Natalie Wood, born Natalie Zacharenko on July 20, 1938, was an accomplished American actress. Her career began in childhood, and she smoothly transitioned to young adult roles, leaving a lasting impact on Hollywood.
Wood's acting journey began at the age of four, and by eight, she landed a co-starring role in "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947). As a teenager, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955), followed by an appearance in John Ford's "The Searchers" (1956). She further solidified her status with starring roles in musicals like "West Side Story" (1961) and "Gypsy" (1962), earning additional Academy Award nominations for her performances in "Splendor in the Grass" (1961) and "Love with the Proper Stranger" (1963).
Throughout the 1970s, Wood took a break from film and had two daughters, one with Richard Gregson, her second husband, and one with Robert Wagner, her first husband whom she remarried after divorcing Gregson. She appeared in only a couple of feature films during the decade but was more active in television, winning a Golden Globe Award for her role in a remake of "From Here to Eternity" (1979). Her films mirrored the evolving landscape of American womanhood, portraying characters from childhood to middle age, a rarity in Hollywood.
Tragically, on November 29, 1981, at the age of 43, Wood drowned in the Pacific Ocean near Santa Catalina Island during a break from filming "Brainstorm" (1983). Her death sparked controversy and speculation, with conflicting witness statements leading to an inconclusive cause of death listed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in 2012. In 2018, Wagner became a person of interest in the ongoing investigation into her death, adding another layer of complexity to Wood's legacy.
Early life
Natalie Wood, originally named Natalie Zacharenko, was born in San Francisco on July 20, 1938, to Maria Zudilova and Nicholas Zacharenko. Maria, who also used the names Mary, Marie, and Musia, hailed from Barnaul. Her maternal grandfather owned soap and candle factories and had an estate outside Barnaul. Due to the Russian Civil War, the family fled to China as refugees, settling in Harbin. Maria was previously married to Alexander Tatuloff, an Armenian mechanic, from 1925 to 1936, and they had a daughter named Olga before moving to the U.S. in 1930 and divorcing six years later.
Nicholas, Natalie's father, was a carpenter from Ussuriysk. His father, a chocolate factory employee, was killed in a street fight between the Red Army and White Russian soldiers in Vladivostok during the war. Afterward, his widow and three sons fled to Shanghai and later Vancouver before settling in the U.S. by 1933. Natalie's parents met while Maria was still married to Tatuloff and married in February 1938, five months before Natalie was born. A year later, Natalie's father changed the family's surname to Gurdin. They purchased a home in Santa Rosa, California, in 1942, where Natalie was discovered by film crew members during a shoot downtown.
As Natalie began her acting career as a child, RKO executives David Lewis and William Goetz changed her surname to "Wood" to appeal to English-speaking audiences and as a tribute to filmmaker Sam Wood. Natalie's only full sibling, sister Svetlana, was born in Santa Monica in 1946 and later pursued acting under the name Lana Wood.
Child Actress
Early Roles
At just under five years old, Wood made her uncredited debut in the film Happy Land (1943), capturing the attention of director Irving Pichel despite the brief appearance. Pichel stayed in touch with Wood's family for two years, informing them of new roles. He eventually called Wood's mother and requested her daughter come to Los Angeles for a screen test. Excited by the opportunity, Wood's mother relocated the family to Los Angeles against her husband's objections, driven by her ambition for Natalie to become a star. According to Lana Wood, Natalie's younger sister, Pichel "discovered her and wanted to adopt her."
At seven, Wood landed a role in Tomorrow Is Forever (1946) alongside Orson Welles and Claudette Colbert. Welles praised Wood as a natural talent, noting her ability to act from the heart rather than just the script. Wood also starred in The Bride Wore Boots, directed by Pichel, and later played Gene Tierney's daughter in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) at 20th Century Fox.
Miracle on 34th Street
Wood's most famous childhood role was in Miracle on 34th Street (1947), where she played a skeptical girl who comes to believe in Santa Claus. The film became a Christmas classic, propelling Wood to stardom. Her popularity led Macy's to invite her to appear in their annual Thanksgiving Day parade.
Following Miracle, Wood continued to portray daughters in family films, including Driftwood (1947), Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948), Chicken Every Sunday (1949), The Green Promise (1949), Father Was a Fullback (1949), No Sad Songs for Me (1950), Our Very Own (1950), Never a Dull Moment (1950), The Jackpot (1950), Dear Brat (1951), The Blue Veil (1951), The Rose Bowl Story (1952), Just for You (1952), and The Star (1952), among others. She also appeared on television in episodes of Kraft Theatre and Chevron Theatre.
During her early acting years, Wood received her education on studio lots, as California law required child actors to have at least three hours of schooling per day until age 18. Despite her demanding schedule, Wood excelled academically, particularly in arithmetic, earning praise from directors and educators alike. Her mother remained heavily involved in managing her career, even after she acquired agents. By age nine, Wood was already receiving significant media attention, named the "most exciting juvenile motion picture star of the year" by Parents magazine.
