Bethany Levy is barefoot in a black costume on the sting of a 10-story constructing. She will see most of downtown Los Angeles, though all she wants to identify is her touchdown mark 100 toes beneath. She swan-dives down, secured in a harness, rigged as much as a crane, and somersaults in midair earlier than slowing to a cease. It’s an distinctive day, even for a stuntwoman like Levy: She’s doubling for Beyoncé’s iconic fall in Lemonade.
Levy is a part of a rising fleet of stuntwomen, because of a proliferation of feminine leads together with Jessica Jones, Supergirl, and Surprise Girl. “These days there are tons of ladies—and ladies of coloration—in main motion roles,” says Levy. “There’s loads of work to go round.” This elite crew gave Glamour a peek in any respect the high-flying motion and real-world dedication to health that it requires.
Stunt doubles must carry out a sort of magic trick: They make themselves disappear so that you see solely the actress, not them. It may be a problem since they will’t pack on extra muscle than the star they’re doubling for. “We stroll a high-quality line between staying true to our personal physique and molding to another person’s,” says Shauna Duggins, who has doubled for Melissa Benoist on Supergirl. And for those who’re too lean, you threat harm. “You wish to have muscle to guard your self—you hit the bottom laborious in these stunts,” says Levy. That energy issues. Heidi Germaine Schnappauf, Jaimie Alexander’s double on Blindspot, injured her neck from a a excessive fall in 2015. “If I’d been even slightly smaller or much less robust,” she says, “I may have completed some actual harm, presumably one thing as extreme as [paralysis].” Helena Barrett, who doubled for Amy Adams in Batman v Superman: Daybreak of Justice and is doing stunts within the upcoming Twin Peaks sequence, describes the way in which stuntwomen take into consideration their our bodies as a heightened model of what the common girl goes by way of every single day: “In my job I always evaluate myself to different actresses. However I can’t be that skinny and be capable of do backflips. That provides me self-assurance.”
These girls additionally do every little thing their male counterparts do, however typically in stilettos and all the time in skimpier outfits. “I’ve completed multiple-stair falls in a costume, which suggests no padding,” says Duggins. “I did have a tailbone pad as soon as—as a result of I tucked it into my underwear!” And in a line of labor the place your physique is your job, being pregnant is further robust. “The joke within the stunt neighborhood is that you just’re pregnant for 5 years,” Barrett says. “[Stunt coordinators] go, ‘Oh, she’s pregnant,’ and also you’re like, ‘That was two years in the past!’”
So that they know self-care actually issues. “This job isn’t just about doing the stunts however taking good care of your physique after you do them,” says Schnappauf, who has carried out every little thing from drowning to being set on hearth. Some require bodily energy, certain, however all require restorative time. “Each week I see a chiropractor and do scorching yoga and a restoration exercise for my joints,” says Schnappauf. The stuntwomen we talked to use that balanced method to their diets too: “If I eat spaghetti at present, tomorrow I eat a salad,” says Ming Qiu, who does her signature martial arts work on Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D. “I attempt for moderation. I really feel more healthy and happier once I go to work.” And people emotions are priceless. In spite of everything, says Duggins, “I get to go to work and beat up the dangerous guys and bounce off buildings and get set on hearth and race automobiles—after which go dwelling and have a traditional life. How superior is that?”
Their Health Ideas:
Bethany Levy: doubled for Zoë Saldana in Star Trek: Into Darkness and Beyoncé in Lemonade
How she trains: Horseback driving, mountain climbing, and snowboarding. “I benefit from the outdoor,” she says. The combo offers her the proper quantity of muscle tone.
How she eats: “I really like uncooked kale chips and uncooked spicy beet chips. I additionally like seeds once I crave one thing crunchy or salty, to replenish my electrolytes.”
Kelli Barksdale: doubles for youths on reveals like Fashionable Household and American Horror Story.
How she trains: Barksdale does gymnastics on a trampoline, which is “an awesome exercise for stability [and] air consciousness.” Plus, it’s simple on her joints.
How she eats: “I drink plenty of Kombucha [and] eat plenty of sushi,” and just lately minimize out dairy. “It made an enormous distinction,” she says. “I used to be a lot lighter on my toes."
Ming Qiu: doubles on Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Scorpion.
How she trains: She goals for 4 two-hour coaching periods every week and sticks to martial arts, “plenty of stretching,” and “slightly weight coaching.”
How she eats: For Qiu, it’s extra about when she eats. “I attempt to end dinner round 6:00 P.M. and never eat something after,” she says.
“I really feel higher once I get up.”
Heidi Germaine Schnappauf: doubled on Jessica Jones and doubles on Blindspot.
How she trains: CrossFit, scorching yoga, and two-to-three-minute planks every day are her standbys. “It retains my backbone and core robust,” she says.
How she eats: “Fairly near a Paleo food regimen: decrease carbs, increased in [good] fat and proteins. However I dwell in New York Metropolis. If I couldn’t have pizza, I would go loopy!”
