Born: July 20, 1938 in San Francisco, California
Birth Name: Natasha Nikolaevna Gurdin
Died: November 29, 1981
Cause of Death: Drowning (Santa Catalina Island, circumstances still unknown)
Spouses: Robert Wagner (1957-1962), Richard Gregson (1969-1971), Robert Wagner again (1972 until her death in 1981)
Children: Natasha Gregson Wagner (father Richard Gregson, adopted father Robert Wagner), Courtney Wagner (father Robert Wagner), and Katie Wagner (step-daughter)
Academy Award Nominations: Rebel Without A Cause (1955),
Splendor In The Grass (1961),
Love With the Proper Stranger (1963)
Other Facts:
Natalie had a deep fear of drowning ever since she barely survived being drowned during the filming of "The Green Promise" as a child. She said in interviews that she loved to be around water, just not in the water. It's ironic that what she so feared would be the cause of her death. Film critic Leonard Maltin's movie encyclopedia wrote of Natalie "It's one of Hollywood's bitter ironies that an actress who gave the world so much pleasure, both as a child and an adult, should chiefly be remembered for the mysterious and unhappy manner in which she died."
Natalie's favorite actress was Vivien Leigh.
Back to Natalie Wood: Splendor
