EXCLUSIVE: Stars Who Were Spies! We Name the Massive Hollywood Icons Who Went Far Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
These Hollywood icons served as spies, taking on missions beyond their entertainment careers.
July 3 2026, Published 6:00 a.m. ET
It's no longer a secret that these celebrities went above and beyond the call of duty.
Find out who these Hollywood icons are as Breaking Celebrity News reveals them.
Walt Disney reportedly served as an FBI informant for decades, sharing information on suspected communists with the bureau.
Marlene Dietrich
"Glamour is what I sell, it's my stock in trade." And during WWII, Marlene Dietrich reportedly used her star power to gather information for the FBI while performing for U.S. troops on the front lines. But the German emigre was never fully trusted by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, who constantly had her tailed.
Harry Houdini
Hocus-pocus! Using his career as cover, the renowned escape artist Harry Houdini traveled the world while collecting information for law enforcement. Leading up to WWI, Houdini reported to Scotland Yard's William Melville about what he was observing in Germany and Russia.
Walt Disney
It's a smarmy world, after all. From 1940 until Walt Disney's death in '66, the Hollywood legend served as an FBI informant, passing along information on people he believed were communists, subversives, or others who, in his view, wanted to meddle with his conviction that "once a man has tasted freedom, he will never be content to be a slave."
Julia Child
Bon appi-teteh! "I must say we had lots of fun," said gourmand Julia Child about her days during WWII with the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA, where her time as a research assistant led to her "first big recipe" – mixing up shark repellent for the Navy.
Audrey Hepburn aided the Dutch resistance during World War II by carrying messages and distributing underground newspapers.
Cary Grant
Before busting up Nazi spy rings in Notorious, Cary Grant was involved with MI6, Britain's intelligence service, in helping to discredit fascist groups in the U.S., as well as passing along info about Nazi sympathizers in Hollywood – which may or may not have included his friend Errol Flynn.
Audrey Hepburn
After the Nazis occupied her country, teenage Audrey Hepburn worked for the Dutch resistance, carrying messages to downed Allied pilots and even delivering a resistance newspaper by "stuffing them in my woolen socks in my wooden shoes." As her son Luca reflected: "The war was very, very important to her. It made her who she was."
Josephine Baker reportedly gathered intelligence for the French resistance during WWII while touring across France.
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Greta Garbo
While she said, "I would have died of shame if I had ever had anything to do with spying," Mata Hari star Greta Garbo allegedly passed on info about Nazi sympathizers in Sweden to the Allies. But such exploits may be better attributed to British agent Juan Pujol Garcia, whose code name was – Garbo.
Josephine Baker
Ooh la la. During WWII, Josephine Baker, who's famous for the "banana dance," used her appeal as cover to collect information for the French resistance as she toured her adopted country. "My notes would have been highly compromising had they been discovered," she wrote, "but who would dare search Josephine Baker to the skin?"
