Kitty O'Neil was a Hollywood stuntwoman who rose to fame during the early 1970s. As an infant, O'Neil lost her hearing after she suffered simultaneous cases of measles and smallpox. After moving to California as a young adult, she became involved in action sports and vehicle racing, and she eventually began a career as a stuntwoman. In 1974, O'Neil became the first woman member of Stunts Unlimited, a prestigious organization in Hollywood, California's movie scene.

In 1976, the public relations firm of Aaron D. Cushman and Associates contracted O’Neil to break the women’s land speed record on behalf of a toy design company, Marvin Glass and Associates. On December 6, 1976, in the Alvord Desert of Oregon, O'Neil made her attempt in the SMI Motivator, a three-wheeled, hydrogen peroxide-powered rocket car built by Bill Fredrick. She recorded an official speed of of 591.113 miles per hour, surpassing the women's record of 321 mph. She and Fredrick wanted to make another attempt, this time with the goal of breaking the absolute land speed record of 630.388 mph. But O'Neil's sponsors prohibited any further runs, believing her efforts would conflict with the companies' contract and investments with a male driver, Hal Needham, who was scheduled to attempt to break the absolute record in the following months. O'Neil sued to make another attempt in the Motivator, but was unsuccessful.

Throughout her career, she set 22 speed records and broke her own high-fall record multiple times. O'Neil spent the remainder of her life advocating for equal opportunities and treatment for both women and Deaf individuals.

Sources: "Woman 'gets kick' from stunts," by Paul Hendrickson, Oregonian, July 5, 1979, Page C6; "Ladies, start your engines," by Michael Satchell, Sunday Oregonian, May 6, 1979, PARADE, page 8; "Kitty O’Neil: Fastest woman in the world," by Day Al-Mohamed, PBS American Masters blog, December 4, 2020 (accessed October 23, 2024), https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/blog/kitty-oneil-fastest-woman-in-the-world/; "The Day Kitty O'Neil Couldn't Break The Record," by Marnee Cobb, Ledger (Lakeland, Florida), May 18, 1977, Page 4B, accessed October 28, 2024, via Google News, https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19770518&id=WXVhAAAAIBAJ&pg=7270,4969579; "Kitty O’Neil: American stunt artist who became world’s fastest woman," by Harrison Smith, the Washington Post, November 4, 2018 (accessed November 18, 2024), https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/kitty-oneil-deaf-daredevil-who-became-worlds-fastest-woman-dies-at-72/2018/11/04/5d88dc9c-e044-11e8-8f5f-a55347f48762_story.html; "Deaf stunt driver shatters one mark, aims for another," by Associated Press, Oregonian, December 7, 1976, page D5.