
Natalie Wood
Biography
Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles.
Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring role at age 8 in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), followed by a role in John Ford's The Searchers (1956).
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Wood starred in the musical films West Side Story (1961) and Gypsy (1962) and received nominations for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Love with the Proper Stranger (1963). Her career continued with films such as Sex and the Single Girl (1964), Inside Daisy Clover (1965), and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969).
During the 1970s, Wood began a hiatus from film and had two daughters: one with her second husband Richard Gregson, and one with Robert Wagner, her first husband whom she married again after divorcing Gregson. She acted in only two feature films throughout the decade, but she appeared slightly more often in television productions, including a remake of From Here to Eternity (1979) for which she won a Golden Globe Award. Wood's films represented a "coming of age" for her and for Hollywood films in general. Critics have suggested that her cinematic career represents a portrait of modern American womanhood in transition, as she was one of the few to take both child roles and those of middle-aged characters.
Wood died off the coast of Santa Catalina Island on November 29, 1981, at age 43, during a holiday break from the production of her would-be comeback film Brainstorm (1983) with Christopher Walken. The events surrounding her death have been the subject of conflicting witness statements, prompting the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, under the instruction of the coroner's office, to list her cause of death as "drowning and other undetermined factors" in 2012.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Natalie Wood, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
West Side StoryMaria7.2
Rebel Without a CauseJudy7.5
The SearchersDebbie Edwards7.7
Miracle on 34th StreetSusan Walker7.4
The Great RaceMaggie Dubois7.1
The Ghost and Mrs. MuirAnna Muir as a Child7.5
Splendor in the GrassWilma "Deanie" Loomis7.5
BrainstormKaren Brace6.2
The CandidateNatalie Wood6.5
MeteorTatiana Donskaya5.2
Bob & Carol & Ted & AliceCarol Sanders6.3
This Property Is CondemnedAlva Starr6.4
Filmography
- 2026Proust Palimpsesto: Pastiches e MisturasFilm: Debbie Edwards - Age 15 (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2018HowardFilm: Maria (archive footage)
- 2018Natalie Wood: An American Murder MysteryFilm
- 2018Hollywood: No Sex, Please!Film
- 2009Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1960'sFilm: (archive footage)
- 1983BrainstormFilm: Karen Brace
- 1980The Memory of Eva RykerFilm: Eva Ryker / Claire Ryker
- 1980The Last Married Couple in AmericaFilm: Mari Thompson
- 1980From Here to EternitySeries: Karen Holmes (12 episodes)
- 1979MeteorFilm: Tatiana Donskaya
- 1979Hart to HartFilm: Movie Star
- 1979The Cracker FactoryFilm: Cassie Barrett
- 1979From Here to EternitySeries: Karen Holmes (3 episodes)
- 1976Cat on a Hot Tin RoofFilm: Margaret
- 1976Laurence Olivier PresentsSeries: Margaret (1 episode)
- 1975PeeperFilm: Ellen Prendergast
- 1975SwitchSeries: Cruise Ship Passenger (uncredited) (1 episode)
- 1973The AffairFilm: Courtney Patterson
- 1972The CandidateFilm: Natalie Wood
- 1969Bob & Carol & Ted & AliceFilm: Carol Sanders
- 1966PenelopeFilm: Penelope
- 1966This Property Is CondemnedFilm: Alva Starr
- 1966Inside Daisy CloverFilm: Daisy Clover
- 1965The Great RaceFilm: Maggie Dubois
- 1964Sex and the Single GirlFilm: Helen Gurley Brown
- 1963Love with the Proper StrangerFilm: Angie Rossini
- 1962GypsyFilm: Louise Hovick/Gypsy Rose Lee
- 1961West Side StoryFilm: Maria
- 1961Splendor in the GrassFilm: Wilma "Deanie" Loomis
- 1960All the Fine Young CannibalsFilm: Sarah "Salome" Davis
- 1960Cash McCallFilm: Lory Austen
- 1958Kings Go ForthFilm: Monique Blair
- 1958Marjorie MorningstarFilm: Marjorie Morgenstern
- 1957Bombers B-52Film: Lois Brennan
- 1956The Girl He Left BehindFilm: Susan Daniels
- 1956The Burning HillsFilm: Maria-Christina Colton
- 1956A Cry in the NightFilm: Elizabeth
- 1956The Deadly RiddleFilm: Lady Marian
- 1956The SearchersFilm: Debbie Edwards
- 1955FeathertopFilm: Polly Gookin
- 1955Rebel Without a CauseFilm: Judy
- 1955HeidiFilm: Klara Sesseman
- 1955Kings RowSeries: Renee Gyllinson (2 episodes)
- 1955One DesireFilm: Seely Dowder
- 1955Too Old for DollsFilm: Polly Ramsay
- 1955The Wild BunchFilm: Louise
- 1954The Silver ChaliceFilm: Helena as a Girl
- 1954Sherwood Anderson's I'm A FoolFilm: Lucy
- 1954Studio 57Series (1 episode)
- 1954Return of the DeadFilm: Renee Marchand
- 1954PlaymatesFilm: Monica
- 1954Mayor of the TownSeries: Mayor's Niece (34 episodes)
- 1953The Pride of the FamilySeries: Ann Morrison (39 episodes)
- 1953General Electric TheaterSeries: Lucy, Polly Gookin (1 episode)
- 1952The StarFilm: Gretchen
- 1952Just for YouFilm: Barbara Blake
- 1952Four Star PlayhouseSeries: Louise (1 episode)
- 1952The Rose Bowl StoryFilm: Sally Burke
- 1952Chevron TheatreSeries: Monica Everton (1 episode)
- 1951The Blue VeilFilm: Stephanie Rawlins
- 1951Dear BratFilm: Pauline Baxter
- 1950The JackpotFilm: Phyllis Lawrence
- 1950The Jack Benny ProgramSeries: Natalie Wood (1 episode)
- 1950Never a Dull MomentFilm: Nan Hayward
- 1950Our Very OwnFilm: Penny Macaulay
- 1950No Sad Songs for MeFilm: Polly Scott
- 1949Father Was a FullbackFilm: Ellen Cooper
- 1949The Green PromiseFilm: Susan Matthews
- 1949Chicken Every SundayFilm: Ruth Hefferen
- 1948Studio OneSeries: Jen Potter (1 episode)
- 1948Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!Film: Eufraznee 'Bean' McGill
- 1947DriftwoodFilm: Jenny Hollingsworth
- 1947Miracle on 34th StreetFilm: Susan Walker
- 1947The Ghost and Mrs. MuirFilm: Anna Muir as a Child
- 1946The Bride Wore BootsFilm: Carol Warren
- 1946Tomorrow Is ForeverFilm: Margaret Ludwig
- 1943Happy LandFilm: Little Girl Dropping Ice Cream Cone (uncredited)
- 1943The Moon Is DownFilm: Carrie (uncredited)
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