Hedy Lamarr – Hollywood Actor, Wartime Fundraiser & Inventor

July 21, 2024

Hedy Lamarr, 1944

From Quora

Hedy Lamarr, born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler on November 9, 1914, and known as Hedy Lamarr in Hollywood, was not only a celebrated Austrian actress but also a remarkable inventor. While she gained fame for starring in the first comprehensive nude scene in film history, she was also recognized as one of Hollywood’s most beautiful actresses. However, her contributions extended far beyond the silver screen, as she played a pivotal role in the development of various inventions, including what would become wifi technology.

In Austria, her native country, Inventor Day is celebrated on November 9 in her honor, a fitting tribute to a talent that transcended the boundaries of both cinema and innovation’

What makes Hedy Lamarr so unique?

Picture this: a glamorous actress by day, and an ingenious inventor by night. Sounds like a plot from a Hollywood film, right? Well, for Hedy, that was just life.

Hedy Lamarr was the epitome of Golden Age Hollywood glamour, with a face that could launch a thousand ships and acting chops to match. She lit up the cinema in the ’30s and ’40s, starring in classics like “Algiers” (1938) and “Samson and Delilah” (1949). But here’s where the plot thickens—while she was dazzling audiences, she was also cooking up inventions that would change the world.

Now, hold onto your hats, because Hedy Lamarr wasn’t just playing house in her spare time; she was literally inventing the technology that would pave the way for today’s Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth. Yeah, you heard that right. During World War II, she co-invented a “frequency hopping” technology to help allied forces avoid Nazi jamming devices. The idea was so ahead of its time that it wasn’t fully adopted until decades later. And now, it’s the backbone of some of the most crucial tech in our lives. WTF, right?

So, what makes Hedy Lamarr so unique? She was a stunning beauty with the brain of a genius, breaking stereotypes left and right. She proved that you could be the toast of Hollywood and a pioneering inventor, all while rocking a fabulous evening gown. Hedy Lamarr wasn’t just a star; she was a shooting star, blazing a trail for women in science and technology. Talk about a double threat!

From Wikipedia

Hedy Lamarr, 1944

Lamarr, c. 1944
Born	Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler November 9, 1914 Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Died	January 19, 2000 (aged 85) Casselberry, Florida, U.S.
Citizenship	Austria (until 1938)^[1]Stateless (1938–1953)United States (from 1953)
Occupations	Actressinventor
Spouses	Friedrich Mandl(m. 1933; div. 1937)Gene Markey(m. 1939; div. 1941)John Loder(m. 1943; div. 1947)Teddy Stauffer(m. 1951; div. 1952)W. Howard Lee(m. 1953; div. 1960)Lewis J. Boies(m. 1963; div. 1965)

Hedy Lamarr (/ˈhɛdi/; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914^[a] – January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American actress and inventor. After a brief early film career in Czechoslovakia, including the controversial erotic romantic drama Ecstasy (1933), she fled from her first husband, Friedrich Mandl, and secretly moved to Paris. Traveling to London, she met Louis B. Mayer, who offered her a film contract in Hollywood. Lamarr became a film star with her performance in the romantic drama Algiers (1938).^[2] She achieved further success with the Western Boom Town (1940) and the drama White Cargo (1942). Lamarr’s most successful film was the religious epic Samson and Delilah (1949).^[3] She also acted on television before the release of her final film in 1958. She was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

At the beginning of World War II, along with George Antheil, Lamarr co-invented a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of radio jamming by the Axis powers. However, the technology was not used in operational systems until after World War II, and then independently of their patent.^[4]