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Natalie Wood: The Complete Biography
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The definitive biography of a vulnerable and talented actress, now with shocking new chapters including the reopened investigation into her mysterious drowning.
Natalie Wood has been hailed alongside Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor as one of the top three female movie stars in film history. We watched her mature on the movie screen before our eyes in classics such as Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without a Cause, Splendor in the Grass, and West Side Story. But the story of what she endured, of what her life was like when the doors of the soundstages closed, had long been obscured.
Based on years of astonishing research, Natalie Wood (previously published as Natasha) raises the curtain on Wood's turbulent life. Award-winning author Suzanne Finstad conducted nearly four hundred interviews with Natalie Wood's family, close friends, legendary costars, lovers, film crews, and virtually everyone connected to her death. Through these firsthand accounts, Finstad reconstructs a life of emotional abuse and exploitation, of unimaginable fame, great loneliness, and loss. She reveals painful truths in Wood's complex relationships with James Dean, Frank Sinatra, Warren Beatty, and, of course, Robert Wagner.
Thirty years after Natalie Wood's death, the L.A. Sheriff's Department reopened the investigation into her drowning using Finstad's groundbreaking research and chilling, hour-by-hour timeline of that tumultuous weekend as evidence. Within a year, the L.A. Coroner changed Natalie Wood's death certificate from "Accidental Drowning" to "Drowning and Other Undetermined Factors." In 2018, the LAPD officially named Wagner a "Person of Interest" in Wood's death.
In this updated edition, Finstad will share her explosive findings from the last two decades. With her unprecedented access to the LAPD's "Murder Book," ignored by the original investigators, and new witnesses who have never spoken publicly, Finstad uncovers what really happened to Natalie Wood on that fateful boating trip in 1981 with Wagner and Christopher Walken. She expands on intimate details from Wood's unpublished memoir, which affirms her fear of drowning and the betrayal by Wagner that shattered their first marriage.
Finstad tells this heartbreaking story with sensitivity and grace, revealing a complex and conflicting mix of fragility and strength in a woman who was swept along by forces few could have resisted.
Natalie Wood has been hailed alongside Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor as one of the top three female movie stars in film history. We watched her mature on the movie screen before our eyes in classics such as Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without a Cause, Splendor in the Grass, and West Side Story. But the story of what she endured, of what her life was like when the doors of the soundstages closed, had long been obscured.
Based on years of astonishing research, Natalie Wood (previously published as Natasha) raises the curtain on Wood's turbulent life. Award-winning author Suzanne Finstad conducted nearly four hundred interviews with Natalie Wood's family, close friends, legendary costars, lovers, film crews, and virtually everyone connected to her death. Through these firsthand accounts, Finstad reconstructs a life of emotional abuse and exploitation, of unimaginable fame, great loneliness, and loss. She reveals painful truths in Wood's complex relationships with James Dean, Frank Sinatra, Warren Beatty, and, of course, Robert Wagner.
Thirty years after Natalie Wood's death, the L.A. Sheriff's Department reopened the investigation into her drowning using Finstad's groundbreaking research and chilling, hour-by-hour timeline of that tumultuous weekend as evidence. Within a year, the L.A. Coroner changed Natalie Wood's death certificate from "Accidental Drowning" to "Drowning and Other Undetermined Factors." In 2018, the LAPD officially named Wagner a "Person of Interest" in Wood's death.
In this updated edition, Finstad will share her explosive findings from the last two decades. With her unprecedented access to the LAPD's "Murder Book," ignored by the original investigators, and new witnesses who have never spoken publicly, Finstad uncovers what really happened to Natalie Wood on that fateful boating trip in 1981 with Wagner and Christopher Walken. She expands on intimate details from Wood's unpublished memoir, which affirms her fear of drowning and the betrayal by Wagner that shattered their first marriage.
Finstad tells this heartbreaking story with sensitivity and grace, revealing a complex and conflicting mix of fragility and strength in a woman who was swept along by forces few could have resisted.
592 pages, Paperback
First published March 10, 2020
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575 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
July 28, 2021
4.5 stars
"My life has been sort of reversed. I was working when other girls were going to school, and when other women were reaching the age when they wanted careers, I was interested in staying home." -- Natalie Wood
Originally issued in 2001 - which was the 20th anniversary of Ms. Wood's untimely and mysterious death at sea - as Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood, this re-titled and updated version benefits from author Finstad's access to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office assembled 'murder book,' or the case file, notes and photographs of the original 1981 death investigation. Certainly now more than ever it appears that actor / husband Robert Wagner and boat captain Dennis Davern have often been less than truthful about the night of Ms. Wood's passing (and I have no idea what to think about actor Christopher Walken's possible involvement), but at this point it is unlikely that the full truth will ever be known. And that's a damn shame, because after reading this mammoth bio - the kind I refer to as both exhaustive and exhausting - Ms. Wood deserved a hell of a lot better.
Born to Russian immigrant parents in northern California at that slim moment between the end of the Great Depression and the start of WWII, Ms. Wood (real name: Natalia Zakharenko) was pretty much pushed into movie acting by her domineering and aggressive stage mother Maria. Although not quite becoming a 'child star,' Ms. Wood worked steadily - being the breadwinner of her family - for over a decade until her teenage years, when it seemed like she might hit a career dead-end for just naturally growing up. Then came the legendary film Rebel Without a Cause, which set her on the adult A-list track for about the next fifteen years, accompanied by a handful of Oscar nominations as well as a handful of suicide attempts. Then, just after reaching her early 30's, she decided in a highly unusual move to intentionally walk away from acting temporarily to be a full-time mother to her two young daughters. She was getting her career re-started - winning awards for a few TV-movies and planning for a theatrical show - when she perished under mysterious circumstances in late 1981.