Bethany Levy is barefoot in a black costume on the sting of a 10-story constructing. She will see most of downtown Los Angeles, though all she wants to identify is her touchdown mark 100 toes beneath. She swan-dives down, secured in a harness, rigged as much as a crane, and somersaults in midair earlier than slowing to a cease. It’s an distinctive day, even for a stuntwoman like Levy: She’s doubling for Beyoncé’s iconic fall in Lemonade.
Levy is a part of a rising fleet of stuntwomen, because of a proliferation of feminine leads together with Jessica Jones, Supergirl, and Surprise Girl. “These days there are tons of ladies—and ladies of coloration—in main motion roles,” says Levy. “There’s loads of work to go round.” This elite crew gave Glamour a peek in any respect the high-flying motion and real-world dedication to health that it requires.
Stunt doubles must carry out a sort of magic trick: They make themselves disappear so that you see solely the actress, not them. It may be a problem since they will’t pack on extra muscle than the star they’re doubling for. “We stroll a high-quality line between staying true to our personal physique and molding to another person’s,” says Shauna Duggins, who has doubled for Melissa Benoist on Supergirl. And for those who’re too lean, you threat harm. “You wish to have muscle to guard your self—you hit the bottom laborious in these stunts,” says Levy. That energy issues. Heidi Germaine Schnappauf, Jaimie Alexander’s double on Blindspot, injured her neck from a a excessive fall in 2015. “If I’d been even slightly smaller or much less robust,” she says, “I may have completed some actual harm, presumably one thing as extreme as [paralysis].” Helena Barrett, who doubled for Amy Adams in Batman v Superman: Daybreak of Justice and is doing stunts within the upcoming Twin Peaks sequence, describes the way in which stuntwomen take into consideration their our bodies as a heightened model of what the common girl goes by way of every single day: “In my job I always evaluate myself to different actresses. However I can’t be that skinny and be capable of do backflips. That provides me self-assurance.”
These girls additionally do every little thing their male counterparts do, however typically in stilettos and all the time in skimpier outfits. “I’ve completed multiple-stair falls in a costume, which suggests no padding,” says Duggins. “I did have a tailbone pad as soon as—as a result of I tucked it into my underwear!” And in a line of labor the place your physique is your job, being pregnant is further robust. “The joke within the stunt neighborhood is that you just’re pregnant for 5 years,” Barrett says. “[Stunt coordinators] go, ‘Oh, she’s pregnant,’ and also you’re like, ‘That was two years in the past!’”
So that they know self-care actually issues. “This job isn’t just about doing the stunts however taking good care of your physique after you do them,” says Schnappauf, who has carried out every little thing from drowning to being set on hearth. Some require bodily energy, certain, however all require restorative time. “Each week I see a chiropractor and do scorching yoga and a restoration exercise for my joints,” says Schnappauf. The stuntwomen we talked to use that balanced method to their diets too: “If I eat spaghetti at present, tomorrow I eat a salad,” says Ming Qiu, who does her signature martial arts work on Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D. “I attempt for moderation. I really feel more healthy and happier once I go to work.” And people emotions are priceless. In spite of everything, says Duggins, “I get to go to work and beat up the dangerous guys and bounce off buildings and get set on hearth and race automobiles—after which go dwelling and have a traditional life. How superior is that?”
Their Health Ideas:
Bethany Levy: doubled for Zoë Saldana in Star Trek: Into Darkness and Beyoncé in Lemonade
How she trains: Horseback driving, mountain climbing, and snowboarding. “I benefit from the outdoor,” she says. The combo offers her the proper quantity of muscle tone.
How she eats: “I really like uncooked kale chips and uncooked spicy beet chips. I additionally like seeds once I crave one thing crunchy or salty, to replenish my electrolytes.”
Kelli Barksdale: doubles for youths on reveals like Fashionable Household and American Horror Story.
How she trains: Barksdale does gymnastics on a trampoline, which is “an awesome exercise for stability [and] air consciousness.” Plus, it’s simple on her joints.
How she eats: “I drink plenty of Kombucha [and] eat plenty of sushi,” and just lately minimize out dairy. “It made an enormous distinction,” she says. “I used to be a lot lighter on my toes."
Ming Qiu: doubles on Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Scorpion.
How she trains: She goals for 4 two-hour coaching periods every week and sticks to martial arts, “plenty of stretching,” and “slightly weight coaching.”
How she eats: For Qiu, it’s extra about when she eats. “I attempt to end dinner round 6:00 P.M. and never eat something after,” she says.
“I really feel higher once I get up.”
Heidi Germaine Schnappauf: doubled on Jessica Jones and doubles on Blindspot.
How she trains: CrossFit, scorching yoga, and two-to-three-minute planks every day are her standbys. “It retains my backbone and core robust,” she says.
How she eats: “Fairly near a Paleo food regimen: decrease carbs, increased in [good] fat and proteins. However I dwell in New York Metropolis. If I couldn’t have pizza, I would go loopy!”
