Doppelgänger

Vienna, Austria

I would like to introduce you to two extraordinary Austrian women, both born in Vienna in 1914.  I will call them Hedwig and Kiesler for now.  Here are their bios:

Hedwig

• Showed an early interest in theatre and film,
• Acted in her first screenplay at 16,
• Was given her first leading role at 18,
• Married at 18, but fled her controlling husband,
• Moved to California where she met film producer Louis B. Mayer,
• Mayer promoted her as the “world’s most beautiful woman”,
• Acted in countless Hollywood films as leading lady, from 1937 to 1966,
• Sold War Bonds using her celebrity status during WWII,
• Honoured with many acting awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,
• In later years she suffered mental trauma as a result of her stardom and retreated to a life of seclusion until her death at age 85.

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And,

Kiesler

• Learned about technological inventions from her father, at an early age,
• Married an Austrian arms merchant and munitions manufacturer with ties to Benito Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler,
• Attended military technology conferences with her husband, which introduced her to applied science of warfare,
• Being Jewish, she escaped Nazi Austria by moving to Paris, then America in 1937,
• During interludes while working her day job, she began designing various innovations, ranging from an improved traffic stoplight, to a tablet that produced carbonated drinks,
• While working with her Nazi arms dealer former husband, she identified a need for a radio-controlled torpedo guidance system that couldn’t be jammed,
• She designed and patented a stealth guidance system that used frequency hopping technology,
• The appliance proved to be too large to fit in most torpedoes, but her technology would eventually be adopted and used as the basis for wireless phones and Wi-Fi,
• She was bestowed with an Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award in 1997, and the BULBIE Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award for creative advancements in science.
• Died in January 2000 and has a memorial dedicated to her in Vienna’s Central Cemetery.

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Both of these Austrian women reached the highest level of achievement in their respective fields, but what makes their success story truly unique is that Hedwig Kiesler is one person! 

Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler adopted the stage name Hedy Lamarr.  She is known by that name for her film achievements; her accomplishments in science and her patents are registered to Hedy Kiesler, Lamarr’s ….

… Doppelgänger.

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