Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Here, look back on her short life in photos, on what would have been her 85th birthday.
01of 09Child StarEverettShe got her start at just 4 years old with a string of small film parts before truly launching her career with 1947’sMiracle on 34th Street. Her trademark big brown eyes, flashing at Santa (Edmund Gwenn), were already evident.
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Child Star
Everett
She got her start at just 4 years old with a string of small film parts before truly launching her career with 1947’sMiracle on 34th Street. Her trademark big brown eyes, flashing at Santa (Edmund Gwenn), were already evident.
02of 09Movie StarEverettWood soon became a teen star with her Oscar-nominated turn in 1955’sRebel Without a Cause. She then received her second Oscar nod for 1961’sSplendor in the Grass, costarring her off-screen lover, Warren Beatty (pictured).
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Movie Star
Wood soon became a teen star with her Oscar-nominated turn in 1955’sRebel Without a Cause. She then received her second Oscar nod for 1961’sSplendor in the Grass, costarring her off-screen lover, Warren Beatty (pictured).
03of 09Married YoungHulton Archive/GettyWarner Bros. starlet Wood was 18 and had a crush on 26-year-old 20th Century Fox contract player Robert Wagner when she asked their mutual agent to set up a date in 1956. They married a year later, despite her mother’s objections, but separated in 1961 and divorced in 1962.
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Married Young
Hulton Archive/Getty
Warner Bros. starlet Wood was 18 and had a crush on 26-year-old 20th Century Fox contract player Robert Wagner when she asked their mutual agent to set up a date in 1956. They married a year later, despite her mother’s objections, but separated in 1961 and divorced in 1962.
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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
West Side Storycouldn’t reach the screen without a star attached, so United Artists signed Wood, put on heavy makeup and dubbed her singing voice for the role of Puerto Rican immigrant Maria (seen here with Richard Beymer) in the landmark 1961 movie musical that won 10 Oscars, including Best Picture.
05of 09Second HusbandGlobeWood wed British producer Richard Gregson in 1969, and together they had a daughter, Natasha, in 1970. The couple split 11 months later, supposedly over his indiscretions with her assistant. They divorced in 1972 even though Wood’s mother objected, arguing the actress should stay married for Natasha’s sake.
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Second Husband
Globe
Wood wed British producer Richard Gregson in 1969, and together they had a daughter, Natasha, in 1970. The couple split 11 months later, supposedly over his indiscretions with her assistant. They divorced in 1972 even though Wood’s mother objected, arguing the actress should stay married for Natasha’s sake.
06of 09Back with BobAFP/GettyAfter her divorce from Gregson, Wood resumed her relationship with first husband “R.J.” She and Wagner, here with their family in 1976, raised Natasha together, and their daughter, Courtney Wagner, was born in 1974.
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Back with Bob
AFP/Getty
After her divorce from Gregson, Wood resumed her relationship with first husband “R.J.” She and Wagner, here with their family in 1976, raised Natasha together, and their daughter, Courtney Wagner, was born in 1974.
07of 09Career JumperGAB Archive/Redferns/GettyDespite occasional career stalls, Woods had a knack for revitalizing her star status, as happened with 1969’s social comedy about marriage swapping,Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice— though, except for a cameo (as herself) in 1972’sThe Candidate,Bob & Carolwas Wood’s last movie of note.
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Career Jumper
GAB Archive/Redferns/Getty
Despite occasional career stalls, Woods had a knack for revitalizing her star status, as happened with 1969’s social comedy about marriage swapping,Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice— though, except for a cameo (as herself) in 1972’sThe Candidate,Bob & Carolwas Wood’s last movie of note.
08of 09Final RoleMary Evans/MGM/Ronald Grant/EverettWood drowned on Nov. 29, 1981, on a break from shooting the sci-fi movieBrainstormwith Christopher Walken (shown here). The studio edited the film with the footage it already had in the can and released the finished product, to disappointing results, in 1983.
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Final Role
Mary Evans/MGM/Ronald Grant/Everett
Wood drowned on Nov. 29, 1981, on a break from shooting the sci-fi movieBrainstormwith Christopher Walken (shown here). The studio edited the film with the footage it already had in the can and released the finished product, to disappointing results, in 1983.
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Splendour at Sea
Wagner and Wood’s yacht, theSplendour(inset), was docked off Southern California’s Catalina Island whenWood fled from itin the dark of night. The couple, plus Walken and captain Dennis Davern, were aboard.Her body was recovered and her deathwas classified as an accidental drowning; an autopsy said she was intoxicated at the time of her death, at age 43.
The case was reopened in 2011 and in 2018, the mystery surrounding Wood’s death was again in the news as Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigatorsnamed Wagner"more of a person of interest."
Wagner has refused to speak with investigators since they began to look into the circumstances surrounding Wood’s death again. There hasn’t been momentum in the case since, though it was the subject ofa 2020 documentary.
source: people.com
