Natalie Wood (born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko; July 20, 1938 â€"
November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in
film as a child actor and successfully transitioned to young adult
roles. She was the recipient of four Golden Globes, and received three
Academy Award nominations.Wood began her acting career at age 4 and
was given a co-starring role at age 8 in Miracle on 34th Street
(1947). As a teenager, she earned a nomination for the Academy Award
for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Rebel Without a
Cause (1955), followed by a role in John Ford's The Searchers (1956).
Wood starred in the musical films West Side Story (1961) and Gypsy
(1962), and she received nominations for the Academy Award for Best
Actress for her performances in Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Love
with the Proper Stranger (1963). Her career continued with films such
as Sex and the Single Girl (1964), Inside Daisy Clover (1964), and Bob
& Carol & Ted & Alice (1969).During the 1970s, Wood began a hiatus
from film and had a child with husband Robert Wagner, whom she had
previously married and divorced. Wagner and Wood remarried after she
divorced her second husband. She acted in only two feature films
throughout the decade, but appeared slightly more often in television
productions, including a remake of the film From Here to Eternity
(1979) for which she received a Golden Globe Award. Wood's films
represented a "coming of age" for her and for Hollywood films in
general. Critics have suggested that her cinematic career represents a
portrait of modern American womanhood in transition, as she was one of
the few to take both child roles and those of middle-aged characters.
November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in
film as a child actor and successfully transitioned to young adult
roles. She was the recipient of four Golden Globes, and received three
Academy Award nominations.Wood began her acting career at age 4 and
was given a co-starring role at age 8 in Miracle on 34th Street
(1947). As a teenager, she earned a nomination for the Academy Award
for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Rebel Without a
Cause (1955), followed by a role in John Ford's The Searchers (1956).
Wood starred in the musical films West Side Story (1961) and Gypsy
(1962), and she received nominations for the Academy Award for Best
Actress for her performances in Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Love
with the Proper Stranger (1963). Her career continued with films such
as Sex and the Single Girl (1964), Inside Daisy Clover (1964), and Bob
& Carol & Ted & Alice (1969).During the 1970s, Wood began a hiatus
from film and had a child with husband Robert Wagner, whom she had
previously married and divorced. Wagner and Wood remarried after she
divorced her second husband. She acted in only two feature films
throughout the decade, but appeared slightly more often in television
productions, including a remake of the film From Here to Eternity
(1979) for which she received a Golden Globe Award. Wood's films
represented a "coming of age" for her and for Hollywood films in
general. Critics have suggested that her cinematic career represents a
portrait of modern American womanhood in transition, as she was one of
the few to take both child roles and those of middle-aged characters.
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