Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actor during Hollywood’s Golden Age, as well as a skilled inventor. She starred in such films as Tortilla Flat, Lady of the Tropics, Boom Town, and Samson ...
Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-born American film star who was often typecast as a provocative femme fatale. Years after her screen career ended, she achieved recognition as a noted inventor of a radio communications device. Learn more about Lamarr’s life and career.
They are both Hedy Lamarr, the glamour icon whose ravishing visage was the inspiration for Snow White and Cat Woman and a technological trailblazer who perfected a secure radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes during WWII.
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress and inventor who pioneered the technology that would one day form the basis for today’s WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth communication systems.
Regarded as the “most beautiful woman in the world,” Hedy Lamarr was not only a famous Hollywood actress who sold millions in war bonds during World War II, she was an inventor. Her creations included a frequency-hopping radio communications device for Allied torpedoes during the war.
Hedy Lamarr, the woman many critics and fans alike regard as the most beautiful ever to appear in films, was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Vienna, Austria. She was the daughter of Gertrud (Lichtwitz), from Budapest, and Emil Kiesler, a banker from Lemberg (now known as Lviv).
Hedy Lamarr’s legacy extends far beyond Hollywood glamour. Behind the screen persona was an inventive mind that helped pioneer technology foundational to modern wireless communication, raising enduring questions about how society values beauty versus intellect.