Natalie Wood Tribute Page

MyGen Profile GeneratorNatalie Wood Wagner Born: 20th July 1938 Place of Birth: San Francisco Died: 29th November 1981 Place of Death: Sea off Catalina Island Cause of Death: Accidental Drowning Spouses: Robert Wagner: 28th December 1957 - 20th June 1962 Richard Gregson: 30th May 1969 - 1st August 1971 Robert Wagner: 16th July 1972 - until her death in 1981 Children: Natasha Gregson Wagner: born 29th September 1970 Courtney Brooke Wagner: born 9th March 1974 Family: Maria Gurdin: mother - died 6th January 1998 Nicholas Gurdin: father - died 18th November 1980 Olga Viriapaeff: older half-sister Lana Wood: younger sisterEarly life and acting career Wood was born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko in San Francisco, California, to Russian immigrants, Nikolai and Maria Zakharenko. Shortly after, they moved an hour north to Sonoma County and lived in Santa Rosa, California for a couple years before she was "discovered" in a film while shooting in downtown Santa Rosa. Her mother soon moved their family to Los Angeles to pursue a career for the young talent. Her parents changed their surname to "Gurdin", and by the age of 4 she was billed as Natasha Gurdin. Her mother tightly managed and controlled the young girl's career and personal life from her start in films at the age of five. She starred in multiple films as a child including both Miracle on 34th Street and The Ghost and Mrs Muir in 1947. Her father is described by Wood's biographers as a passive alcoholic who went along with his wife's demands. Her sister, Lana Wood, is also an actress, notably a Bond girl, and was featured in a Playboy pictorial (she was not, however, a Playmate). She had another sister, Olga.Natalie Wood with James Dean in the 1955 film, Rebel Without a CauseAt age sixteen, Natalie won the role of Judy in Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause, co-starring James Dean, Sal Mineo, and Dennis Hopper. Most biographers say that she slept with Ray and Hopper in order to advance her career, and that her mother engaged her teenaged daughter to do this. Wood became one of the relatively few child stars to make the transition to adult stardom. By the time she was 25, she was already a three-time Oscar nominee, for Rebel Without a Cause, Splendor in the Grass and Love With the Proper Stranger.Another of her widely noted films was the Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise musical West Side Story, in which she played Maria. Wood was initially signed to do her own singing, but in the end, she was dubbed by professional singer Marni Nixon, which is said to have disappointed her. Nonetheless, she enjoyed worldwide celebrity status, comparable to that of Elizabeth Taylor. Her own singing voice was used when she played the title role in the 1962 film Gypsy, and she also starred with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in the slapstick comedy, The Great Race in 1965. As a restless on-screen companion of James Dean and an off-screen date of Elvis Presley, she was much admired and envied by the young girls of the day. She once stated about Elvis, "He can sing, but he can’t do much else."Although critically acclaimed for her work and despite her box office success, her acting was also criticised by many, and in 1966 she won the Harvard Lampoon Worst Actress of the Year Award. She was the first performer in the awards history to accept in person, winning respect from the institution for being such a good sport.After appearing in the hit film, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice in 1969, she retreated from the spotlight in order to start a family, working sporadically in films and TV movies until her death.