Zoë Bell

Born and raised on Waiheke Island, Zoë Bell went from stunt work on Xena: Warrior Princess to starring in Quentin Tarantino movie Death Proof. After she won stunt awards for her work as Uma Thurman's double in Kill Bill 2, Tarantino wrote her a starring role in Death Proof, playing herself. The ex-gymnast was profiled in TV's Extraordinary Kiwis and American documentary Double Dare. Bell has gone on to act in Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, and starred in action movie Raze and web series Angel of Death. She has also taken on stunt coordinating (including on Tarantino's stuntman tale Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and directing adverts. 

[Xena: Warrior Princess] was like my tertiary education in stunts: three years, full-time ... everything I learnt there is the path that led me here. All of that relaxing, how to sell hits, how to make it look natural, all of that stuff that you can't learn out of a book. Zoë Bell, in 2007 documentary Extraordinary Kiwis - Zoë Bell