Actress Natalie Wood was born on July 20, 1938, in California, USA. She passed away on November 29, 1981. Director Irving Pichel happened to see her on location and took a liking to her, appearing in a scene at the age of four. She then signed with Universal and made her film debut in 1946 with "The Disappearance of the Heart." Her adorable performance as the protagonist's daughter, Susan Walker, in the following year's "Miracle on 34th Street" garnered immediate attention. She continued to be a popular child actress, eventually landing the role of Judy in the 1955 film "Rebel Without a Cause." Her mature performance as James Dean's lover earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She also received nominations for Best Actress in "The Splendor of the Grass" (1961) and "The Manhattan Story" (1963). Among her most well-known works, Natalie is best known for her role as the heroine Maria in West Side Story, released in 1961. The film won 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Meanwhile, in her personal life, she married actor Robert Wagner in 1957 but divorced five years later. In 1969, she remarried producer Richard Gregson and had a daughter, Natasha, but they also divorced. In 1981, she died after falling from a yacht while filming the movie Brainstorm. At the time, it was ruled an accident, but the Los Angeles County Police Department reopened the investigation in 2011. Her death sparked controversy over the involvement of Robert Wagner, who co-starred with her in the film and was then her second husband.