A Top-5 List of Female Spies With Wild Stories (2 of 3)

2. Mata Hari — The Seductive Spy Who Maybe… Wasn’t a Spy

Mata Hari—born Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod—has been painted as the ultimate femme fatale spy, a woman who supposedly seduced generals, diplomats, and high-ranking officers to extract secrets — but the wild twist is that she may not have actually done any spying at all.

After moving to Paris, she reinvented herself as an exotic performer, adopting the stage name Mata Hari. She was rumored to have passed military intelligence hidden inside her lingerie and garter straps.

When World War I needed a villain, she became the easiest target. France executed her as a traitor—but she faced her firing squad without a blindfold, blew a kiss to the soldiers, and refused to be tied — becoming immortal in that final act.

3. Virginia Hall — The One-Legged Spy Who Outran the Gestapo

Virginia Hall, concealed as an ordinary American woman, was a formidable force. After losing her leg in a hunting accident, she named her wooden prosthetic “Cuthbert” and promptly became one of the most effective Allied agents of World War II. When she sent the British SOE a message complaining about “Cuthbert giving her trouble,” London misunderstood and replied: “If Cuthbert is giving you trouble, eliminate him.” Can you imagine?

Working with the SOE and later the OSS, she organized resistance networks across France, coordinated sabotage, and funneled intelligence right under Nazi noses. The Gestapo labeled her “the most dangerous Allied spy” and plastered wanted posters everywhere—without realizing for months that their terrifying enemy was a woman.

When her cover was blown, she escaped by trekking across the Pyrenees in winter with her wooden leg. Then she disguised herself as a cranky milkmaid and went right back to work.