Hedy Lamarr

Born

1914 · Vienna, Austria-Hungary

Roots

Viennese Jewish; emigrated to the US in 1937

Family

Affluent

Bank-director father, pianist mother; a cultured Döbling household.

Education

Left school for acting at 16

Started with

An escape

Fled a controlling arms-dealer husband and Austria in 1937; negotiated an MGM contract aboard the ship to America.

Affiliations & societies

None documented.

Information only — claims like these are often unverifiable and may be wrong.

The pathway

1. 1933 · age 18
   European stardom and a gilded cage

   Marries munitions magnate Fritz Mandl, who controls her career and movements; she absorbs arms-industry talk at his dinners.

2. 1937 · age 22
   The escape$500/week

   Leaves Mandl and Austria; meets MGM's Louis B. Mayer in London and re-negotiates his lowball offer aboard the Normandie.

3. 1938 · age 23
   Hollywood debut

   Algiers makes her a star billed as "the most beautiful woman in the world."

4. 1942 · age 27
   The frequency-hopping patent

   With composer George Antheil, patents a jam-proof torpedo guidance system; the Navy shelves it and sends her to sell war bonds.

5. 1962 · age 47
   The idea surfaces

   Related techniques appear on US ships during the Cuba blockade — after the patent has expired.

6. 1997 · age 82
   Recognition

   Receives the EFF Pioneer Award; spread spectrum by then underpins wireless communications. Her reported response: "It's about time."