Sharing the beauty of Miss Natalie Wood...
Natalie Wood was born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko on the 20th of July 1938. Her parents were Russian émigrés who spoke barely comprehensible English, but they changed the family name to Gurdin after becoming US citizens. Her encouraging mother dreamed of Natalie being a star ever since the delicate baby was born. With that, when Natalie was just four years old, she appeared in her first film, Happy Land (1943). The brief appearance featured Natalie simply dropping an ice cream cone. Soon, the Gurdins moved to Los Angeles to further pursue Natalie's acting career. Natalie took a screen test for Tomorrow Is Forever (1946) but unfortunately, had flunked the test. Eventually the film producers decided to cast her after all after Natalie's mother convinced them that Natalie was perfect for the role. She was only seven years old at the time. Luckily, in Miracle on 34th Street (1947), she won the hearts of movie patrons around the country as Susan Walker in a film that is considered a Christmas classic to this day.
Natalie stayed very busy as a child actress, appearing in no less than 18 films in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Some of these films were successes while others didn't do as well as expected. Two of the unsuccessful films included Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948) and The Silver Chalice (1954). However when Natalie was 17 years old, she was cast opposite James Dean for Rebel Without A Cause (1955). The film became her first Academy Award nomination and a defining moment in her development as an adult actress. Soon after the success of her previous film, Natalie was cast in the western The Searchers (1956). Natalie was now one of the biggest stars in the world. Unfortunately though, she was then cast in some forgettable films such as The Girl He Left Behind (1956), Bombers B-52 (1957) and the poorly reviewed movie Marjorie Morningstar (1958).
However in Natalie's private life, she was seen to begin dating actor Robert Wagner. They had starred in a project that Natalie hated, All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960). The film didn't do so well either. But marriage was definately on the way for Natalie. 1961 proved to be a very good year for Natalie, as she was cast opposite Warren Beatty for Splendour in the Grass (1961). The film is said to be one of Natalie's best. She even named her own yacht after this movie, named "Splendor". Her next film was also a hit, the popular musical West Side Story (1961). However, Natalie was by then having problems with her husband Robert Wagner. They split unexpectedly soon after. But Natalie's next movie certainly cheered her up. As Gypsy Rose Lee in Gypsy (1962), Natalie was finally able to sing in the movie, as her singing voice in West Side Story (1961) was replaced by a professional. Natalie was also looking at her glamorous best in the role.
The beautiful star was next cast opposite Steve McQueen for Love with the Proper Stranger (1963). It was a huge success and it was then that Natalie decided to try her hand at comedy. The following year, Natalie starred in the romcom Sex and the Single Girl (1964), with Tony Curtis. The film didn't do as well as expected. Elsewhere, Natalie was seen to be dating Warren Beatty, whom some blamed for the split between Natalie and Wagner. Her next comedy efforts came in The Great Race (1965), which she was cast opposite Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. The slapstick comedy film did reasonably well at the box office but was critically reviewed. Also out that same year was Natalie's portrayal as Daisy Clover in the film, Inside Daisy Clover (1966). The film received bad reviews and unfortunately, Natalie was horrified to learn that she had won the award for Worst Actress for that year. But Natalie put on a brave face and went out to accept the award with a brave smile.
During the rest of the 1960s, Natalie starred in This Property Is Condemned (1966), Penelope (1966) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969). All were reasonable successes. As the 1970s began, Natalie didn't do much work at all. In 1970, she was married to Richard Gregson and had a daughter, Natasha that year. Sadly, the marriage didn't last long after it was revealed that Gregson had cheated on Natalie. Soon after getting divorced, Natalie returned to the arms of her "childhood sweetheart", Robert Wagner. They remarried on Natalie's yacht, the Splendor. Natalie and Wagnor also had a daughter in 1974, named Courtney Brooke. They remained a happy couple for the rest of Natalie's life. However, her acting career couldn't be said as the same. After starring in box office disasters such as Peeper (1975), Meteor (1979) and The Last Married Couple in America (1980). But Natalie's own television project, The Cracker Factory (1979), proved to be a major success. At the start of the 1980s, Natalie starred work on what was her last film, Brainstorm (1983). Sadly, Natalie was unable to attend the premiere of her last film. She had an accident trying to board the dinghy belonging to the boat, fell into the water and, while trying to recover, drowned. She had been taken away by the deep dark waters that she had always feared throughout her whole life. But Natalie's magical myth will remain in her fans' hearts and her wonderful movies, both successful and unsuccessful.
