7 Historical Figures You Probably Didn’t Know Were Spies 

What do Julia Child, Paul Revere, and Harriet Tubman all have in common? Each played a crucial role in the clandestine world of espionage and intelligence. Though we might know them for their shows, fashion, or fiction, each of these famous figures on our list once led double lives in the shadowy world of espionage. 

1. Coco Chanel 
2. Josephine Baker 
3. Harriet Tubman 
4. Julia Child 
5. Roald Dahl 
6. John Steinbeck 
7. Paul Revere 

Coco Chanel 

After beginning an affair with Baron Hans Günther von Dincklage—a member of the German nobility and a known Nazi intelligence officer—renowned French designer Coco Chanel began colluding with Abwehr, the Nazi counterintelligence organization, to pass information along to her contacts in British high society. Her relationship with von Dincklage afforded her special privileges in return for her collusion with Nazi forces. Chanel took up residence in the posh Hôtel Ritz—a Nazi intelligence headquarters—during their occupation of Paris in 1940.

In conjunction with virulent antisemitic views, Chanel had a financial motivation to work with the Nazis. The French designer attempted to leverage her Nazi connections to regain control of Parfums Chanel, the fragrance branch of her brand, by using draconian Aryanization laws to try to force the Jewish Wertheimer family to surrender their stake in her brand. Despite her efforts, Chanel’s plot was foiled by the Wertheimers, who had anticipated the move and instead transferred their stake to a non-Jewish business associate. 

Chanel undertook a slew of Nazi intelligence missions under the code name Westminster. As part of the failed Operation Modellhut, she intended to contact British diplomats through her friend, Vera Lombardi, a British socialite. The intelligence mission fell apart when Lombardi—instead of helping Chanel negotiate a back alley peace deal between the Nazis and British—reported her longtime friend’s Nazis ties to British intelligence. 

Chanel was taken in by French authorities for questioning regarding her deep ties to Nazi intelligence officials following France’s liberation in 1944. Despite a plethora of evidence tying her to the Nazi regime, Chanel was released without charge, reportedly due to her high society ties—specifically her friendship with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. She decamped to Switzerland, where she began to successfully rehabilitate her image and continued growing her behemoth fashion empire.

Josephine Baker 

As one of the most famous figures of the Jazz Age, American-born singer, dancer, and entertainer Josephine Baker may seem an unlikely candidate for espionage—but it was that widespread notoriety that made her such a valuable asset to the French during World War II. Baker was raised in Jimmy Crow-era Missouri before leaving the U.S. to pursue an entertainment career in Paris at just 19 years old. Deeply touched by the acceptance and warm reception she’d received living in Paris, Baker agreed to serve as an “honorable correspondent” for Deuxième Bureau, France’s military intelligence agency, after the onset of World War II. 

Baker could freely move throughout Europe as an entertainer; she performed in embassies across the continent and rubbed shoulders with German, Japanese, and Italian diplomats. Through notes sewn into undergarments and messages written in invisible ink, she was able to provide the Allies with critical information on German troop movement and airfield activity without arousing suspicion. Baker fled to her manor home, Château des Milandes, in southwestern France after Nazi forces began closing in on Paris. She continued to support the war efforts by converting the manor into a resistance headquarters where she housed Jewish refugees and erected a radio transmitter to relay information to Allies. 

Baker was recognized as a hero for her contributions to the war efforts following the defeat of the Nazis in September 1945. The French Committee of National Liberation gave her the Resistance Medal, a prestigious award recognizing acts of bravery during World War II. 

Harriet Tubman 

In addition to saving 70 enslaved people across 13 missions through the Underground Railroad, famed abolitionist and activist Harriet Tubman also served as a spy for the Union Army during the American Civil War. She initially joined as a nurse and cook, then later began working as a scout for the Union to gather key intelligence on Confederate troop movements. Tubman—using intel gathered from her expansive network—led the Combahee River Raid, a covert military operation that resulted in the freedom of more than 700 enslaved people; this made her the first woman in U.S. history to lead a military raid. 

