Natalie Wood
Acting

Natalie Wood

Born 20 July 1938 · San Francisco, California, USA · Died 29 November 1981

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). 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.

Known for

West Side Story
Rebel Without a Cause
The Searchers
Miracle on 34th Street
The Great Race
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Splendor in the Grass
Brainstorm
The Candidate
Meteor
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
This Property Is Condemned
Brainstorm
The Last Married Couple in America
The Memory of Eva Ryker
Meteor
The Cracker Factory
Hart to Hart
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Peeper
The Affair
The Candidate
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
This Property Is Condemned
Inside Daisy Clover
Penelope
The Great Race
Sex and the Single Girl
Love with the Proper Stranger
Gypsy
West Side Story
Splendor in the Grass
Cash McCall
All the Fine Young Cannibals
Marjorie Morningstar
Kings Go Forth
Bombers B-52
The Searchers
A Cry in the Night
The Burning Hills
The Girl He Left Behind
The Deadly Riddle
Rebel Without a Cause
One Desire
Too Old for Dolls
The Wild Bunch
Feathertop
Heidi
The Silver Chalice
Sherwood Anderson's I'm A Fool
Playmates
Return of the Dead
Just for You
The Star
The Rose Bowl Story
The Blue Veil
Dear Brat
Our Very Own
Never a Dull Moment
No Sad Songs for Me
The Jackpot
Father Was a Fullback
Chicken Every Sunday
The Green Promise
Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Miracle on 34th Street
Driftwood
The Bride Wore Boots
Tomorrow Is Forever
Natalie Wood · Midrow