Natalie Wood (born Natalie Zacharenko, (1938 – 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 three Academy Award nominations.
Wood began her acting career at age four 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), Wood starred in the musical film WEST SIDE STORY (1961).
Natalie Wood died off of the coast of Santa Catalina Island on November 29, 1981, at age 43, during a holiday break from
the production of Brainstorm (1983) with Christopher Walker. The events surrounding her death have been the subject of conflicting
witness statements, prompting the L.A County Sheriff's Dept under the instruction of the coroner's office, to list her cause of death
as "drowning and other undetermined factors" in 2012. In 2018, Robert Wagner was named as a person of interest in the ongoing
investigation into Wood's death.