Mary-Pier Gaudet: Stuntwoman to the Stars
Mary-Pier Gaudet was one of Charles R. Poliquin’s favorite people, helping him teach courses and lighting up a room with her contagious smile and charming personality. It’s with a heavy heart that we must report that she has passed on.
At 5’3″ and 120 pounds, Mary-Pier looked more like a Disney fairy princess than a movie stuntwoman who fought supervillains, engaged in sword fights, jumped motorcycles, fired machine guns, and leaped off exploding buildings.
Mary-Pier was born in the city of Ville-Marie in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, located in the western region of Quebec. Her athletic career began as a figure skater, inspired by Canadian figure skater and future fitness celebrity Sylvia Tremblay. Mary-Pier skated at the junior level and could perform the challenging double axel. From here, she pursued fitness and figure competitions.
Mary-Pier took a job in Montreal as a barmaid so she could begin working with Larry Vinette, a trainer who had studied under Charles R. Poliquin. Under Vinette’s guidance, Mary-Pier entered her first figure competition in 2006, placing second. She progressed to winning the advanced division in the World Natural Sports Organization World Championships, earning her pro card.
After the World Championships, Mary-Pier was discovered by Jean Frenette, a stunt coordinator. Frenette got Mary-Pier’s first job as a stunt performer in the movie Nitro. Next, she begin working under Christian Maurice, another student of the Strength Sensei. Maurice had an extensive background in training stunt performers and took Mary-Pier’s training to the next level with acrobatics, parkour, and sword fighting.
As she was doubling for movie actresses, Mary-Pier focused on relative strength training methods that would keep her muscle bulges to a minimum. Nevertheless, she reached a strength level that enabled her to perform chin-ups with nearly half her bodyweight.
The hard work paid off as Mary-Pier performed stunts in 18 movies and appeared as an actress in five of them. Among her films were Beastly, Picture This, Pompeii, and two X-Men movies. Among the actresses she doubled for were Vanessa Hudgins, Haylie Duff, and Ashley Tisdale. Off the set, she worked as a personal trainer.
Throughout her life, Mary-Pier battled cystic fibrosis, a degenerative lung disease, and diabetes. But her commitment to healthy living and her positive attitude enabled her to live a fulfilling life. Mary-Pier Gaudet was loved and will be missed. (TSS)
