Наталья Николаевна Захаренко
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Natalie Wood earned three Academy Award nominations by age 25, including for Rebel Without a Cause 1955 and Splendor in the Grass 1961. She began her career as a child star in Miracle on 34th Street 1947 and became one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actresses in the 1960s. Her death by drowning off Catalina Island in 1981 remains controversial, with the cause later amended to include undetermined factors.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Natalie Wood — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Natalie Wood by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Natalie Wood — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Natalie Wood’s mother, a frustrated ballet dancer, transferred her own ambitions onto her daughter, taking her to the cinema to study Hollywood child stars. Born Natalia Zakharenko on July 20, 1938, in San Francisco to Russian immigrant parents, Wood was noticed by a film crew in Santa Rosa at age four, leading to her first audition. The family moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting roles, and RKO executives gave her the stage name Wood after director Sam Wood.
Wood made her film debut in Happy Land 1943 at age five, but her first major role was as Susan Walker in Miracle on 34th Street 1947. She transitioned to teenage roles with Rebel Without a Cause 1955, earning her first Oscar nomination. Director Elia Kazan cast her in Splendor in the Grass 1961, leading to a second nomination. She starred as Maria in West Side Story 1961, the highest-grossing film of that year. Her third Oscar nomination came for Love with the Proper Stranger 1963. After a career slump in the mid-1960s, she made a comeback with Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice 1969.
Wood married Robert Wagner in 1957, divorcing in 1962, then remarried him in 1972. Between marriages, she was wed to screenwriter Richard Gregson from 1969 to 1972. She had two daughters: Natasha Gregson Wagner born 1970 and Courtney Wagner born 1974. Wood struggled with emotional health, seeking therapy and suffering from sleeping pill overdoses in 1961, 1964, and 1966. She was taking multiple prescription drugs at the time of her death. On November 28, 1981, Wood spent her last night aboard the yacht Splendour off Catalina Island with husband Robert Wagner, Christopher Walken, and captain Dennis Davern. Her body was found the next morning, leading to a controversial death investigation.
Natalie Wood’s films remain touchstones of American cinema: four are in the National Film Registry, including Miracle on 34th Street 1947, Rebel Without a Cause 1955, The Searchers 1956, and West Side Story 1961. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame posthumously on February 1, 1986. Her mysterious death sparked investigations and inspired songs like Don Henley’s Dirty Laundry. Wood earned three Oscar nominations by age 25, marking her transition from child star to major talent.
The complete filmography of Natalie Wood — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Natalie Wood — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Natalie Wood — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
You Get Tough in This Business, Until You Get Big Enough to Hire People to Get Tough for You. Then You Can Sit Back and Be a Lady.
In so Many Ways I Think It’s a Bore to Be Sorry You Were a Child Actor – so Many People Feel Sorry for You Automatically. at the Time, I Wasn’t Aware of the Things I Missed, so Why Should I Think of Them in Retrospect? Everybody Misses Something or Other.
I’ve Always Been Terrified, Still Am, of Water – Dark Water, Sea Water, Or, You Know, River Water.
My Life Has Been Sort of Reversed. I Was Working When Other Girls Were Going to School and When Other Women Were Reaching the Age When They Wanted Careers, I Was Most Interested in Staying Home.
If It Weren’t for Analysis, I’d Probably Be Dead.
I Think There’s a Big Difference Between Taking One Seconal at Night to Go to Sleep, and Abusing Drugs. I Mean, First of All, It Was Prescribed for Me by My Doctor. and I Never Took More Than That. I’ve Never Been on Drugs in My Life.
I Hate the Ocean, I Hate the Water. I Can’t Swim and I Don’t Like to Be Around It.
Little-known facts about Natalie Wood — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Among the pallbearers at her funeral were Rock Hudson, Frank Sinatra, Laurence Olivier, Elia Kazan, Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Fred Astaire.
Don Henley wrote the song Dirty Laundry to express his outrage at the tabloid press for their treatment of her after her death.
She was cast as Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 1976 unexpectedly; Laurence Olivier thought of casting her and her husband Robert Wagner as Brick and Maggie after often dining with her.
After barely surviving a drowning accident as a child during the filming of The Green Promise 1949, she developed a deep fear of water. Elia Kazan had to trick her into doing reservoir scenes for Splendour in the Grass 1961.
She spoke Russian and English.
A childhood accident on set left her with a permanently weakened left wrist, which she hid for the rest of her life with large bracelets.
She had her stomach pumped after sleeping pill overdoses in June 1961, November 1964, and January 1966, after which she focused on her mental health.
