Wonder Woman of the Week: Hedy Lamarr

The Wonder Woman for this week was one of the few historical figures that truly could have been Wonder Woman herself. A master of deceit, technological genius, classical beauty, and charm that would knock anyone off their feet- Hedy Lamarr is credited with a serious list of life accomplishments. From her work as a Hollywood actress defining the role of women in 1940's cinema as strong and independent with deep character to her work during World War II developing technology for remote guided torpedoes and helping Jews under Nazi occupation escape Europe, Hedy Lamarr was a multi-faceted superhero in her time.

Hedy Lamarr was the child of Jewish immigrants from Budapest to Austria- although Lamarr had converted to Christianity- and married young at 18 years old to a 33 year-old Austrian arms dealer. When Nazi Germany began annexing Czechoslovakia and Austria, Lamarr escaped Austria and her abusing marriage and moved to Paris in secret. There, she signed a contract with Louis B Mayer to become a Hollywood actress. (But more on that later.) During her new life in the United States, Lamarr worked first with helping family members still in occupied Europe escape to safe territory then began developing technology that would help submarine crews guide torpedoes remotely.

Hedy Lamarr's software for remote controlled torpedoes would later be improved upon by post-WWII scientists into several forms of wireless controlled devices- including bluetooth and wifi. (Meaning Hedy Lamarr is responsible for wireless headsets and speakers, wifi internet, and global positioning satellites or GPS.) Lamarr also used her celebrity status during the war to help sell bonds which raised money for the war effort.

During her time as a Hollywood actress, Lamarr was typecast as the "foreign seductress" in most of her films and often played opposite some of Hollywood's leading men- such as Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy. Between 1940 and 1949, Lamarr made eighteen films as the lead actress- including Samson and Delilah which earned two Oscars. But after the 1940's the actress' film career began to decline. Ultimately, Lamarr became bored with the lack of diversity in her film roles- which she used as her inspiration for inventing technology for the war. When the war ended though and Lamarr's film career fell into decline, the actress retreated from public life and became a Hollywood recluse.