The REAL femme fatales who made Black Doves look tame: From the 'Queen of Spies' to the woman dubbed 'the most dangerous of all' by the Gestapo
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As spy Helen Webb in new Netflix thriller Black Doves, Keira Knightley proves to be adept with a pistol while juggling family life. The show, which also stars Ben Whishaw, has already won a Golden Globe nomination with its all-action scenes. But, although some of Webb's exploits might be stretching credulity, the actions of real female spies - including several Second World War heroines - proved just as incredible.
![[During the Second World War, Noor Inayat Khan was one of the top agents of Winston Churchill's elite Special operations Executive]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/13/12/93119787-14189599-image-a-5_1734094201772.jpg)
'Queen of Spies' Daphne Park rose to become one of the most senior controllers at MI6 after proving her worth in the fight against Nazi Germany. And the efforts of fellow agent Nancy Wake in the war inspired the 2001 film Charlotte Gray. And although Noor Inayat Khan and Violette Szabo were murdered by the Nazis, their bravery still proved immensely valuable to the British war effort.
![[Noor Inayat-Khan, left, with her mother. She was eventually betrayed by a Frenchwoman, supposedly the jealous girlfriend of a comrade]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/13/12/93119793-14189599-image-a-6_1734094211974.jpg)
On the other side of the equation are the likes of Cynthia Murphy (real name Lidiya Guryev) and Anna Chapman, who were unmasked in 2010 as Russian spies. As we reveal below, whilst the history of espionage has largely been dominated by men, female spies have more than held their own when sent behind enemy lines.
![[Her fluent French and evident courage made Violette Szabo an ideal candidate for the Special Operations Executive]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/13/14/93119599-14189599-Her_fluent_French_and_evident_courage_made_Violette_Szabo_an_ide-m-20_1734100696895.jpg)
As spy Helen Webb in new Netflix spy thriller Black Doves, Keira Knightley proves to be adept with a pistol while juggling family life. Dubbed the Queen of Spies, Daphne Park rose to become one of the most senior controllers at MI6. She ran agents in Moscow during the Cold War, infiltrated Hanoi in Vietnam and smuggled men out of Congo in the boot of her car when the country descended into anarchy after achieving independence.
![[Mrs Szabo's daring feats were re-created in 1958 film Carve Her Name With Pride, in which she was portrayed by Virginia McKenna]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/13/14/93122181-14189599-Mrs_Szabo_s_daring_feats_were_created_in_1958_film_Carve_Her_Nam-m-9_1734099392138.jpg)
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