Natalie Wood appeared in 56 films for TV and the silver screen and received 3 Oscar nominations before turning 25.
Her real name was Natasha Gurdin, and she was born in San Francisco on Wednesday, July 20th, 1938, to Russian émigrés Maria and Nicholas Zakharenko (they had changed their last name to Gurdin before coming to America). Natalie has one sister, Lana Wood, who is younger. They have a half-sister, Olga Viriapaeff, who is older. When she was just 4 years old, Natalie made her film debut in Happy Land (1943), although she had less than 10 seconds of screen time. When she was 7, she was cast in a major role opposite the legendary Orson Welles in Tomorrow Is Forever (1946). The following year, she starred as Susan Walker in one of the most famous films of all time, Miracle on 34th Street (1947), which for many people has become a traditional viewing every Christmas. Natalie stayed very busy as a child actress and appeared in over 20 films, including The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948), Our Very Own (1950). During her childhood and adolescence, she performed with such veteran stars as Maureen O'Hara, James Stewart, Fred MacMurray, Bing Crosby and Bette Davis.
When she was 16, Natalie got her big break when she was cast as Judy in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), starring opposite 24 year old screen legend James Dean, and 16 year old Sal Mineo. Her performance earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The film was very popular and is now considered a classic. Both of her male co-stars in the film also died young under tragic circumstances, and the main cast has become known as the "tragic three," The following year, she played a small but crucial role in the classic western The Searchers (1956), with John Wayne and, in a small role, Lana. Natalie was a rebellious teenager, started smoking and dated famous older men, including Dennis Hopper, Elvis Presley, and Robert Wagner (aka RJ). She and Wagner became involved in the spring of 1957 when she was 18 and he was 27, and they married later the year on Saturday, December 28th, 1957. The newlyweds became financially stressed, when both of their careers started to decline. Natalie's career was ailing with flops, especially Marjorie Morningstar (1958). She and Wagner made a film together called All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960), which bombed at the box office. But this period of decline did not last long.
