Hedy Lamarr was born in 1913 and grew up in Austria as an only child to parents Gertrude and Emil Keisler. Her father was the wealthy director of the Bank of Vienna and her mother was a pianist.
From the age of 15 Lamarr was an actress, and her first big break was when she was 17 in the film Ecstasy. The director convinced Lamarr to run naked across the screen in the film, telling her it would be an abstract scene (1). However, he lied to her: it was a very clear image, and she became famous across Europe for being the naked girl in Ecstasy.
Lamarr married Fitz Mandl when she was 19, though she escaped him a few years later because he supported Adolf Hitler, and her family was Jewish (1). She married five more times but got divorced each time. Between her marriages she had affairs both with men and women. Lamarr also had three children, who she cared for greatly.
After Lamarr left Mandl she moved to Paris and then the United States where she starred in several Hollywood films including: Samson and Delilah (1949), Strange Woman (1946), Dishonored Lady (1947), and L’eterna femmina (1954). Lamarr had to manipulate her way into being in some of these films, because Hollywood had strict rules in place on what film stars were allowed to do at the time (1). Lamarr spent her life connected to Hollywood. The house set used in the Sound of Music (1965) was filmed on a property that she owned (1). Lamarr died peacefully in 2000 at the age of eight-five .
From the age of 15 Lamarr was an actress, and her first big break was when she was 17 in the film Ecstasy. The director convinced Lamarr to run naked across the screen in the film, telling her it would be an abstract scene (1). However, he lied to her: it was a very clear image, and she became famous across Europe for being the naked girl in Ecstasy.
Lamarr married Fitz Mandl when she was 19, though she escaped him a few years later because he supported Adolf Hitler, and her family was Jewish (1). She married five more times but got divorced each time. Between her marriages she had affairs both with men and women. Lamarr also had three children, who she cared for greatly.
After Lamarr left Mandl she moved to Paris and then the United States where she starred in several Hollywood films including: Samson and Delilah (1949), Strange Woman (1946), Dishonored Lady (1947), and L’eterna femmina (1954). Lamarr had to manipulate her way into being in some of these films, because Hollywood had strict rules in place on what film stars were allowed to do at the time (1). Lamarr spent her life connected to Hollywood. The house set used in the Sound of Music (1965) was filmed on a property that she owned (1). Lamarr died peacefully in 2000 at the age of eight-five .