Once dubbed the world’s most beautiful woman, Hollywood major film star and legendary inventor Hedy Lamarr spent her last years in her home in Florida keeping herself very much to herself.

She had turned her back it seems on the Hollywood glitz – and maybe she realised that her time in the world of films was over.

Despite being one of the most important inventors of the 20th century, she lived her last days in solitude, far from the Hollywood glare, in a three-bedroom home in Casselberry, 20 minutes outside Orlando.

She has been described as a recluse during her last years but maybe she just wanted to live her life away from the inevitable glare of publicity.

Hedy Lamarr died at the age of 85 in January, 2000, never having been fully recognised for her invention that helped change the world.

Hedy Lamarr, born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, was a Hollywood film star, and more importantly, an inventor. In 1981, she retired to Miami Beach, Florida and later spent her final years in central Florida.

At the age of 28, Hedy Lamarr designed and patented a radio controlled, frequency hopping system called the Secret Communication System that was intended to keep U.S. Naval torpedoes from being detected by German naval fleets. Lamarr donated the patent to the U.S. Naval war effort, and although the Navy didn’t employ it during WWII, it proved to be invaluable during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Over the course of the next six decades, her groundbreaking invention went on to serve as the foundation for a multitude of communication technologies, including fax machines, top-secret military and diplomatic communications, GPS, internet, Wi-Fi, satellite communication systems, and wireless communication, spawning significant advances in cyber security.

Despite having never been formally educated in math or science, Hedy Lamarr paved the way for advancements in communication technologies that will continue to be used worldwide for years to come.

In 1997, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) was the first to publicly acknowledge Hedy Lamarr for her invention by presenting her with the EFF Pioneer Award. She later went on to be the first woman to receive the BULBIE Gnass Spirit of Achievement Bronze Award, and in 2014 she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Her home in Casselberry, 20 minutes outside Orlando

The Florida home is a far cry from the Hollywood mansion Lamarr once lived in at 2707 Benedict C

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• Hedy Lamarr is credited in a total of 35 films, but the actress was reportedly bored of the roles she was given that were often light on lines and focused on her looks

Hedy Lamarr had three children

The 2017 documentary film Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr story re-told the story of the film star’s incredible life.