Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle, Dutch: [mɑrɣaːˈreːtaː ɣeːrˈtrœydaː ˈzɛlə]; 7 August 1876 – 15 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (/ ˈmɑːtə ˈhɑːri / MAH-tə HAR-ee, Dutch: [ˈmaːtaː ˈɦaːri]; Indonesian for 'sun', lit. 'eye of the day'), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germa...

Mar 27, 2025 · Mata Hari (born August 7, 1876, Leeuwarden, Netherlands—died October 15, 1917, Vincennes, near Paris, France) was a Dutch dancer and courtesan whose name has become a synonym for the seductive female spy. She was shot by the French on charges of spying for Germany during World War I.

Nov 27, 2021 · Mata Hari, the archetype of the seductive female spy, was a professional dancer and mistress who became a spy for France during World War I. Suspected of being a double agent, she was executed in 1917 under charges of espionage for Germany.

Apr 2, 2014 · Mata Hari was a professional dancer and mistress who became a spy for France during World War I. Suspected of being a double agent, she was executed in 1917.

In February 1917 Mata Hari returned to Paris and immediately arrested; charged with being a German spy. Her trial in July revealed some damning evidence that the dancer was unable to adequately explain. She was convicted and sentenced to death.

Jul 9, 2020 · Mata Hari was a stage name taken on by a woman born in the Netherlands as Margaretha Zelle, on 7 August 1876. The Zelle family was fraught with issues. Margaretha’s father speculated unsuccessfully in oil and left his family.

Oct 15, 2017 · Born Margarethe Zelle in 1876, Mata Hari (the name is said to come from the Indonesian for 'eye of the day' - the sun) had an extraordinary and tragic life.

Oct 13, 2017 · Margaretha Zelle, a.k.a. “Mata Hari,” an exotic dancer and convicted spy, met her end at age 41 at the hands of a firing squad outside Paris 100 years ago on Oct. 15, 1917.

Oct 24, 2017 · For decades afterwards, Mata Hari was held up as the archetypal temptress: the she-devil who proved that sexually confident women deserved to be punished.

Aug 5, 2016 · Once Europe’s most prominent striptease performer, Dutch dancer Mata Hari was executed by a French firing squad after she was found guilty of spying for the Germans during World War I.