The person who guided Natalie Wood's life was her mother. Her mother's only goal in life was to make her daughter a star. She was ready to make any sacrifice for this; Her daughter had to be ready too. When Natalie was just six years old, her mother dragged her to the studio where a movie was being tested.
Natalie Wood was born in San Francisco on July 20, 1938, as the middle of three daughters of a Russian immigrant family. Her father is Nikolai Stepanovich Zakharenko and her mother is Maria Stepanovna. Natalie Wood's real name is Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko.
The person who guided Natalie Wood's life was her mother. Her mother's only goal in life was to make her daughter a star. She was ready to make any sacrifice for this; Her daughter had to be ready too. When Natalie was just six years old, her mother dragged her to the studio where a movie was being tested. Natalie was supposed to cry at the director's command. But Natalie thought she couldn't do it. Years later, Natalie would tell actor Robert Redford: “When the director said I should cry, I turned to my mother and told her I could never do this. My mother pulled me aside. She took a butterfly out of a jar she brought with her and ripped off its wings in front of my eyes. I started to cry. My mother called out to the director, "Okay, now it's ready." “So I got the role.”
Natalie Wood (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.
Her name was also changed from Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko to “Natalie Wood”.
Natalie Wood first became famous as a child star (Miracle On 34th Street - 1947). When she starred in Rebel Without A Cause with James Dean in 1955, she was a young girl known to the whole world. As a young woman, she starred in West Side Story in 1961.
In 1953, when she was 15, she had a relationship with Frank Sinatra, who was 23 years older than her. During the same year, Natalie was raped by a Hollywood star whose name she kept secret. When she turned 16, she had a relationship with Nicholas Ray, the 43-year-old director of Rebel Without A Cause; Less than a year later, she had a relationship with Raymond Burr, one of the actors in the movie Rebel Without A Cause.
Her love affair with James Dean, with whom she shared the leading role in the movie Rebel Without A Cause, affected her deeply. Important actors such as Warren Beatty, Denis Hopper, and Steve McQueen were among the loves that had a place in the young star's life. Then she fell in love with Robert Wagner. The Wood-Wagner couple got married without wasting any time. Thus, at the age of 19, Natalie left the house where her mother was under absolute control. Later, she married British producer Richard Gregson. However, she could not find the happiness she was looking for in this marriage; She also divorced her second wife. She returned to her great love, Robert Wagner. She remarried him and lived with him until death separated her from Robert.
While she was married to Robert Wagner, she died by drowning after falling into the sea from her husband's yacht on November 29, 1981, at the age of 43. Natalie Wood succumbed to the waves she was deathly afraid of. The death of the Russian beauty remained a mystery as no one knew what happened on the night of the incident. Despite the tragic end of Natalie Wood's life full of tragedies, the Hollywood star is always remembered among the most beautiful and successful actors.
Marriages:
1st marriage: married film actor Robert Wagner (1957–1962)
Her second marriage: She married British producer Richard Gregson on May 30, 1969. They divorced in April 1972. She has a daughter named Natasha Gregson (b. 1970) from this marriage.
3rd marriage: Robert Wagner; She was married on July 16, 1972, until her death on November 29, 1981. She has a daughter named Courtney Wagner (b. 1974) from this marriage.