Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr is now recognized as a female Inventor for her work on a secure radio guidance system for torpedos that was used successfully by the American military during World War II.

• Along with collaborator George Antheil, she was a pioneer in the field of wireless communications and spread spectrum technology

• Discovered how to manipulate radio frequencies (called frequency hopping) to form an unbreakable code to protect classified messages from being intercepted by the German military

• Her work was a forerunner to modern day Bluetooth technology used in mobile phones and Wi-Fi systems.

• She never received any money for her invention that was largely ignored at the time

• She was marketed as the most beautiful woman in the world by Hollywood film makers.

• But she lived an unhappy life as a movie actress beset by scandal, celebrity, sexism and depression.

 Learning Plans about Actresses and Math

Danica McKellar at the 2018 United States National Book Festival

More Than an Actress: An Interview with Danica McKellar, Mathematician and Author

Hedy Lamarr: An Inventive Mind is a learning plan for students to understand the difficulties women in the STEM fields faced to be recognized for their accomplishments.

• With the focus on Hedy Lamarr, the lesson describes who she was, what she was known for, and the struggles she endured.

• This plan allows students to understand the difficulties most female inventors and scientists faced in a world that didn't accept them.

• This lesson plan also touches on the role of women and limitations during World War II as well as the process of obtaining a patent. This emphasizes women in STEM who are not typically taught in school and how few got the recognition they deserved. 

5 Actresses Who Also Work as Scientists

Hedy Lamarr's 101st Birthday Google Doodle (November 9, 2015)

This is a google doodle celebrating the 101st birthday of Hedy Lamarr, highlighting her accomplishments that helped in the development of frequency hopping which is used in bluetooth and GPS technology today.

• Her birthday, November 9 is also European Inventors Day

Hedy Lamarr: Inventor

5 Facts About Hedy Lamarr, Star, Inventor, Wartime Code Maker

Hedy Lamar in the film The Conspirators, 1943

 The brilliant mind of Hollywood legend Hedy Lamarr video

• This video helps to differentiate learning because it includes old videos, photos, current interviews, and different speakers to help keep the viewer interested and informed in multiple facets of Hedy Lamarr’s story.
• It even includes Hedy Lamarr’s actual explanation of her thought process in her own voice.

Hedy Lamarr During World War II

Hedy Lamarr attempted to actively aid the United States Army, despite not even being a United States citizen yet. 

When she was dismissed for trying to help create new kinds of torpedoes that would help the military in war, she was told to just sell war bonds.

     She raised $25 million worth of war bonds, translated to $343 million in today's dollars. 

Here is a link to a short video that gives insight to Hedy Lamarr's involvement during World War II and how the people around her would not accept her for being pretty and smart. 

Here is a link to a short video that talks about feminism in Hollywood. Hedy Lamarr, being "one of the most glamorous stars show business has ever produced" and "one of the most beautiful women in the world", was judged and belittled by her face. This short video discusses how people dismissed her desire to do something important with her life, instead leaving her limited to being the prettiest face in Hollywood. 

"Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story" released in 2017 is a documentary dedicated to Hedy Lamarr's invention of technology that would lead to the cell phone and Bluetooth. Directed by Alexandra Dean, this documentary explores how Hedy Lamarr's true legacy is that of a technological trailblazer and she was never publicly talked about as an inventor, so her family assumed her accomplishments would die with her. 

PODCASTS

Click here for a "Most Beautiful Woman by Day, Inventor by Night," an NPR podcast about Hedy's Folly, the book by Richard Rhodes.

Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast

    This podcast tells her life as if it is a story--interesting and engaging presentation.

https://evergreenpodcasts.com/professional-book-nerds/marie-benedict-on-the-only-woman-in-the-room

Marie Benedict is the guest of this podcast discussing the enormous unknown story of Hedy Lamarr, from her first marriage to the richest man in Austria, an arms manufacturer, to her inventions in Hollywood. Amazing!

Hedy's idea for frequency hopping technology came form her knowledge of a PRIOR technology:

paper piano player rolls w/holes punched indicating which notes play when -- not all notes play simultaneously.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_roll

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aseMAEctM1s

Link here for more information about Hedy Lamarr's communication patent!

Lamarr Patent, 1941

Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Invention of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World Richard Rhodes, 2012.

• The book describes how the Hollywood film star was also a scientific inventor who collaborated on the development of spread-spectrum radio, the technology that made wireless phones, GPS systems, and many other devices of our day possible.

Picture Book:  Hedy Lamarr's Double Life:  Hollywood Legend and Brilliant Inventor, Laurie Wallmark.  Illustrated by Kathy Wu.  (Sterling Children's Books, 2019.

Q. To what extent would Hedy Lamarr’s invention have been acknowledged had she not been so known for being a bombshell in Hollywood?

A.  I think she still would have been dismissed, possibly even more than if she was famous. I think that if she was not famous, she would not have the resources to explain her invention to even be turned away. I also think that being a woman during this era was reason enough to belittle her invention to dismiss it quickly without seeing the benefits and technological breakthrough.

(Question and response submitted by Callie Sullivan, March 2023)