The coroner who examined her corpse was Thomas Noguchi; a former intern later accused him of a cover-up, claiming bruising consistent with someone thrown from a boat.
She attended ballet classes as a child with Jill St. John and Stefanie Powers, both of whom had long-term associations with Robert Wagner.
She played Maureen O’Hara’s daughter in two films, including Miracle on 34th Street 1947, and called her Mama Maureen until her death.
Her death certificate was modified in August 2012 from accidental drowning to drowning and other undetermined factors.
She admired Bette Davis, Vivien Leigh, and Elizabeth Taylor, with Leigh being her favorite actress.
She burned all of Warren Beatty’s clothes upon discovering his infidelity.
The yacht Splendour she was on the night she died was named after her film Splendor in the Grass 1961.
She had a daughter with Robert Wagner: Courtney Wagner born March 9, 1974.
She started smoking at age 16 and quit when she turned 40; co-star Morgan Brittany said she never saw her without a cigarette.
In 1966, she surprised the Harvard Lampoon by becoming the first performer they voted the year’s worst to show up and accept the citation.
Four of her films have been selected for the National Film Registry: Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without a Cause, The Searchers, and West Side Story.
At her death, there was almost no explanation given to the public, and tabloids have kept the case in the news.
Her singing voice was dubbed by Marni Nixon in West Side Story 1961, who also dubbed Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady 1964.
She was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 1, 1986.
Her favorite actress was Vivien Leigh and her favorite singer was Bob Dylan.
Houston lawyer Suzanne Finstad conducted over 400 interviews for the controversial biography Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood 2001.
She interviewed Arnold Schwarzenegger for the Hollywood Reporter in 1979; her final on-camera interview was conducted by Maria Shriver.
By the early 1960s, she was one of Hollywood’s most valuable actresses, but after a string of box office flops, she appeared in only four feature films in the last 15 years of her life.
She is interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, with the epitaph: Beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother & friend more than love.
She read Gavin Lambert’s novel Inside Daisy Clover 1965 and telephoned him saying she’d kill for the part, which she eventually got.
She told a reporter in 1978 that she regularly took Seconal to sleep; she was taking at least eight prescription drugs at the time of her death.
She was known as One Take Natalie for getting her lines right on the first take.
She turned down the role of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby 1974 because she refused to screen test.
Her younger sister Lana Wood produced an ABC-TV special The Mystery of Natalie Wood 2004.
In the 2010s investigation, Christopher Walken cooperated and was not considered a suspect.
According to captain Dennis Davern, Robert Wagner prevented him from turning on search lights or notifying authorities after Wood disappeared.
She turned down the role of Bonnie Parker in Bonnie and Clyde 1967 because she didn’t want to separate from her psychoanalyst.
Her paternal grandparents were Stephan Zacharenko and Eudoxie Sauchenko; she was of Russian and Ukrainian ancestry.
She bowed out of The Mirror Crack’d 1980 because she was not ready to be seen as aging; Elizabeth Taylor replaced her.
Life magazine called her The Most Beautiful Teenager in the World in 1955.
She turned down the role in The Devil’s Disciple 1959 because she didn’t want to work with Kirk Douglas.
She met Robert Redford at Van Nuys High School; he co-starred with her in Inside Daisy Clover 1965 and This Property Is Condemned 1966, and served as best man at her 1969 wedding to Richard Gregson.
She was scheduled to make her stage debut as Anastasia in 1982 at the Ahmanson Theatre, but died before then.
Natalie’s Song by David Pack was written about her.
Columbia Pictures secured film rights for The Blue Lagoon in the 1950s for her, but the project was shelved until 1980 with Brooke Shields.
Her death was listed at number 24 on E! Television’s 101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment.
In the 2010s, Robert Wagner was considered a person of interest in her death due to an argument involving Christopher Walken.
She was named one of the 25 Most Intriguing People of 1976 by People magazine.
Director Sydney Pollack credited her with his big break.
The bruises on her corpse were considered suspicious; forensic pathologist Michael Hunter speculated she was susceptible due to taking Synthroid.
She was cast as Dr. Tatiana Donskaya in Meteor 1979 because she spoke fluent Russian.
Her birth certificate recorded her name as Natalie Zacharenko, and her stage name came from director Sam Wood.
She spent her last night alive in room 126 at the Pavilion Lodge in Avalon on Catalina Island with Dennis Davern, staying up drinking until 4:00 A.M.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Natalie Wood.
Celebrities similar to Natalie Wood — same craft, ranked by reach.
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