Teen Stardom
During the 1953-54 television season, Wood portrayed Ann Morrison, the teenage daughter in The Pride of the Family, an ABC sitcom. She also appeared as a teenager in various television shows such as The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse, Public Defender, Mayor of the Town, Four Star Playhouse, The Ford Television Theatre, and General Electric Theater. Additionally, she appeared in a TV adaptation of Heidi, considering the GE Theater episode "Carnival" as one of her best works.
Wood also had roles in the feature films The Silver Chalice and One Desire (1955).
Rebel Without a Cause
At the age of 16, Wood successfully transitioned from a child star to an ingénue, starring alongside James Dean and Sal Mineo in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), directed by Nicholas Ray. Despite having to sign a long-term contract with Warner Bros., Wood was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She later revealed that Rebel Without a Cause was the first script she read and genuinely wanted to do, rather than being instructed by her parents, who initially opposed her involvement. She said, "Until then I did what I was told."
Wood continued to make guest appearances on anthology TV shows like Studio One in Hollywood, Camera Three, Kings Row, Studio 57, Warner Brothers Presents, and The Kaiser Aluminum Hour. She also had a pivotal role in John Ford's The Searchers (1956) and was the female lead in A Cry in the Night (1956).
Tab Hunter and Marjorie Morningstar
Wood graduated from Van Nuys High School in 1956 and signed with Warner Bros. She appeared in several "girlfriend" roles, which she found unfulfilling. The studio paired her with Tab Hunter in two films, The Burning Hills (1956) and The Girl He Left Behind (1956), hoping to create a popular duo, but the box-office success did not materialize. She also guest-starred in episodes of Conflict.
Warner Bros. attempted to pair her with Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in Bombers B-52 (1957). She then landed the lead role in Marjorie Morningstar (1958), a prestigious project where she portrayed a young Jewish girl in New York City navigating her family's social and religious expectations while trying to establish her own identity.
Adult Career
Tibbetts noted a shift in Wood's acting styles in films like Rebel, Searchers, and Morningstar, where her former "childlike sweetness" was paired with a noticeable "restlessness" characteristic of 1950s youth.
Following her role as Frank Sinatra's leading lady in Kings Go Forth (1958), Wood turned down roles and was suspended by Warner Bros. for a year until February 1959. She returned to star opposite James Garner in Cash McCall (1960), but after the box office disappointment of All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960), her career momentum waned. Until then, her career had largely consisted of child or teenage roles.
Splendor in the Grass
Finstad noted that a pivotal moment in Wood's career occurred when she watched A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), which left her in awe of director Elia Kazan and Vivien Leigh's performance. This experience, according to Tibbetts, marked a shift in Wood's roles, which began to explore the idea that sensitivity could mark a person as a "kind of victim."
After a series of less successful films, Wood's career saw a resurgence with Kazan's Splendor in the Grass (1961), alongside Warren Beatty. Despite industry skeptics, Kazan saw in Wood the talent and maturity to transcend her earlier roles. The film's exploration of sexuality and societal pressure resonated with Wood's own struggles, and her performance garnered critical acclaim, earning her multiple award nominations.
West Side Story
Wood's portrayal of Maria in West Side Story (1961), a film adaptation of the Broadway musical, further showcased her talent. Although her singing was dubbed, the film remains one of her most celebrated works. Tibbetts highlighted similarities between her role in West Side Story and Rebel, noting that both films explored themes of youth rebellion and alienation.
Peak Years of Stardom
In Gypsy (1962), Wood sang alongside Rosalind Russell, showcasing her versatility. At 25, she received her third Academy Award nomination for Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), making her one of the youngest actors to achieve this feat at the time.
Wood continued her success with comedies like Sex and the Single Girl (1964) and The Great Race (1965), alongside Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. Her ability to speak Russian in The Great Race added depth to her character, showcasing her linguistic skills.
Despite her commercial success, Wood faced criticism for her acting at times. In 1966, she was awarded the Harvard Lampoon's "Worst Actress" award, which she accepted in person, demonstrating her good sportsmanship.
Personal Struggles and Career Break
Following a challenging experience filming Penelope (1966), Wood took a three-year hiatus from acting, citing emotional difficulties. She focused on her mental health and eventually married Richard Gregson in 1969.
Wood returned to the screen in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), a comedy about sexual liberation, which was both a critical and commercial success. However, she did not fully capitalize on this success, choosing to focus on her family life after becoming pregnant with her first child in 1970.
Semi-Retirement and Later Career
Wood made sporadic appearances on television and in films, including The Affair (1973) and a TV adaptation of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1976) with Laurence Olivier. She also made cameo appearances in Switch and Hart to Hart.
In 1979, Wood appeared in the disaster film Meteor and the sex comedy The Last Married Couple in America, showcasing her versatility and willingness to tackle different roles.
Television
During this period, Wood found success on television, earning high ratings and critical acclaim for her roles. In 1979, she starred in The Cracker Factory and the miniseries remake of From Here to Eternity, alongside Kim Basinger and William Devane. Wood's performance in From Here to Eternity won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 1980. Her last completed production was The Memory of Eva Ryker, released in May 1980.
