MI6 gets first female chief: The real-life female intelligence agents who mastered the art of espionage

This is where the reel merges into reality.

MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), the foreign intelligence agency of the United Kingdom, is all set to get its first female chief – Blaise Metreweli – nearly three decades after Dame Judi Dench landed the role of ‘M’ in the 007 movies.

Metrewel, who is to become MI6's 18th chief, has also held roles in MI5, which deals with domestic security. She steps into her new role in the autumn, having joined the intelligence services as a case officer in 1999 – four years after the top job was portrayed by Dame Judi as ‘M’ in the James Bond films (from 1995).

However, as per the service tradition, the new chief Metrewel will be using the title ‘C’.

Although it took over a century for MI6 to appoint their own very own ‘M’, three decades later than the reel version won over the worldwide audience, women have made significant contributions to intelligence and espionage throughout history.


Take a look.

Virginia Hall

An American who became one of the most distinguished spies of World War II. Despite having a wooden prosthetic leg, she served as a field agent for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), organizing sabotage missions and aiding in the escape of Allied soldiers. She was the only female civilian to receive the Distinguished Service Cross during the war.

Mata Hari

Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod, better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. The idea of a beautiful, exotic dancer using her powers of seduction as a spy made her name synonymous with the femme fatale. She was executed by firing squad in France.

Noor Inayat Khan

A British-Indian princess and the first female wireless operator, Noor Inayat Khan, also known as Nora Baker, was sent to Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Operating under the codename ‘Madeleine’, she transmitted vital intelligence until her capture and subsequent execution at Dachau. She was posthumously awarded the George Cross for her bravery.

Amy Elizabeth Thorpe

An Anglo-American socialite and spy, also known as Betty Pack, Betty Thorpe, Elizabeth Pack, and Amy Brousse, who worked as a spy for British and American intelligence during World War II. Known by her codename ‘Cynthia’, she used her charm to extract sensitive information from foreign diplomats, including German Enigma codes and Vichy French naval secrets.

Melita Norwood

A British civil servant who secretly passed nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union over several decades. She was one of the longest-serving Soviet spies in Britain, operating under the codename ‘Hola’. Her espionage activities were revealed only after her death.

Belle Boyd

Maria Isabella Boyd, best known as Belle Boyd, was a Confederate spy during the American Civil War. Boyd used her charm to extract information from Union officers, which she then relayed to Confederate commanders. She operated from her father's hotel in Front Royal, Virginia, and provided valuable information to Confederate General Stonewall Jackson in 1862. She was arrested multiple times but continued her espionage activities throughout the war.

Lydia Darragh

An Irish-American Quaker, Lydia Darragh was an Irishwoman who acted as a spy during the American Revolutionary War. She overheard British officers planning an attack and managed to warn General Washington, allowing the Continental Army to prepare and thwart the assault.

Nathalie Sergueiew

Nathalie ‘Lily’ Sergueiew was a Russian-born French journalist who worked as a double agent for MI5 during World War II under the codename ‘Treasure’. She played a significant role in the Double-Cross System, deceiving the Germans about the location of the D-Day landings.

Elvira Chaudoir

Elvira Concepción Josefina de la Fuente Chaudoir was a Peruvian socialite and double agent for the British during World War II. She worked for MI5 and MI6 under the codenames ‘Cyril’, ‘Dorette’, and ‘Bronx’, contributing to operations such as the Double-Cross System and Operation Overlord. Chaudoir's deceptive communications to the Abwehr are credited with preventing the 11th Panzer Division from reinforcing German forces at Normandy.