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.
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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
Own 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?