She is remembered for her beauty on the silver screen, but the Hollywood actor spent her nights inventing a weapons communication system that was a precursor to wireless technologies including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
Lamarr also, captured international attention as the first female actor to simulate an orgasm in a non-pornographic film. Lamarr quickly got bored of Hollywood, though, and decided to try her hand at helping the Allied war effort instead. She had learned about military technology from her first husband, arms manufacturer Friedrich Mandle, and decided to use that knowledge for the greater good.
She teamed up with her friend George Antheil, a composer, to figure out how to help stop German submarines from jamming Allied radio signals using the same mechanisms found in pianos. In 1942, she developed the “secret communication system,” a frequency-hopping mechanism that laid the foundation for the development of Bluetooth and wi-fi technology. She died at the age of 85 in 2000.
"Her idea of a good evening was a quiet dinner party with some intelligent friends where they could discuss ideas."
Indeed she falls in the category "Brains before beauty".
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