In a time when stunt workers are fighting for every ounce of credit that they can muster, where they are one of the only film departments not recognized by the Academy, and “The Fall Guy,” a film about a stunt worker, failed to perform big at the box office over the weekend, it feels like a heavier weight losing this legend of the industry. Jeannie Epper was one of these unsung heroes, a trailblazer in the world of stunt work, whose daring feats and unwavering dedication breathed life into some of the most iconic moments in cinema.

Born on January 27, 1941 in Simi Valley, California, Jeannie’s parents were both professional stunt performers. Her stunt life would kick off at the age of nine, when she started working as a stunt double for children. At a time when stunt work was largely dominated by men, she stood out as a trailblazer for women in the field, many of whom considered her “the greatest stuntwoman who’s ever lived,” paving the way for future generations of female stunt performers. Her tenacity and skill earned her the respect of her peers and the admiration of audiences around the world.

From her work as Lynda Carter’s stunt double on the iconic television series “Wonder Woman,” where she brought the Amazonian warrior to life with grace and strength, to her collaborations with legendary directors such as Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino, she consistently pushed the boundaries of what was thought possible in the realm of stunt work. In the late ‘60s, Epper helped found the Stuntwomen’s Association of Motion Pictures and served as the president of the group in 1999. She was an honorary member of the Stuntmen’s Association of Motion Pictures and became the first woman to be selected for the lifetime achievement at the Taurus World Stunt Awards.

As we bid farewell to Jeannie Epper, we look to the future of stunt workers. The inclusion of a Best Stunt Coordination category at the Oscars would not only pay tribute to the incredible talent and dedication of stunt performers but also serve as a powerful acknowledgment of the risks they undertake and the sacrifices they make in service of their art. Today, as we honor Jeannie Epper, let us celebrate not only the incredible stunts she performed, the tables and windows she burst through, but also the barriers she has broken and the lives she has touched along the way, showing what it truly means to live fearlessly.

