--- description: The stunningly beautiful Hedy Lamarr was a movie star of the first magnitude. She was also a brilliant inventor. title: Hedy Lamarr: Stardom, Scandal and One Amazing Invention image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce4e9e1d1c61e753/69884422f887dcbefbe8f1bc/85704718.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [actresses](/tag/actresses/) ## actresses Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # LIFE With Hedy Lamarr: Stardom, Scandal and One Amazing Invention by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 20, 2014 11:47 PM CUT  The cover of LIFE Magazine features a photograph of Austrian-born actress Hedy Lamarr, June 1, 1942\. (Photo by Bob Landry/Time & Life Pictures) The cover of LIFE Magazine features a photograph of Austrian-born actress Hedy Lamarr, June 1, 1942\. (Photo by Bob Landry/Time & Life Pictures)LIFE Magazine by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 20, 2014 11:47 PM CUT She was a glamorous movie star of the 1930s and ’40s, a taboo-breaking beauty credited with simulating the first on-screen orgasm (outside of pornography movies, of course) and appearing naked in the 1933 Czech film, [_Ecstasy_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022867/ "undefined"). But [Hedy Lamarr](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001443/ "undefined") was a trailblazer in more ways than one. Fascinated by science and eager to find a way to help the Allies during World War II, she devised a way to make radio signals “jump” between frequencies — a technique known as “frequency-hopping” — in order to prevent the signals from being jammed. After Lamarr and her partner, the composer [George Antheil](http://www.antheil.org/george.html "undefined"), obtained a patent for the invention in 1942, they gave it — at no charge — to the U.S. Navy, which began using it in the 1960s. Today, variants of Hedy Lamarr’s breakthrough invention are used in communication technologies like Bluetooth and [CDMA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code%5Fdivision%5Fmultiple%5Faccess "undefined"). The story of Lamarr and Antheil’s triumph can be found in Richard Rhodes’ 2011 book, [_Hedy’s Folly_](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/books/review/hedys-folly-by-richard-rhodes-book-review.html "undefined")_: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World_. In 2014, the two were finally inducted into the [National Inventors Hall of Fame](http://invent.org/ "undefined"). Here, 100 years after her birth (b. Nov. 9, 1914, in Vienna), LIFE celebrates Hedy Lamarr, the movie star. She died in 2000 at age 86, more famous for her movie career, off-screen romances and scandals (two shoplifting arrests later in life; six marriages; seemingly endless lawsuits brought by her and against her) than for the brilliant, landmark technology she brought to life. ---  Gold medalist Germany's Eric Frenzel, silver medalist Japan's Akito Watabe and fourth place Italy's Alessandro Pittin lie on the snow at the finish line of the Nordic Combined Individual NH / 10 km Cross-Country. LIFE Magazine ---  Hedy Lamarr, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt--Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Hedy Lamarr, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt--Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Hedy Lamarr during press conference after her arrest for shoplifting, Los Angeles, 1966\. The charges were dropped. Bill Ray--Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Hedy Lamarr, Los Angeles, 1946. Eliot Elisofon--The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Hedy Lamarr, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt--Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3881293/hedy-lamarr-stardom-scandal-and-one-amazing-invention/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3881293/hedy-lamarr-stardom-scandal-and-one-amazing-invention/"},"headline":"LIFE With Hedy Lamarr: Stardom, Scandal and One Amazing Invention","datePublished":"2014-10-20T23:47:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:03:35.225Z","description":"Hedy Lamarr was a glamorous movie star of the 1930s and '40s, a taboo-breaking beauty credited with simulating the first on-screen orgasm. She was also a brilliant inventor.","url":"https://time.com/3881293/hedy-lamarr-stardom-scandal-and-one-amazing-invention/","keywords":["actresses","movies","Hollywood","Ben Cosgrove","actress","invention","Science and Technology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce4e9e1d1c61e753/69884422f887dcbefbe8f1bc/85704718.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Cosgrove","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce4e9e1d1c61e753/69884422f887dcbefbe8f1bc/85704718.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hedy Lamarr, LIFE magazine, 1942","caption":"Hedy Lamarr, 1942","creditText":"LIFE Magazine","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/actresses/","name":"actresses"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3881293/hedy-lamarr-stardom-scandal-and-one-amazing-invention/","name":"LIFE With Hedy Lamarr: Stardom, Scandal and One Amazing Invention"}}]}] ```