In 1985, I made a transition from martial arts and kickboxing to a full time career as a stuntwoman. In 1982, I had moved from Pensacola, Florida to Los Angeles, California for several reasons. One, my sanctioning body, the WKA (World Karate Association) based out of Westminster, CA was working hard to promote me as a fighter.
Aditya Sarpotdar’s film about Reshma Pathan, the woman who performed Hema Malini’s stunts in Ramesh Sippy’s classic will be out on Zee5 on March 8, 2019. Pathan has also worked as a body double in the 1970s and ’80s, but like most stuntwoman in her profession, her contribution to the industry has remained behind the scenes.
Lead stunt double for Gal Gadot in the film Wonder Woman, Caitlin Dechelle was responsible for the kickass stunts and fighting scenes that brought the film to life. A martial artist from the age of six, she has 95 world titles. To find out more, I put 20 questions to Caitlin about martial arts, stunts and working on Wonder Woman.