Films, News, Women Writers

Biopic About Computer Scientist Grace Hopper in the Works

Hopper: James S. Davis/U.S. Naval Historical Center Online Library Photograph

Another unsung heroine is set to receive some long overdue recognition. Computer scientist and Navy admiral Grace Hopper is getting the biopic treatment. Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin — co-writers behind Disney’s upcoming live-action “Mulan” — are penning the script for the film. The project is a collaboration between Middleton Media and Google, Deadline reports.

Based on the 2009 book “Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age,” the pic will explore how the American “laid the foundation for the development of our technology-dominated world. Her critical and significant, yet overlooked, achievements include solving The Manhattan Project’s final calculations in WWII, developing the first software compiler, and creating COBOL, the ubiquitous computer language still used in 60 percent of today’s organizations.”

A director hasn’t been announced.

Hopper was born in 1906 and died in 1992. The trailblazing coder was the first woman in Yale’s history to graduate with a doctorate in math.

“Grace Hopper was a pioneer who made some of today’s great technological advancements possible,” said Google’s Courtney McCarthy, Head of Women in Media Strategy. “Google’s research shows that perceptions matter when motivating women to pursue Computer Science, and we’re excited to have Grace’s story finally told to inspire a new wave of technologists.”

If you’re interested in the history of women coders — and why they are currently underrepresented in the tech world — you may want to check out “CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap,” a 2015 documentary directed by Robin Hauser Reynolds.

Hedy Lamarr, another underappreciated innovator, is the subject of an upcoming miniseries starring “In the Fade’s” Diane Kruger. The actress and hugely influential inventor developed a frequency-hopping radio signal during WWII. The technology was later used for Bluetooth and WiFi.


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