For some, Milady from the "Three Musketeers" was the embodiment of deceit, and for others - an exemplary scout of Cardinal Richelieu, who managed to carry out the task of her patron even while in captivity with Lord Winter.
But in real life, there were also enough female spies (for their part, of course, scouts) who successfully performed such operations that James Bond himself would turn green with envy. Here 10 most famous female spies in history.
10. Belly Boyd
"South Belly", aka Isabella Maria Boyd, played a major role in many of the victories of the southern people during the American Civil War. Once in Martinsburg, occupied by the northerners, she collected information about the enemy's troops and transmitted information to the leadership of the Confederation. One of these letters ended up in the hands of the northerners. Isabella's handwriting was recognized and intimidated with violence, but the threat was not carried out.
After the war, the ex-spy of the Southerners lived first in Canada, then in England, and several times visited America with lectures and stories. Belly Boyd died in her native country, and a museum named after her still operates in Martinsburg.
9. Melita Norwood
The innocent secretary of the British Association for Non-Ferrous Metals Research (also known as the "BNF") in the 1930s was in charge of things like arranging meetings and processing documents. Nothing serious. Only the BNF was actually a front for the Tube Alloys project, the UK's nuclear weapons program.
Although Norwood lived and worked in Britain, she was Russian at heart, identifying with the communist ideologies of the Soviet government. She collaborated with the KGB, working, as they say, for an idea, not for money.
For 40 years Melita handed over documents classified as "secret" to the USSR, including those related to the nuclear program. Much of this information has been used to modernize Russian nuclear technology.
After Norwood's activities became known to the general public (thanks to the betrayal of intelligence officer Vasily Mitrokhin), she was asked to reveal the identities of her Russian accomplices. She refused, stating that she could not remember their names due to memory loss. As Mayakovsky wrote: “Nails would be made of these people. There would be no stronger nails in the world ”.
8. Christina Skarbek
This Polish woman was one of the most beautiful and successful spies in the world. During World War II, she carried out secret Allied missions in Nazi-occupied European countries, in particular, organized the work of couriers in Poland and Hungary.
One story tells of how Skarbek escaped from the police by biting her tongue and pretending to die of tuberculosis. She also used her beauty as a bargaining chip, gaining valuable information from Nazi lovers.
Perhaps it was Skarbek's personality that inspired Ian Fleming, describing Vesper Lynd in his book Casino Royale.
7. Nur Inayat Khan
Nur Inayat Khan's father came from a princely Indian family, so Nur can be safely called an Indian princess.But instead of a luxurious and carefree life, she was waiting for a bright, glorious, albeit short career as a British intelligence officer-radio operator.
During World War II, she was part of the Resistance movement in Paris under the codename "Madeleine". While many other members of the Resistance were arrested, Khan escaped arrest time and again by moving frequently and remaining in constant radio communication with London. Unfortunately, the long and successful career of the Anglo-Indian intelligence officer ended when she was betrayed to the Nazis by a local Frenchwoman. Khan got into the Gestapo, but even under torture she did not give out encryption codes. She tried to escape several times and was finally sent to the Dachau concentration camp, where she died.
6. Mata Hari (Margareta Gertrude Zelle)
Perhaps the most famous female spy in history, although not the most successful one. This famous exotic dancer at the beginning of the 20th century traveled across Europe, telling interesting, but completely untrue stories of her youth. She assured some that she was a princess, the daughter of King Edward VII and an Indian princess. She told others that Indian priestesses taught her to dance.
Mata Hari's seductive looks and occupation gave her the perfect cover for spying for Germany during World War I. This beauty was famous for leading high-ranking lovers from different countries, finding out from them details about weapons and the number of troops. However, there is speculation that her effectiveness as a spy was grossly overestimated.
In 1917, Mata Hari was captured by the French and shot for spying on behalf of the enemy. A dramatic end to a dramatic career.
5. Virginia Hall
This British spy was known to German counterintelligence as "Artemis". During World War II, she worked with the French Resistance, rescued prisoners of war, and recruited hundreds of people to work against the Nazis (who called her the "lame lady" since Hall had a wooden prosthetic leg instead of one leg).
Using her sharp mind to stay one step ahead of the enemy, Hall conducted successful intelligence activities and, unlike Nur Inayat Khan, managed to escape the torture chambers of the Gestapo. She is the only woman to receive the Distinguished Service Cross, the second most prestigious US military honor.
4. Nancy Wake
The "White Mouse", as Nancy was called during her tenure in the French Resistance, quickly became the heroine of the movement. Her successes included establishing a link between the British military and the French Resistance, saving the lives of the Allies by secretly ferrying them across France to Spain, and collecting and storing weapons to advance the Allies.
She was often credited with eliminating German spies, and once, according to rumors, Wake killed a German with her bare hands, interrupting his larynx with a special technique. In 1943, the Gestapo awarded 5 million francs for the head of the White Mouse. However, the Nazis did not manage to capture her. Wake died at the venerable age of 98, in 2011.
3. Anna Chapman
One of the most famous Russian intelligence officers of the 21st century acted in the United States under the guise of an entrepreneur. She spent years in the United States trying to gather information of any kind that might be useful to the Russian government.
In 2010, Chapman was arrested in New York, admitted that she collaborated with the Russian Federation and, together with other defendants in this case, was exchanged for several Russian citizens who were accused of spying for the United States and England.
She was accused of trying to seduce ex-NSA and CIA officer Edward Snowden in order to keep him in Russia, but the flirtation between the two exposed agents never ended in a strong and happy marriage.
2. Josephine Baker
The American-born black singer and dancer quickly became one of the most popular and highest paid female performers in Europe in the 1920s.Dressed only in her famous banana skirt, and bright decorations, she performed on the stage of the famous Parisian cabaret "Folies Bergere". And even got access to the center of the musical and theatrical world of America - Broadway.
What most people don't know, however, is that Baker was not only a talented singer and dancer, but also a successful spy. She worked for the French Resistance during World War II, transporting secret messages in music books and sometimes even in her underwear. For her work, Baker received military honors from the French government after the end of the war.
1. Ana Montes
The US Department of Defense Intelligence Officer had an ardent sympathy for Liberty Island and openly disagreed with US foreign policy towards Cuba. So when Cuban officials approached her one day, Ana agreed to carry out secret assignments for them.
Montes not only had access to state secrets (in particular, the invasion of Afghanistan), but also possessed a photographic memory. This made it easier for her to memorize the necessary documents. When her colleagues became suspicious of Montes, she agreed to take a polygraph test to prove her loyalty to the United States. And successfully passed it.
She secretly worked for the Cuban government for several years, until the FBI got on the trail of Montes. In 2002, Ana pleaded guilty to espionage and received a 25-year prison sentence.