WIFI IT
ACTRESS | PRODUCER | SCIENTIST | INVENTOR | COMMUNICATION PIONEER
In a different era, Hedy Lamarr’s life might have taken a direction that had nothing to do with her appearance but with her mind. Born in Vienna in 1914, her wealthy parents steeped her in arts and academia. Her lifelong passion for ideas and creating rose from long walks with her father, where he would explain the inner workings of all sorts of things.
At nineteen Hedy married a powerful Austrian tycoon who was so abusive she sewed her jewels into her clothing, disguised herself as the maid and fled into the night. She escaped to Hollywood and was reborn as Hedy Lamarr.
Hedy became a leading actress and was lauded as the most beautiful woman in the world. Her exotic good looks became the inspiration for Snow White and Catwoman. When producers did not present her with the roles she wanted, Hedy chafed Hollywood bosses by producing two movies of her own – one of which explored how beauty got in the way of love for three great women in history.
She was a movie star by day and genius inventor by night. Though she had no formal training in engineering or chemistry, Hedy came up with one of the most important inventions of our time. Her groundbreaking concept of frequency hopping radio, the rapid switching of communication signals among different frequencies, was patented and gifted to the US WWII war effort. Because she was a woman and civilian, it was ignored. Decades later Hedy’s frequency hopping concept became the foundation for WiFi, Bluetooth, and other modern-day technology.
Lamarr was finally recognized in 1997 for her communications invention when she became the first female to receive the BULBIE™ Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award, considered the "Oscars" of inventing.