GIRL ON FIRE! Hollywood stunt driver, stunt coordinator, precision driver, and the only Canadian athlete competing in professional drifting, Zandara Kennedy is breaking barriers with her on-track performance. Zandara looks to her next goal as she focuses on training to compete as one of only a few women in 2023 Formula Drift Pro Spec.
In 2022, Zandara completed a 20,000-mile tour of the US and drifted at over 16 different racetracks across the US in preparation for the world’s highest level of drift competition, Formula Drift.
Working tirelessly to hone her craft, Zandara is a mechanic who works on her own car and spends 99% of her time sliding sideways at extreme speeds. Managing her own team, its operations and logistics, the entire year of 2022 was crucial for Zandara to train and establish herself as a driver for Formula Drift in 2023 and now she’s ready to take the wheel and dominate the competition.
WATCH: Zandara Drifting at LS Fest Texas 2022
An advocate in the motorsports and stunt industry and ambassador for Racing Pride, an LGBTQ+ organization for racing sports, Zandara wants to make work more accessible to underrepresented groups (women, people of color, and people with disabilities). With her stunt work on X-Men, Deadpool, XXX, Riverdale, Supernatural, Fear the Walking Dead, The Bold Type, Lucifer, Nancy Drew, and Quantico, Zandara (@zeedrives) gained notoriety by succeeding in the male-dominated world of professional stunts and motorsports. Her stunt work has been featured in many major motion pictures, television shows, and commercials, marketing brand names like Audi, BMW, and Mercedes. She has stunt doubled for actors like Anne Heche, Katee Sakhoff, Uma Thurman, Gillian Anderson, Natalie Eva Marie, and Peyton List, to name a few.
Born in Ottawa, Canada, Zandara enjoyed extreme activities growing up. She wanted to join Cirque du Soleil and spent time training trampoline and performing circus stunts until she broke her arm at age 14. She focused on school and became interested in the entertainment industry. After meeting a production designer, Zandara got her start working on a commercial and discovered that becoming a stunt performer was a career path she could pursue. At age 19, she attended Motion Picture Driving Clinic founded by legendary stuntman Rick Seaman (Charlie’s Angels (2000), Chain Reaction (1996), and Paycheck (2003). She loved it and bought a 1987 Crown Victoria which she would practice driving on the weekends and in the rain. Focused on building her career, Zandara found mentors and gained experience, eventually becoming a stunt coordinator at the age of 30 (One of 3 in Canada doing that at her age – regardless of gender). She now resides in Los Angeles, CA.
Zandara has earned trust and credibility in the industry and is a professional expert with licenses/certifications and extensive training in drifting cars, rally racing, motorcycle riding, acting, combat (Filipino martial arts, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai), weapons/grappling/sword, freediving, and tactical firearms, to name a few. She is one of Canada’s top precision drivers and the only Canadian woman to earn a Formula DRIFT PROSPEC license.
Having trained at Drift School USA, Skip Barrier Racing School, Team O’Neill Rally School, Dirtfish Rally School, Motion Picture Driving Clinic, Reel Stunt Driving School, and more, it’s no wonder Zandara has been picked by major studios, networks, and automotive companies to perform and coordinate vehicle stunts. With nearly two decades of experience, Zandara is well aware of the risks associated with stunt work and takes extra precautions to ensure safety when on-set filming. Zandara is also a fire stunt specialist.
When she’s not on set, Zandara is training at the racetrack, giving drift ride alongs, working on her cars, or participating in outreach to engage more young women in the world of motorsport.
