Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood Facts
| Sign | Cancer |
| Born |
Jul 20, 1938 San Francisco, CA |
| Died |
Nov 29, 1981 Santa Catalina Island, CA |
| Age | Died at 43 |
| Total Facts | 68 |
Started smoking at age 16. She remained a heavy smoker until her death at age 43.
The daughter of a Russian architect and a French ballerina could do a proper plié before she could barely walk.
The rubber dinghy "Prince Valiant" she'd allegedly been trying to board after falling from husband Robert Wagner's yacht that fateful Thanksgiving weekend in 1981, was named after Wagner's movie Prince Valiant (1954), a film the actor considered among his worst.
Though some people cite her mother as being French, her mother is Russian. The source of this misconception comes from the studio that Natalie worked at when she was a child -- people noticed her mother's accent and when asked if she was French, Maria replied: "Oh yes", a white lie that would contribute to this confusion.
Turned down roles in the films Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Barefoot in the Park (1967), Goodbye, Columbus (1969), Love Story (1970), The Great Gatsby (1974) and The Towering Inferno (1974). After the mid-1970s, high-profile plum roles were no longer being offered to her due to the fact that she did not appear in any widely released films for a decade after Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) and was no longer considered bankable.
Turned down the role that went to Faye Dunaway in The Towering Inferno (1974) because she thought the script was "mediocre.".
Twice appeared in her husband's television series Switch (1975) (TV) in cameos.
Voted one of the top sex stars of the 1970s in Playboy magazine.
Was Maureen O'Hara daughter in two movies, one being the classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947). Natalie referred to Maureen as Mama Maureen till her death in 1981.
Was chosen over Ann-Margret to play the title role in Gypsy (1962).
Was commonly listed as 5' 3" wearing heels in movie magazines, though her actual height was 5' 0".
Was offered the role of Daisy in The Great Gatsby (1974). At the time, it had been 5 years since Natalie had made a film. She was asked to do a screen test, and felt so offended that she withdrew from the role. After this, Natalie was no longer offered plum roles due to the fact that she had been forgotten after years away from acting, despite being younger than popular actresses of the time such as Jane Fonda.
Was one of the many actresses considered for the title role in Norma Rae (1979) which went to Sally Field.
Was scheduled to make her stage debut in "Anastasia" in February 1982 and play the love interest of Timothy Hutton in a film called "Country of the Heart." Unfortunately, both projects were canceled due to her death.
Was the youngest nominee in her category each of the three times she was nominated for an Oscar, the first being when she was 17 and the last when she was 25.
While taking classes at UCLA, she turned down the role of Elaine in The Graduate (1967) that went to Katharine Ross.
Wood knew screenwriter Gavin Lambert as both were intimates of director Randy Suhr. In the early 1960s, he wrote a novel about a Hollywood child star in the 1930s, Inside Daisy Clover (1965). After reading the book, Wood telephoned Lambert and said, "I'd kill for that part." He assured her she was his first choice for the movie, for which he was writing the screenplay. She got the part and Ruth Gordon got her first Oscar nomination as an actress for portraying Daisy's mother.
Younger sister Lana Wood made a ABC TV special on Natalie's life, The Mystery of Natalie Wood (2004) (TV).