Toni Vaz, Actress and NAACP Image Awards Founder, Dies at 101

Toni Vaz — a trailblazing stunt performer, actress and activist, who also founded the NAACP Image Awards — has died at 101.

She died Oct. 4 in Woodland Hills, according to a spokesperson for Vaz, at the Motion Picture & Television Fund assisted living facility, where she was a longtime resident.

In addition to her acting roles and stuntwork that had her doubling for such stars as Cicely Tyson, she founded the NAACP Image Awards to honor her peers and encourage studios and producers to hire and honor a wider range of talent. The first Image Awards ceremony was held on Aug. 13, 1967 in the Beverly Hills Hotel’s International Ballroom. 

However, she was not credited with founding the awards until 2021, when she was honored at the awards’ 52nd ceremony. “Black-ish” star Anthony Anderson introduced her. You can watch a clip of the moment below:

Born to parents from Barbados who had immigrated to the U.S., Toni was one of four siblings raised in New York City in the 1950s.

Her first film role was as an extra in 1959’s “Tarzan the Ape Man” in a scene opposite MGM’s famed mascot, Leo the Lion. She also appeared in films including “Anna Lucasta” and 1966’s “The Singing Nun,” in which she is credited as doubling for star Juanita Moore, according to IMDB. She went on to become the first Black stuntwoman in Hollywood and stood in for Tyson on “Mission: Impossible.”

In 2020, she was featured as part of MPTF’s “Reel Stories, Real Lives” event, where her story was told by Oscar nominee and multiple NAACP Image Award recipient Angela Bassett.

Vaz remained active and participated in many MPTF Studios productions, including an episode of “Behind the Silver Screen” devoted to her career.

She is survived by her nephew, Errol Reed; niece, Janice Powell-Bowen; and several grand nieces, grand nephews, great nieces, great nephews and godsons. 

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