I have always admired Ms. Wood's films (I first watched her in Rebel Without a Cause, West Side Story and Love with a Proper Stranger, all while in high school) and, just in my own opinion, think she was simply the most beautiful American actress circa 1966-1972. Author Finstad has done some really exemplary work here in presenting a thoroughly researched life story. I was particularly struck by the untold number of times that several of those interviewed - high school friends, film production folks, former employees - all separately mentioned that Ms. Wood was an exceedingly nice, polite, caring and charming person in real life, while she also struggled with quite a few personal issues for several years. At nearly 500 detailed pages, readers will intimately feel like they know Ms. Wood as well.
"My life has been sort of reversed. I was working when other girls were going to school, and when other women were reaching the age when they wanted careers, I was interested in staying home." -- Natalie Wood
Originally issued in 2001 - which was the 20th anniversary of Ms. Wood's untimely and mysterious death at sea - as Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood, this re-titled and updated version benefits from author Finstad's access to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office assembled 'murder book,' or the case file, notes and photographs of the original 1981 death investigation. Certainly now more than ever it appears that actor / husband Robert Wagner and boat captain Dennis Davern have often been less than truthful about the night of Ms. Wood's passing (and I have no idea what to think about actor Christopher Walken's possible involvement), but at this point it is unlikely that the full truth will ever be known. And that's a damn shame, because after reading this mammoth bio - the kind I refer to as both exhaustive and exhausting - Ms. Wood deserved a hell of a lot better.
Born to Russian immigrant parents in northern California at that slim moment between the end of the Great Depression and the start of WWII, Ms. Wood (real name: Natalia Zakharenko) was pretty much pushed into movie acting by her domineering and aggressive stage mother Maria. Although not quite becoming a 'child star,' Ms. Wood worked steadily - being the breadwinner of her family - for over a decade until her teenage years, when it seemed like she might hit a career dead-end for just naturally growing up. Then came the legendary film Rebel Without a Cause, which set her on the adult A-list track for about the next fifteen years, accompanied by a handful of Oscar nominations as well as a handful of suicide attempts. Then, just after reaching her early 30's, she decided in a highly unusual move to intentionally walk away from acting temporarily to be a full-time mother to her two young daughters. She was getting her career re-started - winning awards for a few TV-movies and planning for a theatrical show - when she perished under mysterious circumstances in late 1981.
I have always admired Ms. Wood's films (I first watched her in Rebel Without a Cause, West Side Story and Love with a Proper Stranger, all while in high school) and, just in my own opinion, think she was simply the most beautiful American actress circa 1966-1972. Author Finstad has done some really exemplary work here in presenting a thoroughly researched life story. I was particularly struck by the untold number of times that several of those interviewed - high school friends, film production folks, former employees - all separately mentioned that Ms. Wood was an exceedingly nice, polite, caring and charming person in real life, while she also struggled with quite a few personal issues for several years. At nearly 500 detailed pages, readers will intimately feel like they know Ms. Wood as well.
October 4, 2020
This was a very well written comprehensive biography of Natalie wood. It goes through her childhood and explains why she had so many phobias and was anxiety ridden , it went down to the root of what caused them. And then as an added on bonus to this updated biography it goes into what happened when she died . The author got to actually go through the murder book that the police had started during this investigation and the theory that this author came up with sounded pretty plausible. It was an interesting biography that kept me engaged and held my attention. I give this bio 2 👍🏻👍🏻. If you get a chance it’s a pretty good read .
December 16, 2021
This is the best and most thorough celebrity biography I've ever read. I picked it up because I've been infatuated with ✨Natalie Wood✨ ("The Badge," as Natalie called her movie star persona), but I came away totally in love with Natasha, the real woman behind the makeup and chunky bracelets. She had a very interesting life and dealt with many tragedies and personal struggles, many stemming from her complicated relationship with her abusive, paranoid, and stardom-obsessed mother.
This book has almost too many gory details about her personal life and I found myself desperately hoping she could just catch a break. She was treated horribly by many men in the industry, including her husbands, and her mother started pimping her out to senior-aged industry executives at the young age of 14. Natalie carried on despite the heartbreaks and abuse, committed to improving herself and her craft, until her untimely and suspicious drowning.
As an aside, I'm now totally invested in the investigation (or lack thereof) into Natalie's death. Finstad retraced Natalie's final steps and conducted more witness interviews than law enforcement did back when Natalie first drowned. Finstad doesn't sugar coat the great lengths Robert Wagner went to conceal Natalie's whereabouts, how frequently his and Christopher Walken's stories changed, and how starstuck the lead investigator was by his presence, and many other investigative red flags.
Finstad's account is so thorough, when Natalie's case was recently reopened, law enforcement used this book as their definitive timeline of the night she died. I've subsequently researched quite a bit and can't find a better resource than this. Rather than reading a different NW biography, I'd rather read this one again. Despite the tragic ending, it's been a pleasure to read about Natalie's life.
This book has almost too many gory details about her personal life and I found myself desperately hoping she could just catch a break. She was treated horribly by many men in the industry, including her husbands, and her mother started pimping her out to senior-aged industry executives at the young age of 14. Natalie carried on despite the heartbreaks and abuse, committed to improving herself and her craft, until her untimely and suspicious drowning.
As an aside, I'm now totally invested in the investigation (or lack thereof) into Natalie's death. Finstad retraced Natalie's final steps and conducted more witness interviews than law enforcement did back when Natalie first drowned. Finstad doesn't sugar coat the great lengths Robert Wagner went to conceal Natalie's whereabouts, how frequently his and Christopher Walken's stories changed, and how starstuck the lead investigator was by his presence, and many other investigative red flags.
Finstad's account is so thorough, when Natalie's case was recently reopened, law enforcement used this book as their definitive timeline of the night she died. I've subsequently researched quite a bit and can't find a better resource than this. Rather than reading a different NW biography, I'd rather read this one again. Despite the tragic ending, it's been a pleasure to read about Natalie's life.
May 30, 2020
Outrage.
