HEDY LAMARR

Impact

In an era, where women’s aptitude was often overshadowed for their appearance, Hedy Lamarr broke expectations, and pursued her interests fiercely. Her impact as an inventor was overlooked for most of her life, and the recognition is long overdue.

Hedy Lamarr, had a mind for invention, and while her impact was felt during WWII, it has extended until today. Alongside, George Antheil, Hedy Lamarr received a patent for a radio signaling device, whose implications weren’t fully understood until decades later.

That innovation is fundamental in the bluetooth and WIFI technology that is the foundation of much of our society today.

Lamarr, the actor and inventor whose untapped potential we will never know. We thank you.

Bio

Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914, Hedy Lemar fled Fascist Austria-Hungary to pursue a career on the big screen during Hollywood’s Golden Age. After signing with MGM, she went on to impress American audiences, becoming one of the most sought after starlets of her time, appearing in hits like White Cargo (1942), The Conspirators (1944) and Sampson and Delilah (1949). Apart from her career as a movie star, Hedy was also a renowned tinker with a knack for engineering and invention. She created a Soda flavored tablet that dissolved in water and added significant upgrades to the spotlight, but her most notable contribution came in the field of frequency hopping technology.

In the lead up to WWII, Lemarr knew that she had to put her exceptional talent to use in any way she could. Alongside composer George Anthiel, she developed a ground breaking technology that allowed radio waves to frequency hop with their respective transmitters and receivers. The goal was to apply this technology to US torpedoes, making them undetectable to enemy ships. Upon seeking patents from the U.S. Navy, she was rejected and the tech was shelved, leading Hedy to use her celebrity to sell war bonds as a form of support for the Allied Powers. Though her work in frequency hopping was never applied during WWII, it became the foundation of the Wi Fi & Bluetooth technology universally used today. Later in her life, Lemarr received a number of awards including The Pioneer Award 1997 from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was eventually inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and given the name “The Mother of Wi Fi.”