Babe DeFreest

Babe DeFreest was the first female horse stunt rider in film and the first woman offered a professional jockey license. She was a skilled rider who had a career that spanned the years 1932 to 1946, as a stunt double for many well-known actors. She stood in early on for Linda Sterling, Mae West, Marlene Dietrich, Yvonne DeCarlo, Joan Crawford, Maria Montez, Jean Carmen, Audrey Scott, Nell O'Day, Frances Gifford, Kay Aldridge, Shirley O'Hara, and other actors. Babe liked to do the stunts and stand-in jobs, and despite their danger, she was in so many wagon wrecks she got the nickname Breakaway Babe. She was eventually inducted into the Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall of Fame in 1976 in addition to receiving a special Presidents Award.