Sheer, white-hot, overwhelming outrage. One of the many questions Suzanne Finstad’s searing biography of Natalie Wood raises is: at how many different places simultaneously can the reader direct it? Certainly not at the author’s writing style, which is incisively clear, insightful and sensitive; nor at the breadth or depth of her scholarship, which exposes a life lived behind many layers of carefully constructed lies as well as the total incompetence of the law enforcement team that had no interest in finding the truth of Ms. Wood’s last few hours on earth. Whether or not you are a fan of Natalie Wood, this book is a major eye-opener about abuse: abuse of children, abuse of power, abuse of the Hollywood star-maker machinery, and abuse of everything else along the way.
Of all the work she left behind, including the girlfriend in “Rebel Without a Cause” and the lead in “Inside Daisy Clover,” Ms. Wood’s crowning achievement must be her role as the luminous, tragic Maria in “West Side Story.” Since 1981, though, her other biggest claim to fame has been the infamous manner of her death at the young age of 42. Her drowning off the coast of Santa Catalina Island, two nights after Thanksgiving that year, triggered an abortive and severely bungled police investigation. If you were alive when the news of her death blasted over the media back then, your first and only thought was, “How in Hell did that happen??”
To understand the answer, it is necessary to peer behind the carefully constructed iron curtain of lies surrounding Wood all the way back to her birth. As told by author Finstad, the whole life of this old-fashioned movie star is actually an anti-Hollywood fable, a sick, twisted fairy tale where the wicked stepmother is the princess’s biological parent; Prince Charming becomes dangerous to his wife’s mental health as well as her safety; and that whole Happily Ever After thing turns deadly.
The author does an excellent job of analyzing not only the opposing forces in Wood’s personality that added to the tumult in her life, but what put them there in the first place. It begins with Natalia’s (as she was christened) total head case of a mother. Not to belittle what Joan Crawford’s daughter Christina endured at the hands of her own superstar parent, but as recounted painstakingly by Finstad, the quietly insidious emotional abuse that Wood’s narcissistic, overbearing, star-struck, Hollywood-worshipping monster-mother relentlessly loads onto her daughter as she grows up makes the infamous line “No—wire—hangers!!” in the Crawford biopic “Mommie Dearest” sound like a lullaby. Finstad’s careful reconstruction of the mother’s own psychology and treatment of her middle daughter, which obliterates the development of the child’s own personality, makes it completely plausible why Natalie Wood ended up accepting continuing abuse from various places within the Hollywood system all her life. (This same Hollywood system—personified by various directors, producers, agents, and so on—becomes a sort of institutionalized father figure who perpetuates and enhances the abuse begun by the mother so many years earlier.) Ms. Wood did have innate talent that she could turn on from a young age in front of people and cameras; but it is a tribute to her that as an adult, she learned to grow her own strength as well, or she would not have survived even as long as she did.
Wood was able to separate the movie star persona she had grown up thinking she truly was from the authentic human being she turned out to be only after years of therapy as an adult. Before getting there, she faced almost never-ending mistreatment. For example, the book recounts how, after experiencing success as a child actress, Wood makes the leap to becoming an adult actor, something most child actors never manage. In her mid-teens she becomes the sexual and emotional prey—there is just no other way to say it—of the unscrupulous 43-year-old director of the immortal “Rebel Without a Cause,” who strings her along for months about a role she desperately wants, with no promises of winning it. Back then, everyone who knew about it (the movie industry, not the general public) took this kind of behavior for granted, including the actresses who were preyed upon. The post-Harvey Weinstein reader demands, where was the outrage?
The author sensitively recounts how, even after years of therapy, Wood’s movie star persona (“The Badge,” as the actress herself calls it) keeps getting in the way of the lifestyle she really wants. A second marriage to the love of her life does provide her with happiness, but even that ends in the most truly horrifying of ways.
Regarding Wood’s drowning death, the book’s allegations remain only allegations, albeit damning ones. There is no smoking gun: no tell-tale film footage exists of how or why Ms. Wood fell off the boat before the water took her from this world. But in the way the law enforcement authorities subsequently botched the investigation; in the way some people involved evidently succumbed to misplaced hero-worship, intimidation, outright fear, or whatever kept them from speaking the full truth when it could have counted; in the way, as the author insists, nobody ever protected Natalie Wood: justice does not merely miscarry here; it literally hemorrhages.
By the end of the book, the reader is forcefully reminded of the final shot of Ms. Wood’s friend Robert Redford’s film “Quiz Show,” in which the camera pans across a studio audience laughing and clapping in slow motion for what the moviegoer now knows is a web of deceit, with the audience ultimately responsible. The biography’s indictment is perhaps more subtle than this movie’s, but the moral of the story is clear: Don’t believe everything you hear. Especially when it happens in Hollywood.
Sheer, white-hot, overwhelming outrage. One of the many questions Suzanne Finstad’s searing biography of Natalie Wood raises is: at how many different places simultaneously can the reader direct it? Certainly not at the author’s writing style, which is incisively clear, insightful and sensitive; nor at the breadth or depth of her scholarship, which exposes a life lived behind many layers of carefully constructed lies as well as the total incompetence of the law enforcement team that had no interest in finding the truth of Ms. Wood’s last few hours on earth. Whether or not you are a fan of Natalie Wood, this book is a major eye-opener about abuse: abuse of children, abuse of power, abuse of the Hollywood star-maker machinery, and abuse of everything else along the way.
Of all the work she left behind, including the girlfriend in “Rebel Without a Cause” and the lead in “Inside Daisy Clover,” Ms. Wood’s crowning achievement must be her role as the luminous, tragic Maria in “West Side Story.” Since 1981, though, her other biggest claim to fame has been the infamous manner of her death at the young age of 42. Her drowning off the coast of Santa Catalina Island, two nights after Thanksgiving that year, triggered an abortive and severely bungled police investigation. If you were alive when the news of her death blasted over the media back then, your first and only thought was, “How in Hell did that happen??”