STUNT WORK

1964	Cheyenne Autumn	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1965–1969	The Big Valley	Stunt Double	112 Episodes | *Uncredited*
1965	The Hallelujah Trail	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1966	Our Man Flint	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1969	Mackenna’s Gold	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1969	Hello, Dolly!	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1970	Little Big Man	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1971	Play Misty for Me	Stunt Double	*Uncredited*
1972	The Poseidon Adventure	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1973	Emergency!	Stunts	Episode: “Syndrome” | *Uncredited*
1973	Soylent Green	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1973	Coffy	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1973	The Don Is Dead	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1974	Blazing Saddles	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1974	Mame	Stunt Double	*Uncredited*
1974	Foxy Brown	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1974	Earthquake	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1974	The Towering Inferno	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1975	The Day of the Locust	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1976	The Bionic Woman	Stunts	4 Episodes | *Uncredited*
1976	Logan’s Run	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1976	Eaten Alive	Stunt Double	—
1976	Silver Streak	Stunt Double	*Uncredited*
1976	Bound for Glory	Stunts	—
1976–1981	Charlie’s Angels	Stunt Double	18 Episodes | *Uncredited*
1977	Black Sunday	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1977	Laverne & Shirley	Stunts	Episode: “Tag Team Wrestling” | *Uncredited*
1977	Close Encounters of the Third Kind	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1978	Wonder Woman	Stunt Double	Episode: “My Teenage Idol Is Missing” | *Uncredited*
1979	Avalanche Express	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1979	The Silent Scream	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1979	1941	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1979	The Jerk	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1980	The Ninth Configuration	Stunt Biker	*Uncredited*
1980	The Blues Brothers	Stunts	—
1980	Used Cars	Stunts	—
1980	Smokey and the Bandit II	Stunts	—
1980	Melvin and Howard	Stunts	—
1981	Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen	Stunts	—
1981	Caveman	Stunts	—
1981	The Cannonball Run	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1982	Deathtrap	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1982	The Sword and the Sorcerer	Stunts	—
1982	Poltergeist	Stunts	—
1982	Blade Runner	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1982	The Beastmaster	Stunts	—
1983	The Man with Two Brains	Stunts	—
1983	The Final Terror	Stunts	—
1983	Terms of Endearment	Stunts	—
1983–1986	Dynasty	Stunt Coordinator	8 Episodes
1984	Getting Physical	Stunts	Television movie
1984	Romancing the Stone	Stunts	—
1984	Ghost Warrior	Stunt Player	—
1985	Private Resort	Stunt Player	—
1985	Fletch	Stunts	—
1985	Where Are the Children?	Stunts	—
1985	Clue	Stunts	—
1986	The Naked Cage	Stunt Player	—
1986	Murphy’s Law	Stunts	—
1986	Legal Eagles	Stunts	—
1986	Vamp	Stunts	—
1986	Extremities	Stunt Coordinator	—
1986	Vendetta	Stunt Player	—
1987	Outrageous Fortune	Stunts	—
1987	Retribution	Utility Stunts	—
1987	Million Dollar Mystery	Stunts	—
1987	RoboCop	Stunt Double	—
1987	Flowers in the Attic	Stunts	—
1987	Off the Mark	Stunts	—
1988	Patty Hearst	Stunts	—
1988	Elvira: Mistress of the Dark	Stunt Player	—
1988	The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!	Stunts	*Uncredited*
1989	All’s Fair	Stunts	—
1989	K-9	Stunts	—
1989	Road House	Stunts	—
1989	Tales from the Crypt	Stunts	Episode: “And All Through The House”
1989	The Package	Stunts	—
1989	National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation	Stunts	—
1990	Come See the Paradise	Stunts	—
1990	Total Recall	Stunts	—
1990	The Rookie	Stunts	—
1991	Switch	Stunts	—
1991	Mobsters	Stunts	—
1991	Dead Again	Stunts	—
1991	Dynasty: The Reunion	Stunts	2 Episodes | *Uncredited*
1992	Article 99	Stunts	—
1992	Midnight’s Child	Stunts	Television movie
1992	Honey, I Blew Up the Kid	Stunts	—
1992	The Mighty Ducks	Stunts	—
1992	Innocent Blood	Stunts	—
1993	Extreme Justice	Stunts	—
1993	Dreamrider	Stunts	—
1993	The Fugitive	Stunts	—
1993	Demolition Man	Stunts	—
1993	Josh and S.A.M.	Stunts	—
1994	Ground Zero Texas	Stunts	Video game
1994	Beverly Hills Cop III	Stunts	—
1994	Blown Away	Stunts	—
1995	Night of the Running Man	Stunts	—
1995	Die Hard with a Vengeance	Stunts	—
1995	Separate Lives	Utility Stunts	—
1995	Money Train	Stunts	—
1995	Mother	Stunts	Video
1995	Guns & Lipstick	Stunts	—
1996	Sgt. Bilko	Stunts	—
1996	Spy Hard	Stunts	—
1996	Kazaam	Stunts	—
1996	A Very Brady Sequel	Stunts	—
1996	High School High	Stunts	—
1996	Set It Off	Stunts	—
1997	Metro	Stunts	—
1997	Vegas Vacation	Stunts	—
1997	L.A. Heat	Stunt Performer	Episode: “Words Will Never Hurt Me”
1997	Con Air	Stunts	—
1997	Steel	Stunts	—
1997	Fire Down Below	Stunts	—
1997	Casper: A Spirited Beginning	Stunts	Video
1998	Armageddon	Stunts	—
1998	Blade	Stunts	—
1998	Soldier	Stunts	—
1999	Running Red	Stunt Performer	—
1999	Wild Wild West	Stunts	—
1999	Mystery Men	Stunts	—
1999	Hard Time: Hostage Hotel	Stunts	Television movie
2000	Whatever It Takes	Stunts	—
2000	Submerged	Stunts	—
2001	Amy & Isabelle	Stunt Coordinator	Television movie
2001	Rush Hour 2	Stunts	—
2001	The Princess Diaries	Stunts	—
2001	Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back	Stunts	*Uncredited*
2002	Orange County	Stunts	—
2002	The Sweetest Thing	Stunts	—
2002	Minority Report	Stunts	—
2002	Catch Me If You Can	Stunts	—
2003	The Italian Job	Stunts	—
2003	2 Fast 2 Furious	Stunt Player	—
2003	Bad Boys II	Stunts	—
2003	Freaky Friday	Stunts	—
2004	November	Stunt Coordinator	—
2004	Hairless	Stunt Coordinator	Short film
2004	Kill Bill: Vol. 2	Utility Stunts	—
2004	Criminal	Stunts	—
2005	Surrender, Dorothy	Stunts	Television movie
2005	Elizabethtown	Stunts	—
2005	The Truth	Stunts	Short film
2006	Poseidon	Stunts	—
2006	The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift	Stunt Player	—
2007	Jane Doe: Ties That Bind	Stunts	Television movie
2008	American Son	Stunt Coordinator	—
2008	The Happening	Stunts	—
2009	State of Play	Stunts	—
2009	Table for Three	Stunts	—
2010	The Book of Eli	Stunt Double	—
2010	The Back-up Plan	Stunt Performer	—
2010	Nothing Special	Stunt Double	—
2011	Cedar Rapids	Stunts	—
2012	The Amazing Spider-Man	Utility Stunts	Reshoots
2012	After	Stunts	—
2012	Flight	Stunts	—
2015	Hot Pursuit	Stunts	—
2021	Ground Zero Texas: Nuclear Edition	Stunts	Video game

