Jeannie Epper dead at 83: Hollywood stuntwoman appeared in Wonder Woman and Dynasty

Hollywood stuntwoman Jeannie Epper who appeared in Wonder Woman and Dynasty, has died at 83. She reportedly passed away from natural causes surrounded by her family at her home. 

Jeannie Epper was born in 1941 to John and Frances Epper, who were both professional stunt performers. Jeannie’s father, who started a riding academy in Los Angeles, became renowned for horseback stunts after becoming a stuntman for movies and doubled for the likes of Gary Cooper and Ronald Regan. 

Along with her five brothers and sisters, Jeannie Epper grew up in North Hollywood. As well as appearing as a stuntwoman in films like The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Kill Bill: Vol 2, Jeannie also appeared in the 1970s Wonder Woman TV series.

Actress Lynda Carter who played Wonder Woman paid tribute to her on X and said: “I have a lot to say about Jeannie Epper. Most of all, I loved her. I always felt that we understood and appreciated one another.

“After all, it was the 70s. We were united in the way that women had to be in order to thrive in a man’s world, through mutual respect, intellect and collaboration.

“Jeannie was a vanguard who paved the way for all other stunt women who came after. Just as Diana was Wonder Woman, Jeannie Epper was also a Wonder Woman.

“She is so beautiful to me. Jeannie, I will miss you.”

Jeannie Epper was also a stuntwoman for actress Linda Evans on The Big Valley in the 1960s and Dynasty in the 1980s. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “When Evans’ Krystle was engaged in one of those knock-down drag-out catfights with Joan Collins’ Alexis, chances are it was Epper you saw mixing it up.”

When Jeannie Epper was filming an episode of the ABC series Lancer, she ended up in hospital and also endured a head wound when she took part in a bar room fight in 1974’s Foxy Brown. 

Jeannie Epper was also a stuntwoman for the 1984 movie Romancing the Stone, which starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner and was filmed in a remote Mexican rainforest. She is reported to have rehearsed a mudslide scene with Vince Deadrick Jr. (Michael Douglas’s stunt double) a few times a day for a couple of weeks. 

The Hollywood Reporter said that “When Deadrick once landed with his head between her open legs in the pool or mad at the bottom of the slide, director Robert Zemeckis decided to carry that over to the movie and it made for one of the film’s funniest moments.”

Jeannie Epper was the president of the Stuntwomen's Association of Motion Pictures in 1999 and was one of its founding members. Jeannie Epper is survived by her fourth husband Tim, children Eurlyne and Richard (in the stunt business) she also had another  son Kurtis who was a stuntman who predeceased her.