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Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

Big News! Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women has hit #1 on Amazon in the Western Movies & Videos category!

We’re beyond thrilled to see this remarkable tribute to the fearless women of the Western frontier and early Hollywood earning top recognition on Amazon.

Daughters of Daring brings to life the bold and mesmerizing stories of the cowgirl stunt women who rode harder, roped faster, and performed death-defying feats that helped shape the legacy of Western cinema. From trick riders and bronc busters to gun-toting performers, these women didn’t just support the genre — they helped define it.

Authored by New York Times bestselling author Chris Enss, this book celebrates the grit, skill, and daring spirit of women whose contributions to early Hollywood have long gone under-recognized.

Thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered, shared, and supported this project. Your enthusiasm helped make this achievement possible!

Here’s to honoring the trailblazing cowgirls who took the reins and stole the spotlight! Enter now to win a copy of Daughters of Daring scheduled to be released on February 3.

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DAUGHTERS OF DARING

Enter now to win a copy of

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

They rode when it wasn’t safe, fell when it wasn’t planned, and kept going when most would have quit.

The longevity of cowgirl stuntwomen varied wildly. Polly Burson, hailed as the “premiere stuntwoman in Hollywood,” stayed in the saddle for more than three decades, retiring only when she decided the risks had finally outweighed the rewards. Others, like stunt double Betty Miles, left early. After a few close calls, she chose the relative safety of a classroom over the dangers of the set.

For many, the thrill drew them in, but the reality tested their limits. Horse-stunt expert Aline Goodwin endured injuries that took months to heal. While filming a Western in 1930, a runaway horse slammed her into a tree, fracturing three vertebrae. Doctors later told her it was a miracle she could walk at all.

Then there was Betty Danko, mauled by a cougar during a stunt gone wrong. Thirteen deep bites left permanent scars and unforgettable pain. Still, she summed up the life with grit and honesty: fire, falls, wires, knives, water, and flames—“all for the sake of art and a paycheck.”

These women risked everything so movie audiences could believe the impossible.

To learn more, read Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

Enter now to win a copy of the book

Enter now to win a copy of

Daughter of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

“Writing books about show business is truly difficult. The research is enormous, and you have to find a topic that hasn’t been done to death.  What Chris Enss has accomplished with DAUGHTERS OF DARING is remarkable: she has honored the great, many of them unjustly unknown, stuntwomen of the first movies ever made. Tracing their histories from Wild West Shows to the earliest silent films and beyond, Chris Enss has shone a much-deserved light on the great careers of expert sharpshooter May Lillie, serial queen Ruth Roland, and even included the tragic end of actress Mary Wiggins, among many others.

“These were the ladies who could ride, shoot, and rodeo without fear, and have been unfairly ignored for more than a hundred years. Until now.

“THE DAUGHTERS OF DARING were entertaining audiences when show business traveled in tents from town to town, and then found themselves in the new medium of the movies. Chris Enss’ amazingly researched, and highly readable, record of their lives brings them the attention and applause they’ve so richly deserved for so long.”

Courtney Joyner, award-winning author and screenwriter

To learn more read Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

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Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

Before stunt coordinators, contracts, and safety standards, Hollywood relied on fearless women who negotiated danger one stunt at a time.

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women reveals the incredible true stories behind the women who made early Westerns thrilling. In 1938, equestrian stuntwoman Frances Miles helped found Riders and Stunt Girls of the Screen, an organization created to connect studios with the best-trained stuntwomen and to protect those women if injury, sickness, or hard times struck.

As president, Miles compiled a groundbreaking booklet for casting directors, listing each stuntwoman’s specialty, photo, and contact info. Whether a production needed someone crashing through a windowpane or wrestling a mountain lion, that booklet pointed them to the right daredevil and spelled out exactly what each stunt cost.

Stunting was strictly piece work. Ordinary riding paid $11 a day. Wagon crashes started at $50. Transfers from cars or trains could pay up to $230. High dives? Extra pay for every foot above 25.

And the pay gap tells its own story. In 1919, trick rider Vera McGinnis earned just $8 per stunt. By 1938, thrill-seeking equestrian Alice Van Springsteen was among the highest-paid stuntwomen in the business, doubling for Olivia de Havilland in The Adventures of Robin Hood and Dale Evans, earning $45–$60 per stunt.

Want to read more? Enter now to win a copy of Daughters of Daring, releasing February 28.

Because Hollywood’s toughest ceilings were shattered on horseback  – at full speed.