To understand the answer, it is necessary to peer behind the carefully constructed iron curtain of lies surrounding Wood all the way back to her birth. As told by author Finstad, the whole life of this old-fashioned movie star is actually an anti-Hollywood fable, a sick, twisted fairy tale where the wicked stepmother is the princess’s biological parent; Prince Charming becomes dangerous to his wife’s mental health as well as her safety; and that whole Happily Ever After thing turns deadly.
The author does an excellent job of analyzing not only the opposing forces in Wood’s personality that added to the tumult in her life, but what put them there in the first place. It begins with Natalia’s (as she was christened) total head case of a mother. Not to belittle what Joan Crawford’s daughter Christina endured at the hands of her own superstar parent, but as recounted painstakingly by Finstad, the quietly insidious emotional abuse that Wood’s narcissistic, overbearing, star-struck, Hollywood-worshipping monster-mother relentlessly loads onto her daughter as she grows up makes the infamous line “No—wire—hangers!!” in the Crawford biopic “Mommie Dearest” sound like a lullaby. Finstad’s careful reconstruction of the mother’s own psychology and treatment of her middle daughter, which obliterates the development of the child’s own personality, makes it completely plausible why Natalie Wood ended up accepting continuing abuse from various places within the Hollywood system all her life. (This same Hollywood system—personified by various directors, producers, agents, and so on—becomes a sort of institutionalized father figure who perpetuates and enhances the abuse begun by the mother so many years earlier.) Ms. Wood did have innate talent that she could turn on from a young age in front of people and cameras; but it is a tribute to her that as an adult, she learned to grow her own strength as well, or she would not have survived even as long as she did.
Wood was able to separate the movie star persona she had grown up thinking she truly was from the authentic human being she turned out to be only after years of therapy as an adult. Before getting there, she faced almost never-ending mistreatment. For example, the book recounts how, after experiencing success as a child actress, Wood makes the leap to becoming an adult actor, something most child actors never manage. In her mid-teens she becomes the sexual and emotional prey—there is just no other way to say it—of the unscrupulous 43-year-old director of the immortal “Rebel Without a Cause,” who strings her along for months about a role she desperately wants, with no promises of winning it. Back then, everyone who knew about it (the movie industry, not the general public) took this kind of behavior for granted, including the actresses who were preyed upon. The post-Harvey Weinstein reader demands, where was the outrage?
The author sensitively recounts how, even after years of therapy, Wood’s movie star persona (“The Badge,” as the actress herself calls it) keeps getting in the way of the lifestyle she really wants. A second marriage to the love of her life does provide her with happiness, but even that ends in the most truly horrifying of ways.
Regarding Wood’s drowning death, the book’s allegations remain only allegations, albeit damning ones. There is no smoking gun: no tell-tale film footage exists of how or why Ms. Wood fell off the boat before the water took her from this world. But in the way the law enforcement authorities subsequently botched the investigation; in the way some people involved evidently succumbed to misplaced hero-worship, intimidation, outright fear, or whatever kept them from speaking the full truth when it could have counted; in the way, as the author insists, nobody ever protected Natalie Wood: justice does not merely miscarry here; it literally hemorrhages.
By the end of the book, the reader is forcefully reminded of the final shot of Ms. Wood’s friend Robert Redford’s film “Quiz Show,” in which the camera pans across a studio audience laughing and clapping in slow motion for what the moviegoer now knows is a web of deceit, with the audience ultimately responsible. The biography’s indictment is perhaps more subtle than this movie’s, but the moral of the story is clear: Don’t believe everything you hear. Especially when it happens in Hollywood.
March 20, 2020
2.5
Repetitive and overly dramatic. Don’t recommend the audiobook version; Rose McGowan narration is terrible.
Repetitive and overly dramatic. Don’t recommend the audiobook version; Rose McGowan narration is terrible.
May 17, 2024
Love this one. Came to love this lady I didn’t know much about before.
Her death has largely overshadowed her career which sadly began at the tender age of 4.
Known as one of the kindest and most polite people in Hollywood, she desired most of all to find a loving husband and become a mother.
By the mid sixties she, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn were known as the three most popular female movie stars.
As of 1965, Natalie had three Oscar nominations (but no wins), but three suicide attempts with pills had driven her mostly away from the spotlight by 1970.
By the mid seventies she’d been mostly forgotten, only appearing in 4 film the last fifteen years of her life.
But what really happened that awful night, 11/29/81? Too much drinking, too many fuzzy memories that we’ll never know the awful story of her drowning.
Jealousy or a simple accident?
The author conducted over 400 interviews for the book, it didn’t come off as sleazy or cheap. It’s as much about her mother’s obsession with Natalie as Natalie herself in pushing her to become a star above all else.
5/5.
Her death has largely overshadowed her career which sadly began at the tender age of 4.
Known as one of the kindest and most polite people in Hollywood, she desired most of all to find a loving husband and become a mother.
By the mid sixties she, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn were known as the three most popular female movie stars.
As of 1965, Natalie had three Oscar nominations (but no wins), but three suicide attempts with pills had driven her mostly away from the spotlight by 1970.
By the mid seventies she’d been mostly forgotten, only appearing in 4 film the last fifteen years of her life.
But what really happened that awful night, 11/29/81? Too much drinking, too many fuzzy memories that we’ll never know the awful story of her drowning.
Jealousy or a simple accident?
The author conducted over 400 interviews for the book, it didn’t come off as sleazy or cheap. It’s as much about her mother’s obsession with Natalie as Natalie herself in pushing her to become a star above all else.
5/5.
March 18, 2020
Wow. What a breathtaking book. It’s a long read but time becomes irrelevant once you’re engrossed. After reading the final section, I’m more convinced than ever that Natalie was murdered. The author is a tremendous writer and researcher. She really threw herself into this project distilling the essence of who Natasha/Natalie was.
