NATALIE WOOD
I was born with the birth name of Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko, of Russian emigre stock. My parents hardly spoke any English, and changed our family name to Gurdin upon becoming US citizens. I made my first film appearance, at age four, as an extra in 'Happy Land' in 1943. I was picked after a production company had come to Santa Rosa, and spotted her for the role of 'crying baby'.
In 1946 RKO Pictures changes my name to Natalie Wood. I took dancing lessons as soon as I could walk, and, by 1947, in supporting roles in films such as 'Miracle on 34th St', I earned up to $1,000 per week. As a child star, I appeared in no less than 18 films in the late 1940s and early 1950s. When I was 17 years old,
I landed my breakthrough adult role, as James Dean's girlfriend, in
'Rebel Without a Cause', which resulted in my first Oscar nomination.
My next major roles were opposite Warren Beatty in 'Splendour in the Grass' and in the musical 'West Side Story', both in 1961.
Receiving another Oscar nomination for the former, I followed up with my performance in 'Love With A Proper Stranger' opposite
Steve McQueen for which I received a Golden Globe and Oscar
Nomination.
I married film star Robert Wagner in 1957, then we unfortunately separated in 1962. I claimed to have had a crush on the actor since my childhood and my film studio arranged a date with the
26-year-old actor on her 18th birthday. We married a year later.
My Russian language skills came in handy for the 1965 film
'The Great Race', which was a slapstick comedy also starring
Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Peter Falk. My character tracked the race across Siberia.
Films such as 'Gypsy' (1963), 'Inside Daisy Clover'(1967) and
'Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice' (1969) continued my prominence.
On 30 May 1969, I married film producer Richard Gregson. We had dated for a good two years prior to the wedding. We had a lovely daughter Natasha on September 29, 1970, heralding the start of my
In 1946 RKO Pictures changes my name to Natalie Wood. I took dancing lessons as soon as I could walk, and, by 1947, in supporting roles in films such as 'Miracle on 34th St', I earned up to $1,000 per week. As a child star, I appeared in no less than 18 films in the late 1940s and early 1950s. When I was 17 years old,
I landed my breakthrough adult role, as James Dean's girlfriend, in
'Rebel Without a Cause', which resulted in my first Oscar nomination.
My next major roles were opposite Warren Beatty in 'Splendour in the Grass' and in the musical 'West Side Story', both in 1961.
Receiving another Oscar nomination for the former, I followed up with my performance in 'Love With A Proper Stranger' opposite
Steve McQueen for which I received a Golden Globe and Oscar
Nomination.
I married film star Robert Wagner in 1957, then we unfortunately separated in 1962. I claimed to have had a crush on the actor since my childhood and my film studio arranged a date with the
26-year-old actor on her 18th birthday. We married a year later.
My Russian language skills came in handy for the 1965 film
'The Great Race', which was a slapstick comedy also starring
Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Peter Falk. My character tracked the race across Siberia.
Films such as 'Gypsy' (1963), 'Inside Daisy Clover'(1967) and
'Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice' (1969) continued my prominence.
On 30 May 1969, I married film producer Richard Gregson. We had dated for a good two years prior to the wedding. We had a lovely daughter Natasha on September 29, 1970, heralding the start of my