Who is the woman in the Jaws poster?

The character on the iconic Jaws poster is Chrissie Watkins, the first victim of the shark in the opening of the 1975 Steven Spielberg thriller.

That role in the film was played by stunt woman and actress Susan Backlinie, but that isn't Backlinie on the poster. So, who is it?

The poster was designed by legendary book cover artist Roger Kastel - he would also go on to create the epic Gone With The Wind-style The Empire Strikes Back poster.

Both beauty and the beast are masquerading as things they are not. Watkins is not Backlinie, and the shark...is not a great white.

For the great white shark, Kastel actually used images of a mako shark, from photos he took at the Museum of Natural History.

And for his rendition of Chrissie Watkins swimming through the water and unaware of what lies beneath, he hired the then 24-year-old model, Allison Maher. The gig was one of her first jobs.

Maher lay across two stools to simulate the swimming motion of the unsuspecting Chrissie, showcasing what we would see in the opening minutes of the film. It's an image you can't shake when Chrissie is being attacked, even though we only see the attack from the surface. Both film and poster are merged.

For her stint on the stools Maher was paid just $35. We don't know if that payment was in cash or check.

The Kastel design was originally for the paperback version of the book, but the publishers, Bantam, allowed it to be used for the film's poster. And so a cinematic icon was born, and with it one of the most famous and oft-imitated film posters in the world.

Speaking to the New York Post, she said: “I knew it was a book cover and that was it. If you know me, you can tell it’s me."

Maher now goes by the name of Allison Maher Stern, after marrying real-estate developer Leonard Stern. He is now a prominent philanthropist, and Allison has an area named for her at the Central Park Zoo, the Allison Maher Stern snow leopard exhibit.

You could say she has gone from supporting a big fish, to supporting the plight of big cats.

Allison may have come a long way since donning that swimming pose on those chairs, but she does have a copy of that iconic Jaws poster. It's made all the more special as it is signed by Steven Spielberg.

FURTHER READING: THE JAWS POSTER IS MISSING

Words by Dean Newman

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