March 19, 2020
4.25 stars
January 30, 2021
Harrowing,compelling. Not an easy read-quite dense and at times feels as if there is much repetition. Tragic account of relentless betrayal. The last 6 chapters are intense page turners.
May 8, 2020
This is a spectacular read! I’ve read at least three other bios on Natalie and this is the most balanced and offers the most honest account of her life and is a stark contrast to the press releases passed off as memoirs by Wagner.
May 7, 2020
Enjoyed this revealing bio of Natalie Wood.
November 10, 2025
So tragic, yet spiritual!!! I love Miss Nat.. also Robert Wagner absolutely killed her
April 1, 2020
In 2002 American biographer Suzanne Finstad wrote a biography, “Natasha”, about actress Natalie Wood. This was about 20 years after Wood’s death in a highly suspicious boating accident. Speculation on the exact circumstances had been touted since the police report had been issued in 1981. Robert Wagner, her husband, hadn’t convinced anyone of his innocence and the other two men on the boat that night, were also high on the creepiness scale. It was really one of those deaths where anyone could have pushed Wood off the side of the boat, “Splendor” OR she could have fallen off the deck, having been in a drunken state, along with the three men she was with. A couple of years ago some new evidence implicating Wagner came up, and Finstad wrote an addendum to the 2002 book.
I didn’t read the earlier book, never having had much interest in Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, or Christopher Walken, so I don’t know how much of the new book had been in the old book. However, Finstad is such a wonderful writer and even if you’ve read the first book, I think you’d enjoy rereading it in the new book, “Natalie: The Complete Biography”.
Natalie Wood, born Natasha Gurdin, was the daughter of two Russians, who left The Soviet Union in the early 1930’s. Maria, the mother, was the stage mother from hell. Her father was a heavy drinker who often took out his anger over his unsuccessful life on Maria. Maria saw Natasha, a beautiful small child as her ticket out of lower middle class life and into the wealth Natasha would earn for them. Maria began by changing her child’s name to “Natalie Wood” and making her into the perfect child actor. Some of Maria’s actions were funny and some were downright cruel, but one of the worst things she did was to take away Natasha/Natalie’s sense of identity. Another thing the mother did to the daughter was to install in her an incredible fear of water and the “certainty” that Natalie would die in dark water. This fear - among many others - would stay with Natalie all her life. And Natalie Wood DID die in dark waters that night off Catalina Island.
Suzanne Finstad’s book really is a complete look at Wood’s life. She brings up certain truths long hidden, such as Natalie divorcing Wagner after walking in on he and their butler having sex. She remarried him after a short second marriage to a British movie agent.
Finstad’s book is a long one, but it’s a very well researched and well written book. Her last chapter is an in-depth look at that fatal trip on “Splendor”. I can heartily recommend it.
I didn’t read the earlier book, never having had much interest in Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, or Christopher Walken, so I don’t know how much of the new book had been in the old book. However, Finstad is such a wonderful writer and even if you’ve read the first book, I think you’d enjoy rereading it in the new book, “Natalie: The Complete Biography”.
Natalie Wood, born Natasha Gurdin, was the daughter of two Russians, who left The Soviet Union in the early 1930’s. Maria, the mother, was the stage mother from hell. Her father was a heavy drinker who often took out his anger over his unsuccessful life on Maria. Maria saw Natasha, a beautiful small child as her ticket out of lower middle class life and into the wealth Natasha would earn for them. Maria began by changing her child’s name to “Natalie Wood” and making her into the perfect child actor. Some of Maria’s actions were funny and some were downright cruel, but one of the worst things she did was to take away Natasha/Natalie’s sense of identity. Another thing the mother did to the daughter was to install in her an incredible fear of water and the “certainty” that Natalie would die in dark water. This fear - among many others - would stay with Natalie all her life. And Natalie Wood DID die in dark waters that night off Catalina Island.
Suzanne Finstad’s book really is a complete look at Wood’s life. She brings up certain truths long hidden, such as Natalie divorcing Wagner after walking in on he and their butler having sex. She remarried him after a short second marriage to a British movie agent.
Finstad’s book is a long one, but it’s a very well researched and well written book. Her last chapter is an in-depth look at that fatal trip on “Splendor”. I can heartily recommend it.
April 11, 2020
Interesting to see the lies Robert Wagner told about Natalie upon her death to the authorities and that her family lestnex of her death from a friend who saw it on tV
If you think he’s innocent, was overcome with emotion: not thinking clearly think again
If you think he’s innocent, was overcome with emotion: not thinking clearly think again
August 5, 2024
Being a child during Natalie Wood’s celebrity as an actress and then her mysterious death, I was often asked if I was named after her. No, my parents did not name me after Natalie Wood; my mom said she just liked the name. Hearing the name Natalie Wood so frequently had me inquiring about her fame. I was first exposed to her acting in the Christmas movie, Miracle on 34th Street. Then, I learned she died by drowning, and the circumstances of her death were mysterious. Now that I think about it, maybe her suspicious death is what sparked my very first interest in true crime. I recall wanting to know EXACTLY what happened. I’m still like that when it comes to true crime. I want to know all the evidence and the roles of everyone involved.
I only occasionally thought about Natalie Wood over the past several decades. Mostly, when I saw Christopher Walken in a movie, I wondered what he knew about her death since he was on the boat the night she died. Then one day I’m browsing an Audible sale and discover this book, Natalie Wood: The Complete Biography by Suzanne Finstad, and the description revealed that this book would tell me everything I wanted to know about Wood. It did not lie!
This book was originally published in 2001 with the title Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood. It was updated and re-published with the new title in 2020 to include information about the reopening of Wood’s death investigation in 2018. A complete biography is the best way to describe this book. Author, Suzanne Finstad, clearly spent years of her life researching and interviewing everyone associated with Wood. It is extremely detailed, and she did not leave a stone unturned.
