by Kim Everett

Created on: August 27, 2008   Last Updated: September 08, 2008

Natalie Wood was one of the most talented actresses of her generation. She won hearts as a child star, was envied by adolescents as a teen star, then grew into a beautiful, vibrant, and admired woman.

Her tragically short life began July 20, 1938 in San Francisco, CA. She was the daughter of Russian immigrants, and her birth name was Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko. She had two sisters, Olga and Lana.

As a child star, Wood enjoyed success in films such as "Miracle on 34th Street" and "Tomorrow is Forever." At 16 years old, she was cast in "Rebel Without a Cause" opposite James Dean and Sal Mineo and was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance. She was nominated again in 1961 for her brilliant performance in "Splendor in the Grass," and again in 1963 for her role in "Love With a Proper Stranger." She starred in over forty films during her career and may be best known for her critically acclaimed performance as Maria in "West Side Story." In addition to her acting accomplishments, she is credited with discovering director Sydney Pollack and actor Robert Redford.

Wood married Robert Wagner, the love of her life, in 1958, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1962. They remarried in 1972 and remained together until her death. Between the marriages to Wagner, she married producer Richard Gregson, but the marriage lasted for only two years. Wood had one daughter, Natasha, with Gregson and another daughter, Courtney Brooke, with Wagner.

Earlier in her career, she was romantically linked to popular actors Warren Beatty, Dennis Hopper, James Dean, and Raymond Burr. She also dated Elvis Presley for a time.

She was beautiful, graceful, and stylish and was called the Most Beautiful Teenager in the World by "Life Magazine" in 1955. "People Magazine" named her as one of the 25 Most Intriguing People in 1976, and "Entertainment Weekly" named her #70 on their list of the 100 Greatest Stars of All Time.

She died tragically on November 29, 1981. The official cause of her death was accidental drowning. She had reportedly had a few glasses of wine and accidentally fell overboard from her husband's yacht. Christopher Walken, with whom she was doing a movie at the time, Dennis Davern, the boat's skipper, and her husband were on board at the time of her death.

Wood was once quoted as saying "You get tough in this business, until you get big enough to hire people to get tough for you. Then you can sit back and be a lady." Even at her petite height of 5', she was most likely able to take care of herself in the competitive and cutthroat film industry.

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