Trailblazer actor Toni Vaz, who was Hollywood's first Black stuntwoman, dies at age 101
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A representative for the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) confirmed that died on Friday October 4, but did not gave her cause of death, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The publication states that her representative said said she was “a beloved resident” at MPTF’s Woodland Hills home.
She moved to Los Angeles from the East Coast in the 1950s to pursue a career as an actress and stuntwoman. She went on to become the first Black women to follow the profession, leading her to be considered a trailblazer in her chosen career path.
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Hide AdIn a 2019 profile published by The Hollywood Reporter, Vaz said that she felt pigeonholed before deciding to be a stuntwoman. “In those days, the jobs black people got were playing maids, hookers, Aunt Jemimas,” she said. “That upset me.”
She joined the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) new Hollywood branch and came up with an idea to create an event that would elevate the image of Black performers, the NAACP Image Awards.
The first event was held in 1967 and it continues to his day. The awards celebrates the accomplishments of people of colour in media and entertainment and also honours those who promote social justice through their work.


“We can play attorneys and doctors. So I thought, why don’t we change that image?” said Vaz, who also also once ran her own modeling agency for women of colour. Her first role was as an extra in Joseph M. Newman's Tarzan, the Ape Man in 1959. She later appeared in Anna Lucasta and The Singing Nun and doubled for Cicely Tyson as Alma Ross in Mission: Impossible.
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Hide AdVaz's career show her appear in more than 50 films and TV shows and she performed many daring stunts including dangling from helicopters. Away from the entertainment industry, was also an activist.
The star had roots in the British West Indies and Panama as her parents hailed from Barbados before immigrating to the United States. She was one of four siblings raised in New York by her mum and dad.
Vaz was reportedly approved to be feted with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in 2025, according to the Hollywood Reporter, but it’s not known if she will receive the honor posthumously.
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