Crashing Through That Glass Ceiling—With a Lasso: Daughters of Daring Reveals Hollywood’s Forgotten Cowgirl Stunt Women

New Book Daughters of Daring Uncovers the Untold Stories of Hollywood’s Cowgirl Stunt Women

GRASS VALLEY, CA, UNITED STATES, January 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Long before Hollywood relied on wires, doubles, or digital effects, fearless women were already redefining what it meant to be daring on screen.
Since the debut of the first Western film, The Great Train Robbery (1903), cowboy heroes have dominated the genre—but their cowgirl counterparts were there from the very beginning. While later stars like Barbara Stanwyck and Dale Evans inspired young women in the 1940s and 1950s, few have asked: Who were the trailblazing cowgirls who came before them?
The answer is revealed in Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women, the powerful new book by New York Times bestselling author Chris Enss.

Early Hollywood was rich with real cowgirls—actresses and stunt women who kept the cowgirl spirit alive by performing astonishing feats of horsemanship, courage, and athleticism. These women rode at breakneck speed, fired guns, took punishing falls, and captured outlaws performing their own stunts and risking their lives for the camera. For many, the rewards were modest, but their impact was lasting.

Daughters of Daring tells the story of more than a dozen trick ropers, bronc busters, and bulldoggers turned actresses—women of grit, charm, and determination. Cowgirls such as Ruth Roland, Helen Gibson, Texas Guinan, Mary Wiggins, Marie Walcamp, and Alice Van Springsteen rarely received screen credit or top billing above the cowboy and his horse, yet their fearless stunt work—riding hard, falling fast, and risking everything—helped make early Westerns thrilling and wildly popular. Their names may have faded, but their legacy has not.

Praise for Daughters of Daring
“Chris Enss shines a much-needed spotlight on the unsung heroines of cinema history… These daring ladies of the silver screen risked their lives without any publicity—until now.”
— Michael F. Blake, Emmy Award–Winning Makeup Artist & Film Historian

“Once again author Chris Enss has unearthed hidden cinema secrets… Finally their names are shared and their incredible achievements are told. No one does it better.”
— Rob Word, Producer & Host, A Word on Westerns

“An exciting book about women with an iron will, determination, and skill… Daughters of Daring belongs in every Western lover’s library.”
— Peter Sherayko, Actor, Producer & Author

Available Now Nationwide
Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women is available at local retailers and through Simon & Schuster, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Amazon.com.

National Book Launch Event
Book Soup
8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood
Saturday, February 28
4:00 P.M.

Join Chris Enss for the national launch, conversation, and book signing.
For more information, visit www.chrisenss.com.

Chris Enss
Simon & Schuster
+1 916-216-0995
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