Wood was set to make her stage debut in Anastasia at Ahmanson Theatre in February 1982, alongside Wendy Hiller. She had also purchased the film rights to the book Country of the Heart and was planning to star with Timothy Hutton. However, these projects were left unfinished.
In total, Wood appeared in 56 films for cinema and television. She was often regarded as "our sexual conscience on the silver screen." Despite limited critical praise throughout her career, she remained a consistently working actress.
Brainstorm
At the time of her death, Wood was filming the science fiction film Brainstorm (1983) with Christopher Walken and directed by Douglas Trumbull.
Brainstorm follows a research team's efforts to perfect a system that records and replays sensory experiences and emotions. After a researcher records her own death, her colleagues try to retrieve the information. Wood died during a production break of Brainstorm while on a boat trip near Santa Catalina Island with her husband, Christopher Walken, and the boat captain.
Following Wood's death, the ending of Brainstorm had to be rewritten, and her character was written out of several scenes. A stand-in and sound-alikes were used to complete her remaining shots. The film was released posthumously on September 30, 1983, and dedicated to Wood in the closing credits.
Personal Life
Relationships
Natalie Wood's marriages to actor Robert Wagner were highly publicized. They first married on December 28, 1957, in Scottsdale, Arizona, when Wood was 19. However, they announced their separation on June 20, 1961, and divorced ten months later on April 27, 1962.
After her divorce from Wagner, Wood dated Warren Beatty, Michael Caine, and David Niven Jr. She also had a broken engagement with Venezuelan shoe manufacturer Ladislav Blatnik in 1965.
On May 30, 1969, Wood married British producer Richard Gregson after dating for nearly three years. They had a daughter, Natasha, born on September 29, 1970. However, Wood filed for divorce from Gregson on August 4, 1971, and it was finalized on April 12, 1972.
After a brief romance with future California governor Jerry Brown, Wood rekindled her relationship with Wagner at the end of January 1972. They remarried on July 16 aboard the Ramblin' Rose, anchored off Paradise Cove in Malibu. Their daughter, Courtney, was born on March 9, 1974.
In 2015, former FBI agent Donald G. Wilson claimed that he had a four-year affair with Wood from 1973 to 1977, beginning when she was pregnant with Courtney Wagner. Wilson has written a book about the relationship, titled "Her Name was Natalie," projected for release in spring 2023 by Outskirts Press.
Rape Allegation
In Suzanne Finstad's 2001 biography of Wood, it is alleged that she was raped by a powerful actor when she was 16. The assailant is not named in the biography. Wood's close friends, including actors Scott Marlowe and Dennis Hopper, recalled that Wood confided in them about the rape, saying that she was too frightened or intimidated to report it to the police. Wood reportedly "hated" her former screen idol afterward and would behave as if nothing happened whenever their paths intersected.
During a 12-part podcast about Wood's life in July 2018, Wood's sister Lana stated that Wood was raped as a teenager inside the Chateau Marmont during an audition, and the attack lasted "for hours." In 2021, Lana published a memoir identifying Kirk Douglas as Wood's alleged assailant, a year after his death.
Death
On November 29, 1981, Natalie Wood died under mysterious circumstances at the age of 43 during the making of "Brainstorm." She had been on a weekend boat trip to Santa Catalina Island aboard her husband Robert Wagner's motoryacht, Splendour. Wood was with Wagner, her co-star Christopher Walken, and Splendour's captain Dennis Davern on the evening of November 28. Authorities recovered her body at 8 a.m. on November 29, one mile away from the boat, with a small inflatable dinghy beached nearby. The circumstances of her death, including how she entered the water, remain unknown.
Wagner stated that she was not with him when he went to bed. The autopsy report revealed bruises on her body and arms, as well as an abrasion on her left cheek, but did not determine how or when these injuries occurred. Davern had previously stated that Wood and Wagner argued that evening, which Wagner initially denied but later admitted to in his memoir. Wood's blood alcohol content was 0.14%, and traces of a motion-sickness pill and a painkiller were found in her bloodstream, both of which increase the effects of alcohol. Los Angeles County coroner Thomas Noguchi ruled her death as accidental drowning and hypothermia, speculating that she may have slipped while trying to re-board the dinghy.
Wood was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, and her funeral was attended by many celebrities. The case was reopened in 2011 after Davern stated that he had lied to police during the initial investigation and implicated Wagner in Wood's death. In 2012, the cause of her death was changed to "drowning and other undetermined factors." Wagner was named a person of interest in the investigation in 2018, but no charges have been filed.
Legacy
Natalie Wood was one of the few child actors who achieved success as an adult movie star. Her career bridged Old Hollywood and New Hollywood, and she was praised for her roles in films like "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" and the miniseries "From Here to Eternity," for which she won a Golden Globe Award.
However, Wood's professional legacy has been somewhat overshadowed by the attention given to her personal life, particularly the circumstances surrounding her death and her highly publicized relationships. Her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, has expressed that the focus on her death has overshadowed her mother's life and work as an actress.
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