Can you imagine being told that an actress played a crucial role in the development of WiFi? It’s truly astonishing, but true. Hedy Lamarr was the mind behind what we know today as WiFi.

Who was Hedy Lamarr?

Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, better known as Hedy Lamarr, was born on November 9, 1914, in Austria. From an early age, she showed herself to be a prodigious child, and her teachers praised her intelligence. Although she initially studied engineering, she eventually chose the performing arts. With the support of her father, she managed to secure her first roles in Austrian, German, and Czech films.

It was with her film “Ecstasy” that she gained fame, as it included the first nude scene in the history of cinema. Despite the scandal it caused worldwide, it caught the attention of a magnate looking to boost her acting career.

However, her marriage turned out to be a tumultuous experience due to her husband’s jealousy. In an attempt to escape this situation, Hedwig took a transatlantic ship to the United States, where she adopted the name Hedy Lamarr and began her career at MGM.

Return to the world of engineering

While continuing to act in films, World War II erupted. Hedy Lamarr offered her services to the United States government due to her valuable knowledge of German military communications. Working in the military technology department, she realized that the radio signals used to guide torpedoes were vulnerable to interception.

Together with George Antheil, a composer, she developed a communication system for remote-controlled torpedoes. This system operated using 88 frequencies, equivalent to the keys of a piano, and could automatically switch between them, making it difficult for signals to be interfered with.

Despite her invention, its practical application did not become evident until the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Today, her technology lays the groundwork for systems like GPS and is a precursor to the WiFi we enjoy today.

Did she receive recognition during her lifetime?

Unfortunately, recognition came late for Hedy Lamarr. It wasn’t until 1997 that she was finally acknowledged for her invention.

However, her personal life was marked by difficulties, including six marriages, an obsession with plastic surgery, and issues with kleptomania. She withdrew from society and isolated herself in Miami, where she stopped acting and thinking about new inventions. When her contribution was finally recognized, she was already a bitter person. She passed away on January 19, 2000, at the age of 85.

Hedy Lamarr is now recognized in her homeland, and her legacy is of utmost importance. In addition to honoring her great invention, Austria declared November 9, her birthday, as Inventors’ Day in her honor.