Kitty O'Neil

Growing up, I always idolized Wonder Woman. She’s tough, but fair; superhuman, but like us; and most of all she kicks ass! This month we will be highlighting some wonderful women that I have recently learned of from the podcast, Womanica . Starting with Kitty O’Neil, a real life flying superhero!

Born in Corpus Christi, Kitty suffered a trifecta of ailments at only 3 months old, resulting in a fever that left her deaf. However, her mother, Patsy, took education classes at the local university in order to homeschool Kitty. Once she learned to speak and to read lips, Kitty enrolled in public school. Her first athletic interest was competitive swimming, in which she gained recognition for high diving.

When she was 16, Kitty moved with her mother to Anaheim, so she could train with OIympic diver, Sammy Lee. Soon after, she qualified for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. But then she broke her wrist and contracted spinal meningitis, causing her to miss the Olympics. After she recovered, Kitty was no longer interested in diving. She wanted to go fast. Combining her love for speed and water, Kitty started water skiing speed racing and set the women’s water skiing speed record in 1970. This was only the start. She then went on to break speed records for motorcycles and rocket-fueled cars.

Eventually, she became a prolific stunt woman. Her fearlessness led her to willingly roll cars, jump from tall buildings, and even set herself on fire. In 1976 she was admitted as the first woman in Hollywood’s top stunt organization. Kitty appeared in many famous movies and tv shows. She was Wonder Woman, the Bionic Woman, and even appeared in The Blues Brothers and Smokey and The Bandit. At 32, Kitty set the high fall record of 120 feet by donning the Wonder Woman costume and jumping from the 12th story balcony of the Valley Hilton in Sherman Oaks, California onto an airbag. Yearning for even greater heights, she broke her own record by falling 180 feet from a helicopter. Truly fearless.

To some, her hearing impairment was a drawback, but to Kitty it was a gift. She felt her deafness was a trait that allowed her to be hyper-focused on what she wanted to do without any distractions. It allowed her to win competitions as a teenager, blocking out the nay-sayers who wanted her to sit quietly; and time and time again it won her opportunities to test her prowess and prove to the world that she could do anything.

In early December of 1976, Kitty strapped herself into the rocket-powered, three-wheeled car called the SMI Motivator. Racing across the Oregon desert, she averaged a speed of 512 mph - almost as fast as a commercial airplane. Kitty beat the previous women’s speed record by over 200 mph, and her record would hold until 2019.

In 1977 she set the women’s water skiing speed record of almost 105 mph. Later that year she set the record for a jet-powered speed boat at 275 mph. In 1979 she had her own autobiographical movie called Silent Victory: The Kitty O’Neil Story - and, of course, she did her own stunts.

She retired from the stunt world in 1980 and moved to the mid-west to enjoy a new and peaceful lifestyle with her long-time partner. In 2018, Kitty died from pneumonia at 72. Kitty was, and still is, an inspiration for women who refuse to conform to the rules and expectations of our world. 

To support the Hearing Loss Association of America, click here.

To support the Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss, click here.