the two have accepted Frankie Stein within their group. Draculaura's outgoing nature has earned her many other friends too, including Lagoona Blue, Ghoulia Yelps and Cleo de Nile.

Pet
Draculaura's pet bat is named Count Fabulous. She likes to dress him up in pink, coordinated outfits. The only form of insects that Draculaura will let him eat are small insects and some times fruit, like bananas.

Romance
Draculaura is a romantic-idealist who places a lot of value in finding the right one and maintaining a relationship that is 'perfect'. Currently, she has found her perfect partner in Clawd Wolf, a kind, athletic, smart, and loyal werewolf who also happens to be her best friend's brother. The two of them have experienced several ups and downs, such as when Clawd was convinced by his werewolf pals that a vampire was a bad partner choice in "Fright On!" and when another vampire out for Draculaura's heart hypnotized her into loving him in "Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love?". Through it all, though, the spell was broken, the two have stayed strong together, and are more in love then ever, even sharing a kiss by the end of the movie.

Prior to her dating Clawd, Draculaura has had interest in many guys. In the webisode "The Hot Boy", she forms a crush on Heath Burns and is also seen dancing with him at the Justin Biter concert in "New Ghoul @ School", but is over him by the episode "Fur Will Fly", calling him "conceited". However, he later "wears her down" about going to the Spirit Rally Dance with him in "Why We Fright"; she chooses not to go with him after he mocks her in the next webisode. That is when Clawd offers to take her to the dance instead. Here is where we see the beginning of their budding romance.

In the earlier webisodes, she was also attracted to a mysterious student known only as the "Perfect Guy" in the webisode "Horrorscope". His face is never seen, and he seems to have been a character exclusive to that one episode. She dated a vampire named Valentine in the past, prior to her time in monster high, as seen in "Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love?" In her diary, it is stated that she also had a crush on Jackson Jekyll at one point, when he first moved into her neighborhood. However, nothing came of this relationship due to Jackson forgetting all of their plans for evening dates. However, at the club the planned to go together, she meets Holt Hyde, and the two tear it up on the dance floor, he stating in his journal what a "little vampire hottie" she is. In her "School's Out" diary, it is shown that she has developed feelings for Clawd Wolf, when he rescues her from a sudden downpour. He drops her off at her doorstep, and she gives him a kiss on the cheek before quickly going inside, hinting at their relationship to come.

Books
In the Monster High book series, Draculaura is often called Lala by her friends, while Draculaura is her RAD (Regular Attribute Dodgers) name. She is described as often having make-up smears and smudges, because she can't see her reflection, and is often wearing cashmere and spending her time in the steam room because she is always cold due to having no pulse. She has pale skin, pink highlighted hair (which matches her makeup and outfits), and fangs.

Draculaura is a vegan in both the Monster High books and the cartoon series. At one point she was complaining to Blue (Lagoona) that there was a lack of vegan options in the cafeteria, and about her having to consume iron supplements. She also complained that Clawdeen had burger breath.

According to her, Melody's family rented their house from Lala's grandparents. In The Ghoul Next Door, she takes part in the documentary of the same name. But her part of the documentary is audio only, and pictures were put in her place, due to her not showing up on film.

In Where There's a Wolf, There's a Way, she is sent out to her grandparents' house, much to her dismay. However, she shows up at Clawdeen's hideout with her father's permission, where she develops a crush on Clawd and even convinces him to let her give him a mohawk. She is present at Clawdeen's party, where she flaunts her RAD status.

In Back and Deader Than Ever she submits the T'eau Dally admittance letter, only to find out she's one of the finalist. When she found out about her father's plan of establishing a RAD-only school, she makes a deal with him, that if she won his plan will be anulled, it's unknown if Merston won the contest, but it's loss was somewhat implied thus making Monster High.

New Ghoul @ School
In "New Ghoul @ School", Draculaura is Frankie's first friend. She introduces Frankie to Clawdeen, which then results in Frankie's newfound group of buddies. She supports Frankie, even after all her mishaps, and tries to offer advice to her throughout.

Fright On!
In "Fright On!", Draculaura feels the tension between Vampires and Werewolves personally. After several misunderstandings, she breaks up with Clawd and feels abandoned by Clawdeen. When Van Hellscream fanned the flames by saying the Werewolves kidnapped her, she found herself locked in big danger. She managed to escape, and made things right with Clawd and Clawdeen.

Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love?
In this special, Draculaura finds herself with huge expectations about her Sweet 1600th Party. These expectations cause problems with Clawd, who can't seem to live up to them. An old flame, Valentine returns thanks to Toralei as revenge for not being invited to her party. Valentine hypnotizes her and plans to break and harvest her heart, but thanks to the true love she shared with Clawd, she managed to break his spell. In the end, she realized that her expectations were too great, and Clawd's true love for her was enough.

Escape From Skull Shores
Dracualura travels with the rest of the group to the Great Barrier Reef, only to be sidetracked and travel with Bartleby Farnum thanks to their boat being destroyed. She befriended the Tikis, and even gave them makeovers.

Ghouls Rule
Draculaura created a rift between Clawdeen and her when she tries to push Clawdeen into dating. She set up a speed dating session to give her a 'nudge'. She apologized for her actions at the party and the two made up. Everything worked out when Clawdeen noticed Thad, the boy Clawdeen lied to get out of a double date with, from across the room and became infatuated immediately.

Timeline

 * October 23, 2007: Mattel requests the trademark for Ula D..
 * September 8, 2008: Mattel requests the trademark for Draculaura.
 * February 25, 2010: Mattel requests the trademark for Draculaura in the costume category.
 * May 5, 2010: The Monster High website goes live, featuring Draculaura's profile.
 * May 5, 2010: Draculaura's profile art is revealed.
 * May 5, 2010: Draculaura makes her animated debut in the Higher Deaducation commercial.
 * May 5, 2010: Draculaura makes her 2D cartoon debut in "Jaundice Brothers".
 * Early July, 2010: Draculaura's Friends plushie is released.
 * Early July, 2010: Draculaura's first doll is released as part of the Basic series.
 * Early July, 2010: Draculaura makes her diary debut in her Basic diary.
 * August 29, 2011: Mattel abandons the trademark for Ula D.
 * September 1, 2010: Draculaura makes her Monster High book debut in Monster High.
 * February 12, 2012: Draculaura makes her 3D cartoon debut in "Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love?".
 * September 5, 2012: Draculaura makes her Ghoulfriends book debut in Ghoulfriends Forever.