A former artist’s model celebrated for her beauty, Ilsa Strangway became obsessed with restoring her youth as the years passed. Believing that vampirism held the secret to eternal youth, she purchased the castle belonging to Dracula in hopes of drawing his attention. When the vampire came to her home, she struck a bargain with him, offering him the secret of an occult gateway through time if Dracula would make her a vampire. Amused by her audacity and vanity, Dracula accepted her offer and drained her blood.
When she awoke as a vampire, she attacked and killed a young couple. Afterwards, she was revolted by what she had done, but convinced herself that the restoration of her youth was worth it. However, during a confrontation with Rachel Van Helsing, Strangway noticed the signs of age on her own hands and realized that she still looked exactly as she had before her transformation. Dracula’s servant Clifton Graves taunted her by explaining her mistake: Feeding only restores a vampire to the age they had been at the time of their transformation, not any earlier. Horrified that she had thrown away her soul and become a monster for nothing, Ilsa Strangway begged Rachel Van Helsing for death. Rachel obliged by shooting Ilsa with a crossbow bolt.