Naturally, the book opens with the history of Natalie’s parents and their upbringing in Russia. I appreciated learning about the extensive background of her mom, as it’s instrumental to the way in which Natalie was raised and the tremendous influence of her mom. I can only imagine the pressures of her childhood and being forced into acting at such a young age. She starred in a lot of movies, so she’s clearly a wonderful actress; however, she didn’t have a choice, and most of the time she was the sole provider for the family.
It was fascinating to learn about the various movies she starred in and the celebrities she worked with, became friends with, or dated: Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Warren Beatty, Frank Sinatra, and Elizabeth Taylor. Her most famous movies are Rebel Without a Cause, Splendor in the Grass, and West Side Story. As much as I love classic movies, I haven’t watched any of these movies from start to finish, mostly parts here and there on television. After reading this book, I hope to see Rebel and Splendor from start to finish someday. Aside from Wood’s acting career, Finstad uncovers her personal relationships and shares the off-screen Natalie Wood. She reveals how sweet and considerate Wood was to people close to her, as well as the demons she faced due to a tumultuous childhood, a mother obsessed with acting, and abusive people in Hollywood.
Natalie was motivated to be a mom and was eager to find the man she was going to marry and have children with. She first married Robert Wagner in the 1950s, and they divorced before having any children together. The reason for the abrupt divorce is told in this book, and it’s not the reason the public was given at the time. She then married Richard Gregson and their relationship produced a daughter, Natasha. Their marriage ended when Gregson had an affair with Wood’s assistant. Wood and Wagner remarried in the 1970s, and their relationship produced a daughter, Courtney. Finstad thoroughly covers Wood’s relationships and marriages. Wood seemed like a perfect mom who tried to give her daughters the childhood she never had.
Reading about her daughters makes the ending of the book even more depressing. Based upon extensive research and interviews, Finstad accounts of that final, fateful weekend Wood spent with her husband, Christopher Walken, and the boat’s skipper aboard their boat, Splendor. Thanks to Finstad’s work, the LA Sheriff’s Department reopened the investigation into Wood’s death. The cause of Wood’s death was officially changed by the coroner, and Robert Wagner was named as a person of interest. The chain of events leading to this outcome is solely credited to Finstad. She not only told an engaging story of Natalie’s life, she honored her and stood up for her when others did not. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about Natalie Wood’s life and death. It left me feeling sad for her and frustrated that the original investigation was garbage.
As I neared the end of this book, I dove into Google Images for pictures of Natalie throughout her life. As an internet search will often do, I ventured down a few rabbit holes and learned her eldest daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, published a book in 2020 titled More Than Love: An Intimate Portrait of My Mother, Natalie Wood. I’m curious to read this book and learn her perspective on the relationship with her mom and the impact of Natalie’s loss.
The introduction and prologue of the audiobook were read by the author. The core of the book was narrated by Rose McGowan, who did a really nice job.
I have photos and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog
I only occasionally thought about Natalie Wood over the past several decades. Mostly, when I saw Christopher Walken in a movie, I wondered what he knew about her death since he was on the boat the night she died. Then one day I’m browsing an Audible sale and discover this book, Natalie Wood: The Complete Biography by Suzanne Finstad, and the description revealed that this book would tell me everything I wanted to know about Wood. It did not lie!
This book was originally published in 2001 with the title Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood. It was updated and re-published with the new title in 2020 to include information about the reopening of Wood’s death investigation in 2018. A complete biography is the best way to describe this book. Author, Suzanne Finstad, clearly spent years of her life researching and interviewing everyone associated with Wood. It is extremely detailed, and she did not leave a stone unturned.
Naturally, the book opens with the history of Natalie’s parents and their upbringing in Russia. I appreciated learning about the extensive background of her mom, as it’s instrumental to the way in which Natalie was raised and the tremendous influence of her mom. I can only imagine the pressures of her childhood and being forced into acting at such a young age. She starred in a lot of movies, so she’s clearly a wonderful actress; however, she didn’t have a choice, and most of the time she was the sole provider for the family.
It was fascinating to learn about the various movies she starred in and the celebrities she worked with, became friends with, or dated: Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Warren Beatty, Frank Sinatra, and Elizabeth Taylor. Her most famous movies are Rebel Without a Cause, Splendor in the Grass, and West Side Story. As much as I love classic movies, I haven’t watched any of these movies from start to finish, mostly parts here and there on television. After reading this book, I hope to see Rebel and Splendor from start to finish someday. Aside from Wood’s acting career, Finstad uncovers her personal relationships and shares the off-screen Natalie Wood. She reveals how sweet and considerate Wood was to people close to her, as well as the demons she faced due to a tumultuous childhood, a mother obsessed with acting, and abusive people in Hollywood.
Natalie was motivated to be a mom and was eager to find the man she was going to marry and have children with. She first married Robert Wagner in the 1950s, and they divorced before having any children together. The reason for the abrupt divorce is told in this book, and it’s not the reason the public was given at the time. She then married Richard Gregson and their relationship produced a daughter, Natasha. Their marriage ended when Gregson had an affair with Wood’s assistant. Wood and Wagner remarried in the 1970s, and their relationship produced a daughter, Courtney. Finstad thoroughly covers Wood’s relationships and marriages. Wood seemed like a perfect mom who tried to give her daughters the childhood she never had.
Reading about her daughters makes the ending of the book even more depressing. Based upon extensive research and interviews, Finstad accounts of that final, fateful weekend Wood spent with her husband, Christopher Walken, and the boat’s skipper aboard their boat, Splendor. Thanks to Finstad’s work, the LA Sheriff’s Department reopened the investigation into Wood’s death. The cause of Wood’s death was officially changed by the coroner, and Robert Wagner was named as a person of interest. The chain of events leading to this outcome is solely credited to Finstad. She not only told an engaging story of Natalie’s life, she honored her and stood up for her when others did not. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about Natalie Wood’s life and death. It left me feeling sad for her and frustrated that the original investigation was garbage.
