[caption id="attachment_1945" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Natalie Wood"][/caption]
Natalie Gurdin was born in San Francisco in 1938, to Russian immigrants Nikolai and Maria. When she was just 4 years old, young Natalie appeared as an extra in her first movie, Happy Land, with her mother. Convinced her daughter had that special screen presence, Maria moved her family to Los Angeles and changed Natalie's named to Natalie Wood. Although she would eventually go on to appear in over 50 movies, Natalie Wood is probably best known for her role as little Susan Walker in the Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street. By the time she had reached 18 years old, Natalie Wood was already a veteran of the big screen with more than 30 movies in the can. In 1955, at a mere 17 years old, she starred in Rebel Without a Cause opposite James Dean. The Academy would honor her with a nomination for best supporting actress in the film. Natalie Wood Marries Robert WagnerRobert and Divorce On her 18th birthday, Natalie would go on a studio-arranged date with Robert Wagner. After a year-long courtship, Natalie and Robert would marry on December 28, 1957. But Natalie would soon discover that juggling the fame of her movie-star lifestyle with her desire to lead a private life would be too much. She soon found herself confused and depressed. After her divorce brought about by the discovery of her husband's sexual indiscretions with another man (Robert would always deny this) and with the aid of therapy, Natalie would get her career back on track. After starring with Tony Curtis and Frank Sinatra in Kings Go Forth in 1958, Natalie's Hollywood success could not be stopped. The roles would continue in such classics as Splendor in the Grass (1961) (for which she received a Best Actress nod), West Side Story (1961), Gypsy (1962) and Love With the Proper Stranger (1963) (which garnered her a third Best Actress nomination). Natalie WoodNatalie's Hollywood success would not only gain her fame and fortune. It also shot her to the top of the desired female list which brought rumors that she dated practically every Hollywood leading man, including Warren Beatty, Frank Sinatra and even Elvis Presley. In spite of her reputation, her friends claimed that Natalie was a simple woman who wanted to settle down with her family. Source:
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