Following the Combahee River Raid, Tubman continued working as an intelligence officer for the Union Army, using her unassuming stature to sneak behind enemy lines in the Deep South and sabotage Confederate supply lines. Her contributions to the war efforts played a crucial—but often overlooked—role in the Union’s victory over the Confederate insurgents. 

Julia Child 

Prior to catapulting to fame with her televised cooking show The French Chef, American author and television personality Julia Child held an illustrious career at the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a precursor to what is now the Central Intelligence Agency. At 6-foot-2, Child was too tall for traditional military service during World War II. So she instead opted for an intelligence role in Washington. While working at the OSS, she assisted in the development of a repellent used to deter unsuspecting sharks from bumping into underwater explosives targeting German ships. Child also served overseas in Sri Lanka and China; she spent two years as Chief of the OSS Registry and was given top security clearances. 

She met her husband, Paul Cushing Child, while working for the OSS. Julia followed Paul to Paris when he was given a position in the U.S. Foreign Service in 1948. While Paul continued work at the U.S. Foreign Service, Julia enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu, a renowned French culinary academy, marking the beginning of her legendary culinary career. 

Roald Dahl 

Before becoming a beloved, best-selling author of children’s literature, British writer Roald Dahl served as a fighter pilot for the British Royal Air Force during World War II. Dahl crash landed his Gloster Gladiator biplane while flying over the Libyan desert en route to a British airstrip south of Mursa Matruh, Egypt, fracturing his skull and temporarily blinding himself. He spent weeks convalescing in an Alexandria hospital before being cleared to fly again; Dahl then took part in a few more combat missions before periodic blackouts and splitting headaches stemming from his injuries prevented him from flying any longer. 

Dahl was appointed to a diplomatic role at the British embassy in Washington, D.C. and charged with bolstering press discouraging American isolationist views. He was eventually recruited by the covert espionage network, the British Security Coordination, to collect intel on high ranking American officials he socialized with (he was well acquainted with prominent American political figures like First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Vice President Henry Wallace) and monitor possible anti-British sentiments festering in the U.S. 

Following the end of World War II, Dahl fully dedicated himself to writing, becoming one of the most illustrious children’s authors in British history. The renowned author was later able to put his past experience as a spy to use while writing the screenplay for the 1967 film adaptation of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel You Only Live Twice. 

John Steinbeck 

As one of the most prolific writers of his generation, Grapes of Wrath author John Steinbeck may seem an unlikely candidate for covert espionage. Steinbeck began working with the Office of Strategic Services in 1942, while living in Paris and reporting as a war correspondent for the now-defunct New York Herald Tribune. Though the details of Steinbeck’s involvement remain largely classified, it’s believed he used his position as a war correspondent to gather intelligence for the Allies.

Steinbeck’s celebrity status permitted him access to high ranking members of society all over the globe. He even volunteered his services to the CIA again in 1952 when traveling to the Mediterranean. Though many of Steinbeck’s friends and contemporaries were later called before the U.S. House Unamerican Activities Committee as part of an anti-communist witch hunt, the Of Mice and Men author never was, likely due to his prior service in the intelligence community. 

Paul Revere 

Though the Bostonian military officer is best known for his famed 1775 “midnight ride” alerting American Revolutionary forces of incoming British troops, Revere also played an integral role in military intelligence gathering in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Sons of Liberty, a clandestine political organization seeking to advance the interests of the Thirteen Colonies. Revere helped establish a widespread informant network throughout Boston to keep tabs on British military movements. 

Revere, acting as a courier, carried intelligence between Boston, Philadelphia, Portsmouth, and New York to alert Patriot leaders of British forces coming to squash the nascent American Revolution. Through establishing an alert system using the lighting of lanterns, Revere ensured American militias could be warned of British invasions even if he or one of his fellow riders were apprehended or killed en route. 

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