Mata Hari
Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan and spy (1876-1917)
Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle, Dutch: [mɑrɣaːˈreːtaː ɣeːrˈtrœydaː ˈzɛlə]; 7 August 1876 – 15 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari ( 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 Germany during World War I. She was executed by firing squad in France.
The idea of a beautiful exotic dancer using her powers of seduction as a spy made her name synonymous with the femme fatale. Mata Hari's story has inspired books, films, and other works. Later biographers argue that she was convicted and condemned because the French Army needed a scapegoat, and that the files used to secure her conviction contained falsifications. Some have even stated that she could not have been a spy and was innocent.
Early life
Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born on 7 August 1876 in Leeuwarden, a city in the north of the Netherlands, to Antje van der Meulen (1842–1891) and her husband, Adam Zelle (1840–1910). She had three younger brothers: Johannes Hendriks, Arie Anne, and Cornelis Coenraad. She was affectionately called "M'greet" by her family. Despite traditional assertions that Mata Hari was partly of Jewish, Malay, or Javanese, i.e., Indonesian, descent, scholars conclude she had no Jewish or Indonesian ancestry, and both of her parents were Dutch. Her father owned a hat factory and shop, made investments in the oil industry, and became affluent enough to give Margaretha and her siblings a lavish early childhood that included exclusive schools until the age of 13.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Mata Hari” as dutch exotic dancer, courtesan and spy (1876-1917). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q82180. VIAF identifies the subject as 73861962. The Library of Congress control number is n50014065. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1876, 1917, 1842 and 1891.
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This entry incorporates text from “Mata Hari” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.