Lamarr, Hedy, << lah MAHR, HEH dee >> (1914-2000), was an Austrian-born American motion-picture actress known for her glamorous beauty. She starred in a number of successful Hollywood films from the 1930’s to the 1950’s. Lamarr was also an inventor. She was one of the inventors of a system that later became important to military communications security and wireless technology.
Lamarr was born on Nov. 9, 1914, in Vienna. Her real name was Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler. She studied theater in Berlin, Germany. She made her motion-picture acting debut as a teenager in the Austrian/German film Geld auf der Strasse (Money on the Street, 1930). In 1933, she attracted international attention by appearing nude in the Czech film Ecstasy.
Lamarr moved to Hollywood in 1937. Her first Hollywood film was the romantic drama Algiers (1938). Her other films include the drama Tortilla Flat (1942), the adventure drama White Cargo (1942), the Biblical epic Samson and Delilah (1949), the comedy My Favorite Spy (1951), and the drama The Female Animal (1958).
In 1942, during World War II, Lamarr and the American composer George Antheil patented a system designed to prevent enemies from jamming the signals sent to radio-controlled torpedoes. At the time, technology was not advanced enough for a practical application of the invention. However, in the late 1950’s, engineers examined the concept again, and it soon became important to the military and wireless communication.
Lamarr became a citizen of the United States in 1953. She wrote the memoir Ecstasy and Me (1967). She died on Jan. 19, 2000.
