5. One of WWII’s Most Heroic Women, Odette Sansom Became that Conflict’s Most Decorated Spy
Odette Sansom was personally decorated by King George VI after the war, receiving awards such as Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), and the George Cross (GC) – the highest non-military decoration for gallantry. Between those and French awards, such as the Legion d’Honneur, she became WWII’s most highly decorated spy.
Her adventures were depicted in the 1950 film Odette, in which she was depicted by Anna Neagle. She married an SOE operative with whom she had become romantically involved during the war, but it ended in divorce in 1956. She remarried to another SOE agent, with whom she remained until her death, in 1995.