Short Biography

Natalie Wood was an American actress who appeared in 56 films, mostly during her childhood and adolescence, for TV and the silver screen.

Born to Russian emigres in San Francisco, Wood made her film debut at age 4 with a bit part in Happy Land and became a successful child actor in such films as Miracle on 34th Street (1947). A well-received performance opposite James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and helped her make the transition from child performer. She then starred in the musicals West Side Story (1961) and Gypsy (1962) and became one of the top box-office attractions. By age 25 she was a three-time Academy Award nominee, after receiving Best Actress nominations for her performances in Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Love with the Proper Stranger (1963).

Wood was the youngest person in the category each time and also remains the youngest person in film history to receive three Academy Award nominations.

By her late 20s, the success of Wood`s films had declined and she sunk into a deep deppression and attempted suicide. Wood underwent therapy and turned down roles in many major films because she did not want to be separated from her psychiatrist. She revived her career with the hit film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969). After this, however, she turned down many more film roles to give her time to start a family. Wood had two husbands, Robert Wagner and Richard Gregson, and had one child with each: Natasha Gregson and Courtney Wagner. Wood had a sister, actress Lana Wood.

Wood began taking more acting projects in the late 1970s and starred in several made-for-television films, including a remake of From Here to Eternity (1979), for which she won a Golden Globe Award. She re-emerged in the feature films Meteor (1979) and The Last Married Couple in America (1980), but they did not revive her film career as she had hoped.

At the time of her death at age 43, Wood was attempting a comeback with a lead role in the science fiction drama Brainstorm (1983) with Christopher Walken. During production, she drowned near Santa Catalina Island while partying with Walken and Robert Wagner on her yacht.

Miscellaneous Information

Distinctive Features

bump on left wrist

Measurements

Bust: 32" B  Waist: 22"  Hips: 33"

Friends and Family

Margaret O`Brien [Friend]

Timothy Hutton [Friend]

Tommy Thompson [Friend]

Geena Davis [Friend]

Morgan Brittany [Friend]

Ali MacGraw [Friend] (Ali`s son dated Natalie`s daughter)

Natasha Gregson (Natalie`s daughter)

Courtney Wagner (Natalie`s daughter)

Carol Lynley [Friend]

Stefanie Powers [Friend]

Olga Viriapaeff [Sister]

Maria Stepanova [Mother]

Nikolai Zacharenko [Father]

Lana Wood [Sister]

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