Stars who were SPIES!

AWAY FROM THE CAMERA, THESE STARS WERE PLAYING EVEN BIGGER ROLES

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CARY GRANT

Best remembered as the dashing leading man in classic films like An Affair to Remember and North by Northwest, Cary Grant was leading a double life as a real-life spy employed by the British government.

Cary, who passed away aged 82 in 1986, was one of the world’s best Nazi hunters during World War II. He would keep tabs on suspected sympathisers in Hollywood and report on them to the government.

In addition to the film icon calling out fellow star Errol Flynn as a Nazi sympathiser, he was also involved with investigating the German husband of actress Barbara Hutton.

In a shock twist, Cary later wed Barbara, with some suggesting this was only so he could give information about her to the FBI.

Cary’s tales of espionage were heard by famed director Alfred Hitchcock, who thought this made him perfect for his thrillers.

JULIA CHILD

Before she ever pulled on an apron, chef Julia Child cooked up an entirely different undercover career.

During World War II, Julia was an employee at the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) – the organisation which would go on to become the CIA.

The TV personality worked in Washington DC, Sri Lanka and China where she coordinated local assets and sought information to send back to the Allies.

This chapter even had an impact on the second career that made Julia a popular household name.

In an interview years later, Julia revealed the delicacies she tasted while living in China led the self-professed noncook to become “interested in food”.