As I neared the end of this book, I dove into Google Images for pictures of Natalie throughout her life. As an internet search will often do, I ventured down a few rabbit holes and learned her eldest daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, published a book in 2020 titled More Than Love: An Intimate Portrait of My Mother, Natalie Wood. I’m curious to read this book and learn her perspective on the relationship with her mom and the impact of Natalie’s loss.
The introduction and prologue of the audiobook were read by the author. The core of the book was narrated by Rose McGowan, who did a really nice job.
I have photos and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog
August 2, 2020
As a kid, I watched Robert Wagner starring in It Takes A Thief where he played the “cool” guy. I read this book to see what what their marriage was about, and if the stuff about Natalie Wood’s death could be plausible. Definitely changes Wagner from hero to zero.
November 12, 2020
Heartbreaking.
February 11, 2022
I suppose memoirs, especially celebrity ones, are predisposed to be disturbing. This one really fits that bill. It covers Natalie Wood's life from about age 4 to her death at age 43, and the investigations into her death since then. Natalie Zacharenko (later Natasha Gurdin) was born of Russian immigrants. Her mother Maria was a very overbearing parent, pushing Natasha into show business no matter what it cost the poor little girl. Maria seemed to be very superstitious and pushed those beliefs onto her children. Natasha was named Natalie Wood for her Hollywood entrance. Natalie Wood ended up being frightened to sleep alone (she had a lot of stuffed animals and dolls surrounding her--whom she talked to), frightened of deep dark water (and thus of swimming), and afraid to make waves by disagreeing with anyone. She was raped by a well known actor, and abused by others. She was basically prostituted to a much older man by her own mother. Much is written in this book about young men on the "casting couch"--many of them quite famous and named. Natalie was married twice to Robert Wagner after a breakup of their first marriage because she found him with another man. Natalie was described by others as moral due to her believing in fidelity in marriage--though that didn't seem to stop her from philandering during her single stages.
The circumstances of Natalie's death are still undetermined--at first, the cause of death was listed as accidental drowning, but changed later to drowning and other undetermined factors. The original investigation was really shoddy, seemingly circumvented by Robert Wagner, Frank Sinatra, and others. There were 3 men on the boat with her off of Catalina when she perished--none of which tried to find her or call for help when they "found her missing". Investigation is ongoing with probably no results due to RJ not cooperating. Lana Wood has stated that her sister was murdered--first degree is the only one without a statue of limitations.
The circumstances of Natalie's death are still undetermined--at first, the cause of death was listed as accidental drowning, but changed later to drowning and other undetermined factors. The original investigation was really shoddy, seemingly circumvented by Robert Wagner, Frank Sinatra, and others. There were 3 men on the boat with her off of Catalina when she perished--none of which tried to find her or call for help when they "found her missing". Investigation is ongoing with probably no results due to RJ not cooperating. Lana Wood has stated that her sister was murdered--first degree is the only one without a statue of limitations.
July 18, 2025
Robert Wagner (RJ) was jealous and angry and threw her off the boat. She had multiple bruises on the anterior of her thighs and shins that looked like what would happen if she were trying to stay on board as someone was throwing her off. There were witnesses on another boat that heard a woman pleading for help and saying she was drowning as a man responded mockingly & claiming he’d call for help (the assumption that was was being helped, and the fact that their own dinghy would have taken 20 minutes to hand pump was why the witnesses didn’t attempt to rescue her).
RJ also refused to call for help for several hours, and when he did he demanded that the coast guard not be involved. He sat there drinking, and intimidating the deckhand who told several people that he witnessed RJ push her over and was bullied into silence and inaction.
RJ’s own story has been full of inconsistencies. For example, that Natalie tried to go to shore (lies — Natalie was terrified of dark water, didn’t know how to operate the dinghy, and would never have allowed herself to be seen in just a nightgown, socks, and jacket without underwear or her bracelet). Another is his initial claim that the broken wine bottle was due to the choppy water, when actually it’s because he broke it when threatening Christopher Walken.
Unfortunately none of this came out because there was no real investigation. The investigator was blown away by RJ’s celebrity and only interviewed him for 5 minutes, when RJ refused to talk more. He and his friend Frank Sinatra got the coroner on the case fired.
Interestingly, when interviewed in 2011 by Alan K Rhode about his 1956 film A Kiss Before Dying, RJ described relating so much to his character, who threw his pregnant lover off a building to kill her. He felt the character wasn’t a villain or a killer, just a guy under pressure trying to make it in life.
What an interesting, and perhaps telling, view for the merry widower. He’s the white OJ!
RJ also refused to call for help for several hours, and when he did he demanded that the coast guard not be involved. He sat there drinking, and intimidating the deckhand who told several people that he witnessed RJ push her over and was bullied into silence and inaction.
RJ’s own story has been full of inconsistencies. For example, that Natalie tried to go to shore (lies — Natalie was terrified of dark water, didn’t know how to operate the dinghy, and would never have allowed herself to be seen in just a nightgown, socks, and jacket without underwear or her bracelet). Another is his initial claim that the broken wine bottle was due to the choppy water, when actually it’s because he broke it when threatening Christopher Walken.
Unfortunately none of this came out because there was no real investigation. The investigator was blown away by RJ’s celebrity and only interviewed him for 5 minutes, when RJ refused to talk more. He and his friend Frank Sinatra got the coroner on the case fired.
Interestingly, when interviewed in 2011 by Alan K Rhode about his 1956 film A Kiss Before Dying, RJ described relating so much to his character, who threw his pregnant lover off a building to kill her. He felt the character wasn’t a villain or a killer, just a guy under pressure trying to make it in life.
What an interesting, and perhaps telling, view for the merry widower. He’s the white OJ!
May 13, 2021
What a piece of junk
I am so sorry I bought this lousy ebook. Thankfully I only paid $2.99 so I didn't lose much. I looked at all the glowing reviews and thought that it would be an enjoyable read. This "author" wrote a book that reads like something the National Enquirer would print. And a big source is Natalie's sister Lana, someone so jealous of her sister that she decided to steal Natalie's stage last name, Wood, instead of coming up with one for her identity.
