Zoe Bell Actress and stuntwoman Date of Birth: 17.11.1978 Country: New Zealand

1. Zoe Bell: Actress and Stuntwoman
2. Early Career
3. Documentary and Awards
4. Later Career

Zoe Bell: Actress and Stuntwoman

Zoe Bell was born on November 17, 1978, in New Zealand, into a family of medical professionals. Her mother, Tish Bell, was a nurse, and her father, Andrew Bell, was a doctor. Zoe grew up on Waiheke Island in Auckland. From a young age, she participated in gymnastics competitions and started learning taekwondo at the age of fifteen. She also trained in dance, underwater diving, and track and field.

Early Career

Zoe began her career in 1992 when her father, who was treating a stuntman with a head injury, gave her his phone number. Her first stunt was a car jump in the New Zealand soap opera "Shortland Street." She performed stunts in the films "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and "Xena: Warrior Princess" (known as "Xena: Queen of Warriors" in some Russian translations). Both films were shot in New Zealand. By the fourth season of "Xena: Warrior Princess," Zoe became Lucy Lawless' personal stunt double. Despite breaking her spine during a stunt, she continued working for a week until a chair-breaking stunt put her out of commission. After "Xena," she worked on various small films as a stunt coordinator and had a small role in the short film "Reflections with Adrienne Wilkinson" (whom she previously worked with on "Xena"). Zoe continued to act and became Uma Thurman's stunt double in Quentin Tarantino's film "Kill Bill," although she was initially hired as a stunt double. Later, Tarantino realized that Zoe was perfect for fight scenes and made them spectacular. She had to learn martial arts and did so successfully. However, towards the end of filming, she broke several ribs and injured her wrists while recreating a backflip after being shot with a shotgun (a scene from "Kill Bill: Volume 2," where Budd shoots rock salt at Black Mamba, editor's note). Zoe required surgery and several months to fully recover. After the end of filming, she was given a prop, a "Bride" sign, which she later gave to her parents. Her work impressed Quentin Tarantino so much that he gave her a role in his new film "Death Proof." Zoe played herself and performed all the stunts, with the most famous being the ride on the hood of a 1970 Dodge Challenger (the car was cut off and rammed by another car while Zoe was on the hood, editor's note). After "Death Proof," she worked on stunts in the film "Catwoman," doubling Sharon Stone and performing high falls.

Documentary and Awards

In 2004, the documentary film "Double Dare" was released, which primarily focused on Zoe and veteran stuntwoman Jeannie Epper. It showcased their challenging work in Hollywood. The film depicted both the hardships faced by stunt performers, drawing on Epper's and Bell's experiences, as well as the struggles of new stunt performers trying to break into the industry. "Double Dare" covered Zoe's career from the end of "Xena: Warrior Princess" to the beginning of her work on "Kill Bill: Volume 1." In the same year, Zoe Bell and Angela Meryl (Vivica A. Fox's stunt double) were nominated for the Taurus World Stunt Awards in the categories of "Best Female Stunt" and "Best Fight" for the knife fight scene in "Kill Bill: Volume 1." In 2005, Zoe was nominated in the categories of "Best Female Stunt," "Best Fight," and "Best High Work." She and Monica Staggs (Daryl Hannah's stunt double) won the "Best Female Stunt" category for the trailer fight in "Kill Bill: Volume 2." Zoe was also nominated for "Best High Work" for a fall from a height of over 200 feet in the film "Catwoman."

Later Career

In 2007, Zoe confirmed rumors that she would be playing the lead role in a film about an American soldier who helps his girlfriend solve problems after returning from Iraq. She stated that she would perform all the stunts herself in the as-yet-untitled film and that her accent was a major challenge. In 2009, Zoe Bell starred in the film "Gamer" alongside Gerard Butler. Later, she appeared as a guest star in the fourth season of the TV series "Lost," playing the role of Regina, a radio operator. She stated that she had to practice and perform some stunts for the role. Zoe also appeared in the seventh episode of the fourth season of the TV series "Ji Yeon." In 2008, Zoe played the lead role alongside her "Xena" co-star Lucy Lawless in the web series "Angel of Death," which premiered online in early 2009. She also portrayed a paramedic who moonlights as a roller derby skater under the alias "Bloody Holly" in Drew Barrymore's 2009 directorial debut, "Whip It." In 2010, she starred with Wesley Snipes in the Italian director Giorgio Serafini's thriller "Game of Death."