Jeannie Epper, who spent years as Lynda Carter’s stunt double on the much-loved 1970s “Wonder Woman” TV series, died Sunday of natural causes, according to media reports. She was 83 years old.
Carter expressed her sadness over the loss of her double on X (formerly Twitter), saying that because it was the ’70s, they were “united in the way that women had to be in order to thrive in a man’s world.”
“I have a lot to say about Jeannie Epper,” Carter wrote. “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 stuntwomen who came after,” Carter continued. “Just as Diana was Wonder Woman, Jeannie Epper was also a Wonder Woman. She is so beautiful to me. Jeannie, I will miss you.”
Beyond her work on “Wonder Woman,” Epper’s stunt credits included doubling Kathleen Turner in “Romancing the Stone” and being featured in “Kill Bill Vol. 2,” “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” and more than 150 other projects.
She was also a founder of the Stuntwomen’s Association of Motion Pictures in 1968. She became president of the association in 1999 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 from the Taurus World Stunt Awards. She was the first woman to be awarded that honor.
Stuntwork was a family affair, as Epper was the daughter of stuntman John Epper. Her siblings Gary and Tony also became stuntmen. She was preceded in death by her son Kurtis and is survived by children Eurlyne and Richard.
Her death was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.