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| Top 5000 [h=1]Natalie Wood (I) (1938–1981)[/h]Actress | Soundtrack | Music Department Natalie Wood was born on July 20, 1938, in San Francisco, California, as Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko. Her parents, Maria Stepanovna (Zudilova) and Nikolai Stepanovich Zakharenko, were Russian-born émigrés, of Ukrainian and Russian descent, who spoke barely comprehensible English; they changed the family name to Gurdin after becoming US citizens.... [h=4]Born:[/h] <time datetime="1938-7-20">July 20, 1938 </time>in San Francisco, California, USA [h=4]Died:[/h] <time datetime="1981-11-29">November 29, 1981 </time>(age 43) in Santa Catalina Island, California, USA |
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| Natalie Wood | |
|---|---|
Wood in 1973 | |
| Born | Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko[SUP][1][/SUP][SUP][2][/SUP] July 20, 1938 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | November 29, 1981 (aged 43) Santa Catalina Island, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Drowning and other undetermined factors[SUP][3][/SUP] |
| Resting place | Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Other names | Natasha Gurdin |
| Education | Van Nuys High School |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1943–1981 |
| Spouse(s) | Robert Wagner (<abbr title="married" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">m.</abbr> 1957; <abbr title="divorced" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">div.</abbr> 1962) (<abbr title="married" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">m.</abbr> 1972; her death 1981) Richard Gregson (<abbr title="married" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">m.</abbr> 1969; <abbr title="divorced" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">div.</abbr> 1972) |
| Children | 2, including Natasha Gregson Wagner |
| Relatives | Lana Wood <small style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">(sister)</small> |
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Wood began acting in films at the age of four and, at age eight, was given a co-starring role with Maureen O'Hara in the 1947 classic Christmas filmMiracle on 34th Street.[SUP][6][/SUP] As a teenager, her performance in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She starred in the musical films West Side Story (1961) and Gypsy (1962), and received Academy Award for Best Actressnominations for her performances in Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Love with the Proper Stranger (1963). Her career continued with films such asBob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969).
After this, she took a break from acting and had two children with different husbands, appearing in only three theatrical films during the 1970s. She was married to actor Robert Wagner, to producer Richard Gregson, and then back to Wagner. She had one daughter with Gregson, actressNatasha Gregson Wagner. Wood gave birth to Courtney Wagner during her second marriage to Wagner.
Wood starred in several television productions, including a remake of the film From Here to Eternity (1979), which earned her a Golden Globe Award. During her career, her films represented a "coming of age" for both her and Hollywood films in general.[SUP][7][/SUP]
Wood drowned on November 29, 1981, at the age of 43; the events surrounding her death have been controversial due to conflicting witness statements,[SUP][8][/SUP] prompting the LASD to declare the cause of her death as "drowning and other undetermined factors."[SUP][9][/SUP][SUP][10][/SUP]
