Jeannie Epper, Legendary Stuntwoman Of Wonder Woman, Dies At 83

Jeannie Epper, a stunt performer, who served as double for Lynda Carter in the TV show Wonder Woman, died on Sunday, May 4. She was 83. The veteran performer died of natural causes at her home in Simi Valley, California, family spokesperson Amanda Micheli told The Associated Press.

Who was Jeannie Epper?

Jeannie Epper came from a family dynasty of stunt performers, including parents - John and Frances Epper. Her siblings, Tony, Margo, Gary, Andy and Stephanie all also worked in stunts. Steven Spielberg used to call them “The Flying Wallendas of Film". Epper's children Eurlyne, Richard and Kurtis, and her grandson Christopher followed her into the stunt business.

Following her parents' footsteps, Epper forayed into the entertainment world at the young age of 9. Initially, she had to struggle to get much stunt work owing to her gender, but eventually witnessed a major surge as female actors started getting more action-oriented roles in the late 1970s.

Jeannie Epper's extraordinary filmography

She rose to fame as a stunt woman after playing a double in Wonder Woman. She crashed through windows, kicked down doors and deflected bullets while doubling Carter on the series that ran for three seasons on ABC from 1976 to 1979. 

Apart from Wonder Woman, she also doubled Lindsay Wagner on Bionic Woman and Kate Jackson on the original Charlie’s Angels. In the 1980s, Epper took a famous tumble down a mudslide for Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone and fought for Linda Evans in her tangles with Joan Collins on TV’s Dynasty.

The late stunt performer was a constant presence in movies helmed or produced by Steven Spielberg, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Poltergeist (1982) and Minority Report (2002).

In the early 21st century, Epper performed stunts in Catch Me If You Can (2002), Minority Report (2002), and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004). As of 2018, it is estimated that Epper has completed almost 150 stunts for film and television throughout her 70-year-long career.

She is survived by her husband Tim, kids Eurlyne and Richard, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.