Kitty Linn O'Neil ((1946-03-24)March 24, 1946 – (2018-11-02)November 2, 2018) was an American stuntwoman and auto-racer,[1][2][3][4] often called "the fastest woman in the world" for her various speed records.

[9] O'Neil subsequently moved into car racing and became a pioneering woman in the stunt industry in Hollywood.

[9] She appeared in numerous television and film projects, lent her likeness to an action figure,[9] was honored at the 91st Academy Awards,[10] and in March 2023 with a Doodle in the Google search.

[21] As a stuntwoman, she appeared in The Bionic Woman, Airport '77, The Blues Brothers, Smokey and the Bandit II and other television and film productions.

In the process, she set a women's high-fall record of 127 feet (39 m) at the 12-story Valley Hilton in Sherman Oaks, California.

[17][12][16] On 6 December 1976, in southeastern Oregon's Alvord Desert, O'Neil set the land-speed record for female drivers.

She piloted a $350,000 (equivalent to $1.9 million in 2023) hydrogen peroxide powered three-wheeled rocket car built by Bill Fredrick called the "SMI Motivator".

[19] A spokesman was reported (incorrectly according to Sports Illustrated) to say it is "unbecoming and degrading for a woman to set a land speed record."

The sponsors received negative publicity for removing O'Neil from the car, and the Needham action figures were not marketed.

[23] In 1977 in the Mojave Desert, O'Neil piloted a hydrogen peroxide-powered rocket dragster built by Ky Michaelson with an average speed of 279.5 mph (449.8 km/h).