Untold Legends: Hedy Lamarr - Hedy Lamarr: 4. Hollywood

Hedy’s new life in Hollywood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The party lifestyle isn’t for her and she struggles to make her MGM debut. Eventually though, the film offers start rolling in, starting with Algiers - Hedy’s big Hollywood break. But while Hedy’s living the Hollywood highlife, across the Atlantic, Europe is descending into World War II. Hedy’s Jewish mother manages to leave Austria, now under Nazi control. Hedy’s also starting to feel unchallenged by the film roles she’s being cast in, so turns her creative mind to inventing. She meets one of America's richest and most eccentric men, Howard Hughes. Hughes’s interest in Hedy is initially romantic, but he soon realises her innovative mind is even more impressive than her beauty. She has plenty of ideas and the technical expertise to make them work. Then eventually, a chance meeting with a kindred spirit - the composer George Antheil - sets in motion a path for Hedy, far beyond Hollywood.

Content warning: This episode contains racist language.

What makes someone a “true legend”? Untold Legends gives legendary status to those who deserve it – and tells their story.

Untold Legends is from the BBC World Service, Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds .

Published on Monday, 14th July 2025.

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