Kathy Jarvis... Flying High

I grew up in Breckenridge, Colorado, one of 4 children. I was raised by a single mother who made less then $15,000 a year. Even though my mom did not have a lot of money and could not pay for the things I wanted to do, she encouraged me to find a way to do what I loved. I loved sports and loved skiing the most. In order to afford skiing, I worked in a fast food restaurant. I worked hard and trained harder. It paid off, I received a College Scholarship for skiing.

After College I wanted to give back to my community. So,I developed Youth Ski Programs across the Western U.S. to help kids from all socioeconomic backgrounds get into sports. It was the voice of one of my student's parents who suggested, "that I was meant to become a Stuntwoman!"

Even though I never considered a stunt career, I was curious. Somehow I found a way to meet the stunt coordinator on a Disney Film shot in Salt Lake City. This meeting landed me my first film doubling “the leading lady” -- Melora Hardin!” My career as a Stuntwoman began in 1994 and is still going strong. Some of the women I have doubled are: Kate Hudson, Hilary Swank, Meryl Streep, Meg Ryan, Anne Heche, Eva Amuri, Jessica Lange to name a few. And even though I am much more than my credits, you can check them out at http://www.imdb.com.

In 2001, after spending many years exploring off road racing, driving legend Ivan Stewart, encouraged me to start a female Protruck team. Sadly, that year I was diagnosed with a pituitary tumor and i suffered consequences from a botched surgery. My Protruck pursuit vanished as I concentrated on my health.

To promote my healing I turned to a holistic medical approach and declined drugs. I expanded my yoga program, embraced Qi Gong, NET chiropractic and acupuncture for treatment---I nurtured my femme.

While healing, I continued working as a stunt professional, performing many high-risk vehicle stunts: from rolling a completely flame-engulfed Chevy Suburban in Chill Factor, to jumping a Minivan over 82 feet for a Taco Bell commercial. I have crashed through buildings and into glass atria. I have performed many high-speed chases. I have deliberately (and safely) hit people, and slid sideways into, over and along the side of cameras and crew.

In February of 2006, I attended the Team O’Neil Rally School to continue honing my driving skills. During the 4-day program, I fell for rally racing. Three months later I bought, prepped and finished my first Rally race in Pennsylvania, STPR, known as the fastest, toughest rally to finish in North America.

Finally, the time had come to make my protruck dream come true. In 2006, I raced the notorious Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off road race as a Solo woman driver. That year, I also finished 2nd Nationally in class on the National Rally Circuit, after my engine blew and took me out of 1st place.

In 2006 and 2007 I was certified as a Rally and Car Control instructor and became a certified Ayurvedic Master. I am a certified Ayurveda Perfect Health, Meditation, and Yoga instructor with the Deepak Chopra Center for well being. By the end of 2007, I became a member of the Directors Guild of America as a 2nd Unit (Action) Director.

In 2010, the owner and crew of I-96 speedway in Michigan introduced me to Dirt Oval Racing. The I-96 crew gave me the opportunity to make some laps in a CJ Rayburn late model racecar. At the track that day was Andy Stebbins a man who has a history of being a philanthropist. We realized if we where to combine our missions we could make more of an impact especially in the local communities. By bringing the femmefatale empowerment series to women, and by racing a full season connecting with fans and children to make a difference for women at the grass roots level of American racing. With the help of Andy Stebbins femmefatale motorsports will be racing 44 races in a dirt oval late model Rayburn racecar. I am so excited and thankful for this opportunity to be racing in the dirt again!