No One Saw It Coming The Hollywood femme fatale who invented wi-fi
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Jan 18, 2026 Ruth Barton, Emeritus Professor of Film at Trinity College Dublin and biographer of Hedy Lamarr, shares captivating insights about the iconic actress and inventor. Lamarr, known as the most beautiful woman in the world, was also a wartime innovator who patented frequency-hopping technology that later became essential to Wi-Fi. Barton discusses Lamarr's Hollywood glamour, her tumultuous marriage to an arms magnate, and her passion for invention. Despite initial dismissal, her groundbreaking work only gained recognition decades later, reshaping her legacy.
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Dramatic Escape To Hollywood
- Hedy Lamarr escaped an unhappy, controlling marriage by swapping places with her maid and fleeing Austria with a bag of jewels.
- She engineered her own passage to Hollywood and signed with Louis B. Mayer aboard the ship.
Image-Making Over Identity
- Hollywood recast Hedwig Kiesler as Hedy Lamarr to remove scandal and manufacture exotic star appeal.
- Louis B. Mayer controlled her image, downplaying her Jewish origins and controversial film past.
From Bond Trains To The Canteen
- During WWII Hedy used her celebrity to sell war bonds and boost troop morale at the Hollywood Canteen.
- She also wanted to contribute technically, not only performatively, to the Allied effort.
