Natalie Wood filmography

A black and white publicity photograph of Natalie Wood in 1966
Publicity photo for the film Penelope (1966)

Natalie Wood (1938–1981) was an American actress who started her career as a child by appearing in films directed by Irving Pichel.[1] Wood's first credited role was as an Austrian war refugee in the Pichel-directed Tomorrow Is Forever (1946) with Claudette Colbert and Orson Welles.[2] The following year, she played a child who does not believe in Santa Claus in the Christmas comedy-drama Miracle on 34th Street (1947) opposite Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, and Edmund Gwenn.[3]

Wood appeared as a regular cast member in the television sitcom The Pride of the Family (1953). Two years later, she starred as a recalcitrant teenager in Rebel Without a Cause with James Dean,[4] for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and received the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Female.[5][6] The following year, Wood appeared as a kidnapped girl in the John Ford-directed western The Searchers (1956) with John Wayne and Jeffrey Hunter.[7] Two years later, she played a Jewish student in Marjorie Morningstar (1958) opposite Gene Kelly, and an American girl living in World War II France who is caught in a love triangle in Kings Go Forth (1958) with Frank Sinatra and Tony Curtis.[8][9]

In 1961, Wood starred as a teenager struggling with sexual repression in the period drama Splendor in the Grass with Warren Beatty, and as Maria in the highly successful musical film West Side Story.[10][11][12] For the former, she received a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, British Academy Film Awards, and Golden Globes.[13][14][15] She followed West Side Story with another musical film Gypsy (1962), in which she played the title role of the burlesque entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.[16][17] The following year, Wood portrayed a woman who becomes pregnant following a one-night stand in Love with the Proper Stranger (1963) with Steve McQueen.[18] For her performance she garnered her second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.[19][20]

In 1969, she starred in the comedy Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice about two couples who decide to pursue an open relationship.[21] Four years later, Wood appeared opposite Robert Wagner in the television film The Affair.[22] She received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for her portrayal of an adulterous wife in the miniseries From Here to Eternity (1979).[20][23] Two years later, she died of drowning during the filming of her last film Brainstorm, which was posthumously released in 1983.[24][25]

  1. ^ Finstad, Suzanne (February 15, 2011). Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood. Random House. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-4070-7117-6.
  2. ^ Finstad, Suzanne (February 15, 2011). Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood. Random House. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-4070-7117-6.
  3. ^ "Miracle on 34th Street". Variety. 1947. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  4. ^ Landry, Robert J. (October 26, 1955). "Rebel Without a Cause". Variety. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  5. ^ "The 28th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  6. ^ "New Star of the Year – Actress". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  7. ^ Ebert, Roger (November 25, 2001). "The Searchers movie review & film summary (1956)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  8. ^ Weiler, A. H. (April 25, 1958). "Version of Wouk Novel Opens at Music Hall". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  9. ^ "Kings Go Forth". Variety. 1958. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  10. ^ Crowther, Bosley (October 11, 1961). "'Splendor in the Grass' Is-at 2 Theatres". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  11. ^ Bradley, Laura (January 14, 2019). "Steven Spielberg's West Side Story Has Found Its Maria, a 17-Year-Old Rising Star". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  12. ^ "West Side Story: Birth of a Classic". Library of Congress. April 26, 2008. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  13. ^ "The 34th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  14. ^ "Film in 1963". British Academy Film Awards. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  15. ^ "Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on December 20, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gypsy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ "Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on December 31, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  18. ^ "Love with the Proper Stranger". Variety. 1963. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  19. ^ "The 36th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  20. ^ a b "Natalie Wood". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  21. ^ Ebert, Roger (December 22, 1969). "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice movie review (1969)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Affair was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Buckley, Tom (February 14, 1979). "TV: New 'Here to Eternity' on NBC". The New York Times. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  24. ^ Ebert, Roger (September 30, 1983). "Brainstorm movie review & film summary (1983)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  25. ^ Jenkins, Aric (February 2, 2018). "Natalie Wood's Death Has Been Ruled Suspicious. Here's What to Know About the Actor's Mysterious Drowning". Time. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.