Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000) was an Austrian-born American actress and inventor. As a popular actress in the 1940’s, she was considered to be “the most beautiful woman in the world.”

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At 17 years old, Hedy starred in her first film, a German project called ‘Geld auf der Strase.' Hedy was most popular amongst the German Film Industry with her 1932 film, ‘Ecstasy.' The film’s popularity (and controversy) rocketed her career straight to Hollywood, signing with MGM, and she starred in many popular films with the likes of Judy Garland and Clark Gable.

Despite being self-taught and having no formal training, Hedy was also an avid inventor and spent her spare time working on various inventions such as an improved traffic stoplight, and a tablet which would dissolve in water to create a drink similar to cola.

“Inventions are easy for me to do. I don’t have to work on ideas, they come naturally.”

During World War II, Hedy worked together with the composer George Antheil and developed a “Secret Communications System” which used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to solve the issue of the Axis powers blocking signals from radio-controlled torpedoes. Ultimately, the US Navy didn’t adopt the technology until the 1960’s, but it became the basis of secure military communications, and Bluetooth and WiFi technology which is now used every day.