ACTING

1951	Elopement	Reagan Girl	*Uncredited*
1964	Cheyenne Autumn	Entertainer	*Uncredited*
1969	Hello, Dolly!	Float Girl	*Uncredited*
1972	The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean	Whore	—
1973	Medical Center	Girl #2	Episode: “Question of Guilt”
1973	Soylent Green	Woman Picked Up by Scoop	*Uncredited*
1974	Foxy Brown	Bobbie	—
	Earthquake	Blonde Woman Fleeing Theater	—
1975	Switchblade Sisters	Matron #1	—
1976	Drum	Woman Guest #2	—
1979	Laverne & Shirley	Red Team	Episode: “We’re in the Army, Now: Part 1”
1985	Fletch	Basketball Spectator	*Uncredited*
1985	Warning Sign	Woman on Video Screen	—
1986	The Gladiator	Woman in Truck	*Uncredited* | Television movie
1990	Tales from the Crypt	Ada Ritter	Episode: “Television Terror”
1990	The Boyfriend School	Woman Thug	—
1991	The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear	Gala Guest	*Uncredited*
1992	The Mighty Ducks	Woman in Mall	*Uncredited*
1994	Beverly Hills Cop III	Spider Rider	—
1994	A Dangerous Place	Old Woman	—
1995	Die Hard with a Vengeance	Woman at Subway Station	*Uncredited*
2001	The Amanda Show	—	Episode: “#2.17”
2002	Spider-Man	Board of Directors Member	*Uncredited*
2002	Charmed	Elderly Woman	Episode: “Witches In Tights”
2004	Kill Bill: Vol. 2	Mrs. Harmony	—
2004	I Heart Huckabees	Lady in Gown	—
2004	Legacy	Old Lady	—
2005	Monk	Gladys	Episode: “Mr. Monk and Little Monk”
2005	Fun with Dick and Jane	Gym Class Attendee	*Uncredited*
2006	Supernatural	The Shtriga	Episode: “Something Wicked”
2006	Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair	Mrs. Harmony	—
2008	Evilution	Mrs. Harris	—
2008	Quarantine	Ms. Espinoza	—
2009	Eleventh Hour	Mrs. Friedman	Episode: “H2O”
2009	Criminal Minds	Blond Woman at Pharmacy	*Uncredited* | Episode: “Haunted”
2013	Epic Chick Fight	Dianna Prince	Short film
2015	Hot Pursuit	Senior Tour Passenger	*Uncredited*
2015	Made for Each Other	Old Lady	Short film
2019	The Rookie	Aunt Sallie	Episode: “Manhunt”