While you read this, Tiffany Abney will have leaped from a speeding sports car and pulled a baby stroller out of harm’s way. Although we have seen her great actions in our favorite movies, most of us don’t know her by face. You may have seen her jump off the Hollywood sign to her tragic demise in Ryan Murphy’s “Hollywood”, or maybe you’ll catch her knocking some criminals around in Season 2 of Spectrum network’s “LA’s Finest”. Abney is a professional stunt woman who has doubled Gabrielle Union, Angela Bassett, Regina King, Saweetie, Queen Latifah, Keke Palmer, Barrett Doss, Aisha Tyler, and many other superstars.
The Philadelphia native expressed her thoughts about her work. “My ultimate goal is to be an advocate and bring awareness to stunts and how much hard work goes into it,” said Abney during a shoot. “People in my community have died trying to bring happiness to fans of film and television around the world.”
As a former record-breaking sprinter/hurdler, this 5’9″ black beauty now has an extraordinary resume showcasing her work as an accomplished stunt woman on shows and films such as ‘911’, ‘Luke Cage,’ ‘Black Lightning’, ‘Charm City Kings,’ ‘All Day and a Night,’ ‘LA’s Finest,’ ’21 Bridges’, ‘Peppermint,’ ‘Dolemite is My Name,’ and ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ to name a few.
Smack Em Sauce
Apart from kicking ass and taking names on the big screen, Abney has broadened her horizons by partnering with Kwaylon Rogers and Natasha Burton on an entrepreneurial venture with their “Smack ya Mama, ya Daddy and ya Granny” seafood sauce line. Their products are vegan-friendly, beyond flavorful, and can be used for many more dishes than just seafood. The partners were ecstatic to announce the release of their Spicy, Cajun, and Lemon Pepper seafood sauces September 25th of this year! Their first batch sold out in a whopping 28 minutes, but it’s only just the beginning, since they plan to build a mouth-watering empire of foods, products and merchandise.
Tiffany Abney’s Life in a Bombshell
A long way from LA, Tiffany Abney was born and brought up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She attended Waldron Mercy Academy and Merion Mercy Academy for grade school and high school, respectively. Both are Catholic private blue-ribbon schools of excellence. She started running track at the age of 3 and started running competitively around 5 or 6. From there, Tiffany took her talents to the University of Houston and studied Broadcast Journalism as well as Psychology, where she received a full Track & Field scholarship and later became an NCAA All-American.
After seamlessly clearing barriers on the track, the 14 time state champion moved to Los Angeles to become a stunt double and actress, where she now crashes into things on purpose while possibly wielding a sword. Since then, she has achieved a great name in this profession.
Abney confirms that being a stunt woman is not a piece of cake. It requires long hours, a high pain threshold, dedication, bravery, professionalism, and years of training that movie audiences will never see. Stunt doubles do not always get the recognition they so deserve, but the trade-off is worth it to Abney:
“I am honored. I am blessed to have the mentality and physicality, the drive and the ambition to do it. I’ve learned so many skills and met the most extraordinary humans. A lot of my friends in the stunt business are real-life superheroes.”
The most challenging thing for her as a stunt performer, she says, is doing gags that make her nervous or that are exceedingly dangerous. Sometimes the pressure of executing a particularly nerve-racking stunt perfectly in one take is on her shoulders and hers alone, making stunts not only dangerous, but imperative to the flow of a film production.
One of the most physically and mentally challenging stunts she has done in her career was in “A Quiet Place Two.” A wire gag landed another stunt woman in the emergency room. Tiffany was her replacement, and there was only one chance to do it before wrapping for the day. So Tiffany, the strong and unwavering stunt woman that she is, performed it brilliantly despite all the difficulty, anxiety, and pain of flying up and back 25 feet in the air! Unfortunately, the scene was not included in the film. She says, “That’s another part of being a stunt person people don’t realize; your work doesn’t always make it in the project no matter how cool it may have been or how much it may have hurt.”
When Tiffany is not on set, she spends the majority of her time training, whether it’s fight training, dirt biking, driving, wire work, surfing, sword fighting, rappelling, martial arts, pole dancing, hip hop dancing, or horseback riding. When she’s got free time, she loves to spend time with family and friends, do make-up, aid people experiencing homelessness, and go on adventures. On top of her busy stunt schedule, business endeavors, and home life, she has other plans. The talented force of nature’s goal is to open a camp where she and the most exceptional people in the stunt industry can give minorities the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of stunt work.
Final Thoughts
Tiffany Abney has reached great heights in a short time; it seems like she was destined to fly high. She is leaving no stone unturned to ensure success in her new ventures. Her new business is turning out to be a smashing hit as well.
photo by Bruce Talbot
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Featured Image by Ivan
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