Hedy Lamarr was married to a man named Friedrich Mandl (who she later divorced), who manufactured military aircraft. This was in the middle of World War II, so his job was very important at the time. She often accompanied him to the parties he hosted, which were often attended by high ranking military officials and even Hitler. Because of this, she gained a lot of knowledge on radio frequency and how to control military weapons with it. In the summer of 1940, she met George Antheil, whom she would then work together with to develop a formula to use radio frequencies to control war torpedoes. This was very beneficial to the United States during the war.

Hedy Lamarr displayed amazing courage, wisdom, and vision. She was very brave to do something like this, not only because she could get caught, but also because women didn’t do things like this back then.  She was often associated with just being a pretty movie actress. Hedy was also incredibly smart to develop something like this and she clearly had a clear vision for how she wanted it to go. She knew what she was doing. I admire Hedy Lamarr for doing what she did despite all that was going on and what she was told. Hedy Lamarr is a good role model because she showed that you can do great things despite what people tell you. She was very brave.

To illustrate Hedy’s story, I created a wooden box that was designed to look like a radio. On one side I put different icons representing the “pretty movie actress” side of her life such as a movie camera, a star, and quotes that read, “just a pretty face” and “beauty and brains don't go together.” On the other side, I represented the side of Hedy's life where she developed the radio frequencies by showing a pencil and a picture of the formula she used. I also included a picture of a torpedo and a quote by Hedy that says, “All creative people want to do the unexpected.” On each side there is also a picture of Hedy.

The Unsung Heroes project taught me that there are so many people who do amazing things, yet they are not always recognized for it. Hedy Lamarr’s story can still teach people today that they don’t have to fall into the stereotypes that people say about them. We can all do great things if we put our minds to it.