Untold Legends: Hedy Lamarr

Hedy’s tumultuous life has taken so many twists and turns. Will she finally get the recognition she deserves as an inventor? We speak to US Navy commanders, a Microsoft inventor and Hedy’s daughter to find out, in the last part of Hedy’s amazing story.

What makes someone a “true legend”? Untold Legends gives legendary status to those who deserve it – and tells their story.

Untold Legends is from the BBC World Service, Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

As Hedy Lamarr gets older, her acting work dries up and she is again embroiled in a public scandal. She is accused of shoplifting. To make things worse, she is taking addictive “remedies” prescribed by Dr Max Jacobson, otherwise known as “Dr Feelgood”. Will Hedy be able to seize back her own narrative?

What makes someone a “true legend”? Untold Legends gives legendary status to those who deserve it – and tells their story.

Untold Legends is from the BBC World Service, Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil’s visionary invention fails to make an impact with the US Navy. The actress decides it’s time to quit MGM Studios to explore new avenues as an independent movie producer. She loses a fortune, and divorces her third husband. Then, there’s a twist in Hedy’s invention tale.

What makes someone a “true legend”? Untold Legends gives legendary status to those who deserve it – and tells their story.

Untold Legends is from the BBC World Service, Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds

The Hollywood star wants to help defeat Hitler, so Hedy Lamarr comes up with an invention. Troubled by what is happening in the Second World War, Hedy works with the avant-garde composer, George Antheil on an idea. France has been invaded and there are torpedo attacks on the ships, SS Volendam and SS City of Benares. Hedy and George want to stop Nazi U-boat forces from jamming the radio signals used to guide Allied torpedoes. They take their idea, an application of frequency hopping, to the National Inventors Council in the US. Will they get their patent?

What makes someone a “true legend”? Untold Legends gives legendary status to those who deserve it – and tells their story.

Hedy’s new life in Hollywood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The party lifestyle isn’t for her and she struggles to make her MGM debut. Eventually though, the film offers start rolling in, starting with Algiers - Hedy’s big Hollywood break. But while Hedy’s living the Hollywood highlife, across the Atlantic, Europe is descending into World War II. Hedy’s Jewish mother manages to leave Austria, now under Nazi control. Hedy’s also starting to feel unchallenged by the film roles she’s being cast in, so turns her creative mind to inventing. She meets one of America's richest and most eccentric men, Howard Hughes. Hughes’s interest in Hedy is initially romantic, but he soon realises her innovative mind is even more impressive than her beauty. She has plenty of ideas and the technical expertise to make them work. Then eventually, a chance meeting with a kindred spirit - the composer George Antheil - sets in motion a path for Hedy, far beyond Hollywood.

A Hollywood deal transforms Hedy Kiesler into Hedy Lamarr - her greatest invention yet? After a daring escape from her husband and the advance of Hitler’s Nazis into Austria, Hedy Lamarr arrives in London broke and alone. She still has a plan to hit the big time. After a last-minute dash to France she blags her way onto the Normandie, a luxury liner bound for New York. She’s trying to persuade a fellow passenger - the movie mogul Louis B. Mayer - to sign her up to MGM. It’s a glamorous voyage, complete with Oscar winners and industry insiders, but when Hedy makes her entrance in the dining room, all eyes are on her.

What makes someone a “true legend”? Untold Legends gives legendary status to those who deserve it – and tells their story.

Untold Legends is from the BBC World Service, Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds

An earlier version of this episode contained factual and editorial errors. This episode was updated on 22 July 2025 to correct them.

A wealthy arms dealer and a world on the brink of war. After the scandal of the Ecstasy movie, Hedy gets married. The threat from the growing influence of the Nazi Party is intensifying in Austria and across Europe. Hedy’s new marriage is soon in trouble, as she becomes a “trophy wife”. As her husband discusses ammunition deals with men like Benito Mussolini, Hedy begins to plot her escape. Untold Legends: Hedy Lamarr is presented by inventor and model Andini, also featuring Hollywood actress and insider AnnaSophia Robb.

Content warning: this episode contains sexual themes that may offend.

Untold Legends is from the BBC World Service, Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

An earlier version of this episode contained factual errors. This episode was updated on 22 July 2025 to correct them.

A scandal in Vienna: Hedy Lamarr’s debut movie is considered so sexual; it is banned in several countries. Hedy has dreams of becoming a star, but are those dreams over before they’ve even really begun? The 1933 film Ecstasy features one of cinema’s first depictions of a female orgasm. However, away from acting, Hedy has another passion. She is curious about how things work – taking apart a music box as a child and then rebuilding it – a fascination that will eventually shape her legacy. Untold Legends: Hedy Lamarr is presented by inventor and model Andini, also featuring special guest, Hollywood actress and insider AnnaSophia Robb.

Content warning: this episode contains sexual themes that may offend.

What makes someone a “true legend”? Untold Legends gives legendary status to those who deserve it – and tells their story.

Untold Legends is from the BBC World Service, Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

An earlier version of this episode contained factual errors. This episode was updated on 22 July 2025 to correct them.

A refugee who escaped the Nazis, a feminist filmmaker and beauty icon, and one of Hollywood’s most famous golden-age stars. You might think you already know her story, but there’s another side to Hedy Lamarr - a genius history overlooked and a true untold legend of invention. This is the amazing story of how one of the most recognisable faces of her time was never seen for who she really was. A story of an Austrian-born entrepreneur and tinsel-town actress who invented the foundations for much of our digital world – the technology behind Bluetooth, GPS and Wifi – but was denied the credit she deserved. From her teenage appearance in a movie considered so sexual it was banned by Hitler, to the fame and fortune that followed, and her breakthrough idea based on “frequency-hopping” during World War Two - this is the story of untold legend Hedy Lamarr. Hosted by Andini, a fellow model and inventor along with special guest, Hollywood actress AnnaSophia Robb. Discover Hedy’s story from 2025.

A bonus episode from the Amazing Sport Stories podcast ? The Black 14. Sport, racism and protests are about to change the lives of ?the Black 14? American footballers. It?s 1969 in the United States. They?ve arrived on scholarships at the University of Wyoming to play for its Cowboys American football team. It was a predominantly white college. The team is treated like a second religion. Then, the players make a decision to take a stand against racism in a game against another university.