Born and raised in South Africa, Jenny Umbhau, stunt double to Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday, was brought into this world by German and Japanese parents. Umbhau says she has always wanted to be in the stunt world, and has raked in many credits under her belt, locally in Africa and abroad.
Growing up in Cape Town, Umbhau was exposed to the film and media industry. After all, the mother city serves as one of the biggest film locations in South Africa.
She later went on to relocate to the United States to further her career and find more opportunities in the stunt and film industry.
Locally she was involved in the production of Black Sails, which was filmed in Somerset West, just outside the city of Cape Town. Umbhau has had her fair share of on screen appearances, from Resident Evil to The Maze Runner and Tomb Raider.
However, it’s her latest project that grabbed everyone’s attention, playing the stunt double of Wednesday Addams on the new Netflix original, Wednesday. The character is based on a fictional series where she is what is considered a ‘dark’ young girl in her own way and is always up to mischief.
Her character, because of her wild courage, appears in a number of scenes that require outrageous stunts, and this is where Umbhau steals the spotlight.
We just love when one of our local stars becomes successful on an international scale.
Jenny shares moments of filming the show in Romania on her Instagram:
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Wednesday is streaming on Netflix now.
Featured image: Instagram / @jennyayumi24