Anyone can judge anyone by simply looking at them. Like, when you see an actor on TV you might think “Oh she’s pretty that’s all.” But sometimes you have to look a little deeper. Like Hedy Lamarr. On the outside, she may have been pretty but on the inside, she was very smart and made a divice we still use today. She had a very exiting (and hectic!) life. But I can’t just throw you in! We must start at the beginning.
She was born on Nov. 9th, 1913/ 14 in Vienna, Austria. Her original name was Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler. Her father was a bank director and her mother was a concert pianist. When she was younger, her father would explain complex machines –like cars or printing presses- to her and even at five, she would take apart her music box to see how it worked. Her mother on the other hand wanted her to pursue the arts and had her in both ballet and piano and that paid off. By age ten, she could speak four different languages.
In her young adult years, she starred in several movies until she got married to Fritz Mandl who would not let her star in anymore. She got out of that marriage and moved to Hollywood where she signed a contract with MGM and changed her name to Hedy Lamarr. People loved her accent and her beauty, and she quickly skyrocketed in fame.
Only a few years after she came to Hollywood WW2 started. Not many knew at the time, but she was incredibly smart and inventive. So, in 1942 at the peak of her popularity she decided to help with the war effort. She and her friend, a composer named George Antheil, made something called the “secret communications device.” It had changing frequencies and hopping from radio signal to radio signal to keep enemies from decoding the messages. Now, it is used for both military communication but also cell phones. Finally, in 1959, she became a US citizen.
After her career ended, she went on to live a peaceful life in Florida. She was arrested for shoplifting twice, but never convicted, and we still don’t know if she actually did. She was married six times and had three children (one of which was adopted). She died Jan. 19th, 2000 in her Florida home. She was not living with any of her past husbands.
Hedy had always seemed larger than life in my eyes. The fact that her invention is still used today baffles me. She also shows that women don’t have to stay home and be housewives she shows that women can do amazing things too. Sure, she made some questionable life decisions, but she is still a wonderful part of history. My favorite quote from her was “Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid.” I love it because she knew that in the public eye, she was just a pretty face.
Bibliography:
- “Hedy Lamarr.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 17 Apr. 2019, www.biography.com/people/hedy-lamarr-9542252.
- Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Hedy Lamarr.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 15 Jan. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Hedy-Lamarr.
- “Hedy Lamarr.” National Women's History Museum, www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/hedy-lamarr.
