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Susan Backlinie

Susan Backlinie

5 movies on Netflix

Biography

Susan Backlinie was an American stuntwoman and actress who became known for the opening shark attack in Steven Spielberg's Jaws. Born in Miami, she grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida, and was a competitive swimmer before performing as a mermaid at Weeki Wachee Springs. She later worked with animals at Ivan Tors Studios and Africa USA. In the early 1970s she took stunt jobs, playing a corpse in The Blue Knight (1973) and doing a falling elevator stunt for The Towering Inferno (1974). She was hired for Jaws (1975) as Chrissie Watkins, the shark's first victim, and her scene took three days to film. She went on to appear in Day of the Animals (1977) and sent up her Jaws moment in Spielberg's 1941 (1979). In The Great Muppet Caper (1981) she took part in a water ballet alongside Miss Piggy. She died in 2024.

77years old at death

  • Born Miami
  • Died Ventura
  • Star sign: VirgoThe sign runs August 23 to September 22
  • Susan Jane Swindall (birth name)Also credited as Susan Jane Backlinie

Movie Career

Films
5
Career span
32 years1975 to 2007

Every film, newest first

  1. 2007The Shark Is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of 'Jaws'IMDb rating 7.6
  2. 1995The Making of 'Jaws'IMDb rating 7.9
  3. 1977Day of the AnimalsIMDb rating 5.3
  4. 1976Two-Minute WarningIMDb rating 6.2
  5. 1975JawsIMDb rating 8.1

Genres

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Did you know?!

  1. Getting ready for a role

    For the opening scene of Jaws, Backlinie wore cut-off jeans with metal plates that anchored ropes pulled by men in opposite directions, and she stayed afloat only by her own swimming strength.

  2. Getting ready for a role

    Backlinie's screams in Jaws were recorded later in a studio, where Spielberg sat her in a chair and poured water down her throat.

  3. A change of course

    Backlinie was 23 years old in the early 1970s and worked at Africa USA. There she rode on the back of Zamba, a 300-lb water-skiing lion who was also an animal actor.

  4. A change of course

    Backlinie spent her teenage years performing as a mermaid at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, a west coast Florida tourist attraction. She went on to work with wild animals at Ivan Tors Studios in Miami.

Susan Backlinie movies on Netflix

Most often with

Five actors appear in three of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Richard Dreyfuss, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Richard DreyfussRoy Scheider, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Roy ScheiderCarl Gottlieb, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Carl GottliebLorraine Gary, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Lorraine GaryPeter Benchley, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Peter BenchleySteven Spielberg, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Steven Spielberg

Films together

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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