From Homeland to Jack Ryan – agents from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) are abundant in pop culture. And while these novels, movies, and television depictions may be more fiction than fact, it’s intriguing to learn of the real life entertainers and activists who once served valiantly – but covertly – in government intelligence.
5 Famous Historical Figures You Didn’t Know Were in the CIA
Here are five famous historical figures you didn’t know were in the CIA – or who got very close.
1. Julia Child
You know Julia Child as the beloved chef who started a cooking revolution. But during World War II – years before becoming “The French Chef” – Child worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which later became the CIA. Most of her work is kept confidential, but it is said she helped develop a shark repellent, which effectively deterred sharks from triggering underwater bombs. Serving in Washington, D.C., Sri Lanka, and China, she was later awarded the Emblem of Meritorious Civilian.
2. Harriet Tubman
One of the U.S.’ most well-known African Americans, Tubman was notably famous as a conductor on the Underground Railroad – leading more than 300 enslaved people to freedom. But she also served as a Union spy and military commander during the Civil War! While gathering intelligence behind enemy lines, she led three U.S. gunboats and 150 African American soldiers on a raid, freeing 750 enslaved people and destroyed Confederate estates [fact check last claus].
3. Marlene Dietrich
Apparently, the first stars of the silver screen were enticing to both moviegoers and the U.S. government. Early movie stars including Marlene Dietrich, Cary Grant, and Greta Garbo, all worked double-duty as agents on the side. While Grant and Garbo both spied for the Allied Forces during WWII and tracked Nazi sympathizers, the most accomplished was Dietrich [was a 1950s movie star] who became a U.S. citizen after refusing to return to her native Germany. She then risked her safety entertaining American troops at the frontlines of World War II – even recording a propaganda album in 1944 with the OSS to lower morale for German troops and promote defection. She later received the American Medal of Freedom.
4. Harry Houdini
The Hungarian-American illusionist was asked by the American Secret Service to infiltrate Russian police stations and gather information. Houdini would enter the station, demand to be locked up, and use his escape tactics to impress local law enforcement. All the while, he was collecting valuable information in each location, using magic as his cover-up and pulling off the ultimate illusion.
5. Howard Hunt
Howard Hunt served the CIA in various roles from the 1950s to 1970s. He helped plan the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and is best-known for his involvement in the Watergate scandal, breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972, which led to President Nixon’s resignation. While still at the agency, he became a popular espionage novelist, using pseudonyms such as David St. John and P.S. Donoghue.
Next time you watch a spy thriller on TV, read a gripping CIA novel, or even follow your favorite chef’s instructions, think twice. That entertainer may be moonlighting as a secret agent. While we now know historical figures who have served the CIA in the past, many still walk among us.
