After Jeannie Epper’s family announced the Wonder Woman stunt performer’s death on Sunday, Lynda Carter posted a touching tribute on Twitter, now X. With the friendship both ladies found on and off set, Lynda claimed she “always felt that we understood and appreciated one another.”
Epper, who also appeared in films like Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Romancing the Stone, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, passed away at 83 from natural causes. She reportedly died peacefully at her Simi Valley home in California.
Lynda Carter on working with her stuntwoman, Jeannie Epper
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Lynda recalled how cooperative Epper was in a time when women “had to be in order to thrive in a man’s world, through mutual respect, intellect, and collaboration.” Back then, only men used to do stunts, however, people like Epper who began her career at 9, paved the way for stunts women in Hollywood. Lynda once revealed that a man was initially cast as her double, but “it just wasn’t gonna work” because of his hairy chest, zero curves, and chunky body.
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Epper came on the scene, and, in Lynda’s words, “It was perfect.” The late professional was good at horseback riding, motorcycling, high falls, martial arts, and other dangerous stunts in an era without CGI or hyperrealistic post-production effects. During a chat with CPR, Lynda gushed about her double being “the ultimate professional” who set the standard, was committed to her job, and never missed a day.
Epper was only a child when she debuted in 1951’s Elopement, after which she starred in John Ford’s Cheyenne Autumn and The Big Valley. In the late ‘70s, she zeroed in on her stunt talent by doubling for Lynda, Lindsay Wagner on Bionic Woman, and Kate Jackson on the TV series Charlie’s Angels. Epper earned hundreds of acting credits in her lifetime, including Catch Me If You Can, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Princess Diaries.
She co-founded the Stuntwomen’s Association of Motion Pictures in 1967 and became the president in 1999, after which she remained an honorary member. As the trailblazer, Epper was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2007 Taurus World Stunt Awards. Her career has set the pace for more women in Hollywood today who are doing back-breaking stunts without barriers. “As stuntwomen, we all descend from this lineage of stuntwomen such as Jeannie,” Katie Rowe, the present president of the Stuntwomen’s Association of Motion Pictures, said.