Question 1

True or false: She was born in Vienna, Austria, as Hedwig Kiesler, and later changed her name to Hedy Lamarr.

Accepted Answer

True. Born in 1914, she fled her wealthy Jewish family and a controlling husband to pursue acting in Hollywood.

Question 2

True or false: She was the first actress to appear nude in a mainstream Hollywood film.

Accepted Answer

True. Lamarr starred in the 1933 Czech film 'Ecstasy,' which featured nude scenes and simulated orgasm, shocking audiences.

Question 3

True or false: Hedy Lamarr co-invented a frequency-hopping technology that later helped enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Accepted Answer

True. With composer George Antheil, she patented a secret communication system using frequency hopping, a precursor to modern wireless tech.

Question 4

True or false: Hedy Lamarr won an Academy Award for her role in the 1942 film 'The Strange Woman.'

Accepted Answer

False. She never won an Oscar; 'The Strange Woman' was a 1946 film, and she received no major acting awards.

Question 5

True or false: Hedy Lamarr was married six times, including to a French actor and a Texas oil tycoon.

Accepted Answer

False. She was married six times, but none to a French actor; her husbands included a munitions magnate and a nightclub owner.

Question 6

True or false: During World War II, Lamarr helped design a secret communication system for the Allies using player-piano rolls.

Accepted Answer

True. She and Antheil used 88 frequencies, inspired by piano rolls, to create a jam-proof guidance system for torpedoes.

Question 7

True or false: Hedy Lamarr’s invention was used by the U.S. Navy during World War II to guide torpedoes.

Accepted Answer

False. The Navy rejected her patent and didn’t use it until decades later, during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Question 8

True or false: Lamarr’s frequency-hopping patent was filed under her married name, Hedy Kiesler Markey.

Accepted Answer

True. She used her married name from her third husband, W. Howard Lee, but the patent was in her birth name, Hedwig Kiesler Markey.

Hedy Lamarr Trivia Questions