Ruth Barton, details not only how Lamarr’s striking appearance and notoriety catapulted her film career but also many other aspects of the screen legend’s life, including her turn as an inventor who helped develop a frequency-hopping technology intended to mask radio-guided torpedoes from detection.

Lamarr’s fame later turned to infamy after a string of failed marriages, a highly publicized shoplifting conviction, and a lawsuit against the publishers and ghostwriters of her autobiography.

Drawing on extensive research into the recorded truths of Lamarr’s life and the rumours that made her a legend, Hedy Lamarr recognizes Lamarr’s contributions to film and technology while revealing the controversial, intelligent and conflicted woman within.

Ruth Barton is a lecturer in film studies at Trinity College Dublin.