Stuntwomen - Unsung Heroes

I did a Hub on female action stars, and in it, I mentioned that the ladies were only as good as the stuntwomen that took their place when the director yelled cut.
Well here are some of those unsung heroes that make Uma Thurman, Halle Berry and Jessica Alba look so good when the director yells action.
A little history first....

Helen Gibson
The first recognized stunt woman was Helen Gibson.
Helen was born on August 27, 1892 in Cleveland, Ohio and she was a...get ready...
an actress, a vaudeville a performer, a radio performer, a film producer, a trick rider, a rodeo performer, and is generally regarded as being the first American professional stunt woman!
::whew!::
Helen started her stunt work in The Hazards of Helen adventure film serials in 1914.
She went on to do stunt work and acting in over eighty films.
Her last film role was in the 1962 western classic, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance directed by John Ford.

Julia Davis
Writer, producer, actress, director and stunt woman (getting the idea that these ladies are REALLY good at multi-tasking?) Julia Davis was the stunt double for Angelina Jolie in the 1997 film, Playing God.
She was also the assistant stunt coordinator for As Good as It Gets, also in 1997.
Julia was the screenwriter of Forget About It, a film that starred Burt Reynolds, Robert Loggia, Charles Durning, and Kimberley Kates and won Best Film at the New Jersey Film Festival in May 2006.
She was also the producer, writer and editor of the TV series Medal of Honor.

Boni Yanagisawa
Stuntwoman Boni Yanagisawa has stunt doubled for Tia Carrere, Demi Moore, Moon Bloodgood and Kelly Hu among others.
Boni was born on May 1, 1971 in Huntington Beach, California.
She's five foot, five and a half inches tall and weighs 115 pounds.
Besides being a stunt woman, Boni is an accomplished martial artist, getting National Black Belt League's World Championship honors in 1998 and she was named to the Masters Hall of Fame in 2000. Her specialties are traditional kata and traditional weapons.

Bridgett Riley
Bridgett Riley is not only a stuntwoman, but a professional boxer and kickboxer.
She's won five kickboxing world titles in three weight classes and she won the IFBA Bantamweight boxing world title in 1998.
Bridgett was also inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame.
She has acted and done stuntwork in High Voltage, Serenity, Martial Law, Angel, VIP, Charmed and Constantine among man others.
Bridgett has stunt doubled for Malin Akerman, Rosie Perez, And the Yellow Power Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995).

Caryn Mower
This isn't the first time I have run into Caryn Mower.
I did a write up on her on one of my female wrestling blogs because she was once known as "Muffy Mower" in the WWF.
But Caryn has done a lot more than wrestling.
She has acted and done stuntwork in movies like Identity, Collateral, A.I., Final Sale, Redemption, Vacancy, Poseidon and Angels and Demons.
Caryn has also appeared in the TV shows 24, Alias, Crossing Jordan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, CSI, The Office and Firefly (YES!).
She has stunt doubled for Katee Sackhoff, Peggy Flood, Amy Poehler and Dina Meyer.

Dana Reed
Five foot three and a half, 107 pound Dana Reed (notice how these women are NOT as big as you would think they would be?) has acted and done stunt work in movies like Rent, Scream 3, Domino, 9-11, Breakers and Danica.
On TV she has appeared on shows like Angel, CSI, Supernatural, Crossing Jordan, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and CSI: Miami.
Dana has stunt doubled for Laura Breckenridge, Rose McGowan, Hunter Tylo and Tia Carrera.

Darlene Ava Williams
Darlene Ava Williams is five foot four and weighs 116 pounds (see?).
This beautiful lady is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and a member of the Professional Drivers Association.
AND she was actually born and raised in a circus.
Darlene started training for circus aerial acts at the age of seven!
Remember me mentioning multi-tasking earlier?
Well Darlene is trained in stunts (of course), Swiftwater rescue, Rescue certified Scuba Diving, Horseback Riding, Stunt Driving, Bull Whips (stop grinning), Acting and of course Circus Performing.
She has appeared in the films Identity, Collateral, Orange County and Larger Than Life.
On television she has appeared on Love's Enduring Promise, Desperate Housewives, Silk Stalkings (remember that?), VIP, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Jane Doe.
Darlene has stunt doubled for Patricia Arquette, Emily Bergl, Lindsay Lohan and Evan Rachel Wood.

Jade Quon
Speaking of not going along with the stereotype, Jade Quon is four foot eleven and weighs 100 pounds.
Has her petite size hurt her working?
Evidently not.
She has appeared on One on One, Numb3rs, Collateral, Hannah Montana, Heroes and Star Trek among many others.
Jade has stunt doubled Brenda Song, Janel Parrish, Nia Peeples, Lucy Liu and Lauren Tom.

Michelle Sebek
This five foot six, 110 pound blonde haired green eyed stuntwoman is skilled in Rappelling, Air Rams (the thing that blows the stunt person through the air like an explosion), Firearms and Weapons, Rock Climbing, Stunt Car and Race Car Driving among other things.
She has done stunt work and acting in over fifty films and TV shows, and over one hundred commercials.
Michelle has appeared in Buffy The Vampire Slayer (I think that show used every stunt man and woman in Hollywood), Star Trek: Insurrection, Scream 3, Gilmore Girls and most recently Zombieland and Halloween II.

Zoe Bell
Probably one of the most high profile stunt women in the world is New Zealand stunt woman and actress, Zoe Bell.
Zoe was born on November 17, 1978, in Waiheke Island, New Zealand.
You may remember seeing her as Zoe (Zoe The Cat) in the 2007 film Death Proof, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.
But there are a lot of films Zoe has appeared in that you probably didn't know you saw her in such as The Final Destination (2009), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2 (2003, 2004) and Catwoman (2004).

Spice Williams
Here is one of my favorite stunt women, Spice Williams-Crosby.
I have known Spice for several years.
Well when I say "known" I mean conversed online, but she is a really nice lady.
Besides being a stunt woman, Spice is an actress, vegan, mother, wife, wrestler, martial artist..heck..she's another lady that could slip right into being a superhero no problem.
If you are a Trekkie (I dont think that's an offensive term is it?), you may remember Spice as Vixis, the Klingon officer in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.
But once you see her, you will probably think, "Man...I've seen her in a lot of stuff!"
She seems to play a vampire a lot....hmmmm....
Spice has appeared in and done stunts in Angel, Scrubs, Days Of Our Lives, Spider-Man, Charmed, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and many more TV shows and movies.
You can check out her site here:
http://www.spicewilliams-crosby.com/