Austrian actress was prototype for Selina Kyle/Catwoman
Hedwig Eva Kiesler was born 106 years ago today in Vienna. This daughter of a Jewish mother from Hungary and a father from what is now Ukraine would emerge as Hedy Lamarr, a renowned actress and inventor. Her career began in Germany, and Hollywood would soon follow. Ms. Lamarr’s career would go on until 1958.
By this time, she had served as a role model for the character of Selina Kyle, initially known as “The Cat.” She would morph into Catwoman, a character we continue to enjoy today.
She also invented a frequency-hopping system for remotely controlling torpedoes, which formed the basis for wi-fi and bluetooth. Sadly, she never received the compensation deserved for that. Increasingly reclusive in her final years, she died on 19 January 2000 in Casselberry, Florida, USA. She was 85.
