The world is all about spies like James Bond, but when it
comes to female spies, how many names really come to mind? There have been some
incredible heroines in espionage – you just haven’t heard of them. Here are the
most infamous ones that should be on your radar.
1. Anna Chapman
Russian spy and model Anna Chapman was part of a Russian spy
ring, infiltrating the U.S for years while attempting to seduce NSA
whistle-blower Edward Snowden. She used her model status to gain access to
covert government information and secrets, finally getting arrested in NYC
2019.
2. Ana Montes
Ms. Montes was a spy for the Cuban government and starting
working for the US in 1985, with the Defense Intelligence Agency. An expert on
everything Cuban, Ana had a photographic memory and memorized documents with
ease. She even passed polygraph test for the U.S, but alas was sentenced to 25
years in 2002.
3. Josephine Baker
This one might have you scratching your head. Wasn’t
Josephine Baker a dancer and singer in the 1920s? She was also a spy during
WWII on behalf of the French Resistance, smuggling messages in her sheet music.
4. Stephanie Rader
Born to Polish immigrants in Ohio, Stephanie Rader joined
the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in 1942 before being recruited to the Office
of Strategic Services. Feigning the identity of a woman searching for lost
family members in war, she got a job at the embassy. Undercover, she gathered
info on Russian troop movements, political statistics, and the police. All in
plain clothing, and with no gun. Badass, much?
5. Nancy Wake
At first glance, Nancy was just your everyday journalist.
After marrying rich French industrialist, she joined the ranks of high-society
France. A pioneer in the French Resistance, Wake established lines of
communication between the French Resistance and British military, saving the
lies of Allies along the way. According to some, this Nazi vigilante killed
many a German soldier, one even with her bare hands.
6. Melita Norwood
Melita was a secretary at the British Non Ferrous Metals
Research Association in the 1930s. Only thing is, the BNF was a cover-up
organization for Britain’s nuclear weapons program known as the Tube Alloys
project. She identified with the communist values of the Soviets, and hence got
involved in the KGB, staying at BNF facilities after hours and removing files
from the safes, sending copies to KGB handlers.
7. Noor Inayat Khan
This original baddie was the first British Indian spy, as
well as the first female radio operator. Under the code name Madeleine, Noor
worked for a residence movement in Paris, avoiding capture with smooth and
swift relocation. When captured by the Gestapo, she refused to give any
information, and was eventually tortured to death by Nazi police.
8. Christine Granville
A beauty queen turned spy, Christine Granville was a model
before she got involved with World War II. Carrying messages through Poland to
Allied forces, Christine risked her life as she saved soldiers from execution
and used her beauty and charm as an asset.
9. Mata Hari
An undercover spy with the feigned identity of an exotic
Asian dancer is something out of a movie, but it was real life for Miss Hari,
who toured Europe performing dancing shows and narrating extravagantly
exaggerated stories about her life. She was seductive and convincing, as well
as a massager for the Allies’ opposition. She had affairs with high-up military
officials and coaxed secrets from them, but was eventually found out by the
Allies and killed.
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