The Hollywood Star Who Helped Invent Wi-Fi

The CIA? Or the KBG, perhaps? What about the “most beautiful woman in the world” who happened to be a certifiable Hollywood star?

In between starring in biblical motion picture films, Hedy Lamarr and her Hollywood neighbor George Antheil would tinker with radio waves in an attempt to aid the ongoing war effort.

One evening in the early 1940s, the pair discovered a remarkable technique called “frequency hopping.” Their invention would allow allied torpedoes to strike their targets without being thwarted by radio jamming - an idea that attracted a great deal of interest from the US Navy.

Frequency hopping played a significant role in WWII and was eventually used to develop Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS, and we have American actor Hedy Lamarr to thank for this.

Her discoveries were a precursor to later developments in wireless networks - and WiFi - we have come to know and rely on today.

Yet despite her incredible contribution to society, Lamarr’s exceptional intellect only became widely known with a 2017 documentary entitled Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story.“ The brains of people are more interesting than the looks...” she knowingly proclaims during the film.

Learn more about Hedy Lamarr with the National Women's Hall of Fame.