Mata Hari, << MAH tuh HAH ree >> (1876-1917), was a Dutch dancer whom the French convicted of spying for the Germans during World War I (1914-1918). She admitted receiving money from the Germans but denied passing them any secrets. French intelligence also employed her in 1916. When the French realized she was working as a double agent, she was arrested and executed on Oct. 15, 1917.
Mata Hari was born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, on Aug. 7, 1876. Her dancing career began in Paris in 1905, and she became popular across Europe before World War I.
