Petra Sprecher is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

circus artist,

stuntwoman A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

and actress residing in Los Angeles. She is best known for being the original cast and the creator of the Cloudswing act in

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

's Quidam. In the stunt realm she is an established double for African American actresses. Some of her most notable stunt work includes doubling for

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

in '' The House'',

Vivica A. Fox Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and television host. Fox began her career on ''Soul Train'' (19821983). She eventually continued her career with roles on the daytime television soap operas ''Days of O ...

in '' Independence Day: Resurgence'' and

Rosario Dawson Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama ''Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include '' He Got Game'' (1998), ''Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Men in Bl ...

in ''

Eagle Eye ''Eagle Eye'' is a 2008 American action-thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and with a screenplay by John Glenn (screenwriter), John Glenn, Travis Adam Wright, Hillary Seitz and Dan McDermott from a story by McDermott. The film stars Shia LaB ...

'', for which she was double-nominated by the

Taurus World Stunt Awards The Taurus World Stunt Awards is a yearly award ceremony held midyear that honors stunt performers in movies. It is held each year in Los Angeles. The first awards were given out in 2001. The deciding committee has been around since the year 2000. ...

for Best High Work and Best Overall Stunt By A Woman. As an Actor, she has appeared both on television and in feature films embodying roles, which require special skills.

Early life

Sprecher was born in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

, Switzerland, to Priska, a Swiss-German schoolteacher, and Peter Osimadu, a Nigerian journalist. She has a step father named Franz Sprecher, a Swiss banker and she has two younger half brothers named Felix, an igloo builder and Benno, an engineer, who are still living in

. She grew up in Aesch,

Baselland Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; german: Kanton Basel-Landschaft ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Champagna; french: Canton de Bâle-Campagne; it, Canton Basilea Campagna), is one of the 26 cantons forming ...

, Switzerland. At the age of 6, she started performing in the

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

for a period of ten years and at the age of seventeen, she began studying

physical theater Physical theatre is a genre of theatrical performance that encompasses storytelling primarily through physical movement. Although several performance theatre disciplines are often described as "physical theatre," the genre's characteristic aspe ...

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

. In the German language, said profession is called Bewegungs-Schauspielerin.

Circus

At nineteen years old, Sprecher was one of seven people selected worldwide to be accepted into the prestigious

École nationale de cirque The National Circus School (french: École nationale de cirque) is a professional circus school located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is for higher education in the art of circus. The NCS also offers academic subjects at the secondary and coll ...

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

. She represented the school and its motherland Canada at the Wuqiao International Circus Festival (中国吴桥国际杂技艺术节) in

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang (; ; Mandarin: ), formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang, is the capital and most populous city of China’s North China's Hebei Province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about southwest of Beijin ...

, China with her

Cloud swing The cloud swing is an aerial act that usually combines static and swinging trapeze skills, drops, holds and rebound lifts. The apparatus itself is a soft rope about 25-30mm thick. It can be made from a single rope, or from a cotton-filled sheath ...

act and won the Bronze Lion, which led to a guest-artist contract for the creation phase and the 3-year North-American tour of

’s

Quidam ''Quidam'' ( ) was the ninth stage show produced by Cirque du Soleil. It premiered in April 1996 and has been watched by millions of spectators around the world. ''Quidam'' originated as a big-top show in Montreal and was converted into an arena ...

Television and film career

Due to Sprecher's background in the

Circus arts Circus skills are a group of disciplines that have been performed as entertainment in circus, sideshow, busking, or variety, vaudeville, or music hall shows. Most circus skills are still being performed today. Many are also practiced by non-perfo ...

- and especially due to her experience as a

trapeze artist A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...

with

- she moved into the Hollywood stunt business and began her television and film career in the year 2001, when

stunt coordinator A stunt coordinator, usually an experienced stunt performer, is hired by a TV, film or theatre director or production company for stunt casting. Their job is to arrange the casting (stunt players and stunt doubles) and performance of stunts for ...

and

Second Unit Director Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stag ...

Brian Smrz brought her in to perform comparable stunts— namely high

Wire-flying Wire-flying is a theatrical stunt which involves suspending an actor from high-tension wires, normally with a harness concealed under the costume, to simulate the action of flying or falling, especially in the presence of other actors. When other a ...

, on

Minority Report Minority Report may refer to: * Minority report (Poor Law), published by the UK Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress 1905–09 * "Minority Report", a 1949 science fiction short story by Theodore Sturgeon * "The Minority Report ...

, starring

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...

. This debut led to many more stunt assignments with some of the top

stunt coordinators A stunt coordinator, usually an experienced stunt performer, is hired by a TV, film or theatre director or production company for stunt casting. Their job is to arrange the casting (stunt players and stunt doubles) and performance of stunts for a ...

in the industry, allowing her to incorporate and accumulate a wide array of skill-sets. One of her most dangerous stunt performed to-date, is when she had to let herself get hit by a car on

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** AM ...

Feed the Beast ''Feed the Beast'' is an American crime drama television series based on the Danish series '' Bankerot'' by Kim Fupz Aakeson and adapted by Clyde Phillips for AMC, starring David Schwimmer and Jim Sturgess. The series premiered on June 5, 201 ...

, which aired August 2016.

Filmography

Award nominations

*2009

, Best Overall Stunt by a Stunt Woman and Best High Work, doubling for

*2009 Action Icon Awards,

, Stuntwoman Of The Year, doubling for

References

External links

*
Official website

Glanz & Gloria

Television news
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprecher, Petra Living people Swiss stunt performers Swiss circus performers 21st-century Swiss actresses Actors from Basel-Stadt Cirque du Soleil performers Year of birth missing (living people) Swiss film actresses