Hedy Lamarr – Wireless Technology Pioneer

Born: November 9, 1914, Vienna, Austria
Died: January 19, 2000, Casselberry, Florida

Hedy Lamarr combined creativity, intelligence, and bravery to innovate life-saving military technology while captivating audiences as a Hollywood star.

Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian American actress and inventor whose work helped create the technology behind WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth. While many people admired her beauty in films like Samson and Delilah, her true genius lay in her inventions, especially those designed to help the military during World War II.

Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Kiesler on November 9, 1914, in Vienna, Austria, into a wealthy Jewish family. Her father, a curious bank director, encouraged her to explore how machines worked, taking her on walks to discuss things like printing presses and streetcars. By age five, she was already taking apart and rebuilding her music box. Her mother, a concert pianist, introduced her to the arts, enrolling her in piano and ballet lessons. Lamarr became a skilled musician, dancer, and multilingual thinker.

At age 16, Lamarr began acting in Berlin with director Max Reinhardt. She had her first film role in Geld auf der Straße (1930) and gained attention in the Czech film Ecstasy (1932). In 1933, she married Austrian munitions dealer Fritz Mandl, a controlling man connected to weapons manufacturers and, indirectly, Nazi officials. During the marriage, Lamarr learned about military technology and weapons from Mandl and his guests. She eventually escaped to London in 1937, taking this knowledge with her.

After arriving in Hollywood, Lamarr became a movie star. She met Howard Hughes, a pilot and inventor, who encouraged her curiosity. Hughes let her study aircraft design and gave her a small workspace on set to experiment. Lamarr combined the wings of the fastest birds with the fins of the fastest fish to design faster, more efficient airplane wings. Hughes praised her as a genius, recognizing her talent for improving machines.

Lamarr’s most important work came in 1940, when she met composer George Antheil. Together, they created a “frequency hopping” system to help the military. Their idea allowed radio-controlled torpedoes to switch between radio frequencies while moving, preventing enemies from jamming or intercepting the signals. This invention could have helped save many lives by making torpedoes more accurate. Lamarr and Antheil received a patent for their “Secret Communication System” in 1942. Although the Navy did not immediately use the technology, it later became the foundation for modern wireless communication systems, including WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth.

During the war, Lamarr also contributed by selling war bonds to support the military effort. She used her fame to raise money for the Allied forces and continued inventing devices that could improve military technology. Her understanding of weapons and electronics, combined with her creativity, made her a quiet but powerful force in the war effort.

Lamarr became an American citizen in 1953. While she never earned money from her frequency-hopping invention during her lifetime, she eventually received recognition for her work. She was awarded the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer Award in 1997 and the Bulbie Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award. In 2014, she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Hedy Lamarr was more than a beautiful movie star. She used her intelligence and creativity to help the military and protect lives during one of the world’s deadliest wars. Her invention of frequency hopping showed how one person’s brilliance can change the course of technology and even aid national defense. Lamarr remains a hero in both Hollywood and the world of science and invention.

References:
Cheslak, Colleen. “Biography: Hedy Lamarr.” National Women’s History Museum, 2018,womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/hedy-lamarr.
“Hedy Lamarr.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 19 Aug. 2025, britannica.com/biography/Hedy-Lamarr.
“The Most Beautiful Woman in Film.” Hedy Lamarr, hedylamarr.com/about/biography.

Keywords:
Innovation, Wartime, Courage, Creativity, Achievement, Self-reliance, Take Risks for Others, Make a Difference

Explore ARTEFFECT projects about this Unsung Hero:
Hedy Lamarr Artworks