If you are a fan of Natalie Wood, don't buy this book. You should by the book written by her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner. Now that is an excellent book. It's obvious how much she loves and misses her mother. On the other hand, Lana took all of the clothes Natalie left her in her will, including intimate items, and took them to be a store that resold them, and never gave R.J a chance to buy them back. Her daughter's would have loved to have them to remember their mother by.
Now I need to delete this trash from my tablet. And take a shower because this book left a stench on me.
I am so sorry I bought this lousy ebook. Thankfully I only paid $2.99 so I didn't lose much. I looked at all the glowing reviews and thought that it would be an enjoyable read. This "author" wrote a book that reads like something the National Enquirer would print. And a big source is Natalie's sister Lana, someone so jealous of her sister that she decided to steal Natalie's stage last name, Wood, instead of coming up with one for her identity.
If you are a fan of Natalie Wood, don't buy this book. You should by the book written by her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner. Now that is an excellent book. It's obvious how much she loves and misses her mother. On the other hand, Lana took all of the clothes Natalie left her in her will, including intimate items, and took them to be a store that resold them, and never gave R.J a chance to buy them back. Her daughter's would have loved to have them to remember their mother by.
Now I need to delete this trash from my tablet. And take a shower because this book left a stench on me.
June 4, 2021
I would give this 4.5 stars. I only take off half a star because at times I felt the author would try to psychologically analyze Robert Wagner in ways she was not qualified. I am the last person to defend Wagner, but grief does make people do odd things, so it’s much better to focus on evidence that isn’t just how he behaved at one moment after Natalie Wood’s death. This all mainly happens in the newly-added chapters, and I do think Wagner has been pretty horrible regarding her book since its release. I understand the author’s frustrations but I also think the biography is stronger when it had a more focused view.
The book is overall very, very fair to everyone involved. She’ll give multiple sides to events and she clearly did quite a lot of thorough research. I was engaged while reading and finished the book with an intense wave of melancholy. I doubt we will ever know what truly happened to Natalie Wood, and what happened throughout her life was small tragedies, but I will continue to appreciate her life, talent, and warm heart.
The book is overall very, very fair to everyone involved. She’ll give multiple sides to events and she clearly did quite a lot of thorough research. I was engaged while reading and finished the book with an intense wave of melancholy. I doubt we will ever know what truly happened to Natalie Wood, and what happened throughout her life was small tragedies, but I will continue to appreciate her life, talent, and warm heart.
August 4, 2020
I remember hearing about Natalie Wood’s death on the radio as a little girl and asking my parents “Who is Natalie Wood?” This book answers that question: Natalie Wood was a bright, kind, talented person who was manipulated by people like her mother, Frank Sinatra, and the man she married twice. The last portion of the book details years of research on Natalie’s death, including all of the people who covered up what really happened. It is shocking, heartbreaking and horrific, and it will be in my mind for a long time to come.
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December 2, 2021I don't need to read it or any other book because none of the writer's were there when the tragedy happened. I had a source close to the scene and have a clear idea relayed to me about what really happened. As a seasoned reporter I chose to not get involved to date. I am protected as a journalist not to disclose sources too. My source a prominent Catalina resident made me promise not to involve
him in any way and to date I have kept silent. But as a writer and senior member of the press in my
professional opinion, so far it's been mostly guess work and theory compared to what I know.
him in any way and to date I have kept silent. But as a writer and senior member of the press in my
professional opinion, so far it's been mostly guess work and theory compared to what I know.
April 26, 2022
an excellent read on my favorite actress as a young person
I thoroughly enjoyed this book reading about Natalie’s life and tragic death. Hopefully in todays “me too” movement, this sometimes tragic life she lead would not be possible now.
I remember how heartbroken I felt at 30 years old hearing about Natalie’s death. From my house I remember looking out into the ocean that day where I could see Catalina Island and wishing I could have been there that night to save her from those ‘dark waters’ she was so afraid of.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book reading about Natalie’s life and tragic death. Hopefully in todays “me too” movement, this sometimes tragic life she lead would not be possible now.
I remember how heartbroken I felt at 30 years old hearing about Natalie’s death. From my house I remember looking out into the ocean that day where I could see Catalina Island and wishing I could have been there that night to save her from those ‘dark waters’ she was so afraid of.
October 12, 2022
One of the most thorough biography’s I’ve ever read. She was an amazing person who went through so many things in her short life. All the evidence put together about her tragic end was astounding. It is amazing how much got hushed up and dismissed. I feel terrible for her children that were robbed of their loving mother! A very sad story but but her courage and strength in it all was a amazing! I am a fan of her and how hard she tried to overcome the major trials in her life. I hope she gets justice some day!
September 13, 2020
Absorbing read. I could not put this book down. The veil of suspicion has always lingered around Wood’s death, however, Finstad’s intricate research proves Wood was murdered. Wonderfully written, researched and presented. With all certitude Finstad put a great about of blood, sweat and tears into this in depth biography of beloved Natalie Wood.
August 29, 2020
This biography of Natalie Wood is unbelievable! And yet, sadly, we have no choice but to believe it. If it was written as fiction the authorities would have, finally, made an arrest. Impeccably researched. The kind of writing that will stay with you.
July 5, 2022
I did not realize the original publication of this book was one of the factors in the reopening of the case. This book rights a lot of wrongs that have tainted Natalie Wood's legacy. Remember her life, not her death. But also, detectives, please remember her death cuz it was sus-pish...
June 12, 2025
This book strips down Natalie's life. There's no glamor here just sadness really. A woman who lived up to the standard and dream of her mom. There's so much ugliness in Hollywood and it's on full display in this book.
May 21, 2020
Wow!
After more of 30 years since her death i am convinced she was murdered. I guess we will never know
After more of 30 years since her death i am convinced she was murdered. I guess we will never know
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