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Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 – January 19, 2000) was an Austrian and American actress and inventor.

Regarded as a successful film star, she also co-invented a radio guidance system during World War II. After a brief early film career in Czechoslovakia, including the controversial erotic romantic drama Ecstasy (1933), she fled from her first husband, Friedrich Mandl, and secretly moved to Paris. Mayer, who offered her a film contract in Hollywood. Lamarr became a film star with her performance in the romantic drama Algiers (1938). Lamarr's most successful film was the religious epic Samson and Delilah (1949). She was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. At the beginning of World War II, along with composer George Antheil, Lamarr co-invented a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of radio jamming by the Axis powers. Similar technology was used in operational systems only beginning in 1962, which was well after World War II and three years after the expiry of the Lamarr–Antheil patent. Frequency hopping, which existed and was utilized before the Lamarr–Antheil patent, is a foundational technology for spread spectrum communications.

Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna, the only child of Gertrud "Trude" Kiesler (née Lichtwitz) and Emil Kiesler.

Of her co-stars, Lamarr said, "Clark Gable, so warm and friendly to the insecure actress … Claudette Colbert, such a lady to me, although much higher in the MGM pecking order." MGM promptly reteamed Lamarr and Gable in Comrade X (1940), a comedy film in the vein of Ninotchka (1939), which was another hit.

Lamarr became estranged from her older son, James Lamarr Loder, when he was 12 years old. Lamarr left James Loder out of her will, and he sued for control of the US$3.3 million estate left by Lamarr in 2000.

Lamarr became estranged from the boy when he was 12 years old, their relationship ended abruptly, they did not speak again for almost 50 years, and Lamarr left him out of her will. Anthony Loder was featured in the 2004 documentary film Calling Hedy Lamarr. Throughout her life, Lamarr claimed that her first son, James Lamarr Loder, was not biologically related to her and was adopted during her marriage to Gene Markey.

Parodied through the villain Hedley Lamarr in the Mel Brooks western spoof Blazing Saddles, in which the character, played by Harvey Korman, is repeatedly mistaken for "Hedy Lamarr" and irritably responds, "That's Hedley" (1974). Her son Anthony Loder appears in the documentary film Calling Hedy Lamarr, which incorporates recordings of Lamarr's personal telephone conversations (2004). The story of Lamarr's frequency-hopping invention and her later recognition as an inventor is the subject of the documentary Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was later broadcast on American Masters (2017).

Referenced in the I Love Lucy episode "The Dancing Star", in which Lucille Ball quips, "Gee, that means that you didn't see Clark Gable or Walter Pidgeon or Hedy Lamarr.

The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, a one-woman show created and performed by Heather Massie, presents her life story on stage (2016). Stand Still and Look Stupid: The Life Story of Hedy Lamarr, a one-actor play written by Mike Broemmel and starring Emily Ebertz, focuses on Lamarr's film career and inventive work (first staged 2016). The dance production Hedy Lamarr: An American Muse, created by Linze Rickles McRae and performed with her daughter Azalea McRae and students of the Downtown Dance Conservatory in Gadsden, Alabama, staged a choreographic tribute to Lamarr (2023).

Kleiner's pet headcrab, Lamarr, is named after Hedy Lamarr (2004).

Quick Facts

• Lamarr became a film star with her performance in the romantic drama Algiers (1938).
• Similar technology was used in operational systems only beginning in 1962, which was well after World War II and three years after the expiry of the Lamarr–Antheil patent.
• At the beginning of World War II, along with composer George Antheil, Lamarr co-invented a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of radio jamming by the Axis powers.
• Frequency hopping, which existed and was utilized before the Lamarr–Antheil patent, is a foundational technology for spread spectrum communications.
• Kleiner's pet headcrab, Lamarr, is named after Hedy Lamarr (2004).

Source material: Wikipedia - "Hedy Lamarr". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.