Natalie Wood
- 352 pages
- 13 hours of reading
She spent her life in the movies, with her childhood captured in Miracle on 34th Street and her adolescence in Rebel Without a Cause. From her debut in 1946 at age seven to her tragic death in 1981, Natalie Wood's life was intertwined with films that encapsulated America's dreams. Acclaimed novelist and biographer Gavin Lambert, who shared a twenty-year friendship with Wood, recounts her extraordinary story. He reveals secrets about her parents that Natalie may not have known or chose to keep hidden. We see young Natalie as a child actress under a controlling stage mother, transitioning awkwardly into adolescence when she was cast aside at Van Nuys High. Lambert portrays the glamorous star of her twenties in films like All the Fine Young Cannibals and Gypsy, while also detailing her marriages, divorces, love affairs, and a suicide attempt at twenty-six. He shares insights into her friendships and struggles, culminating in her tragic drowning at forty-three, despite her fear of water. For the first time, those close to her, including her husbands Robert Wagner and Richard Gregson, and friends like Warren Beatty and Leslie Caron, share their stories. Lambert uncovers what has remained untold, providing the richest portrait of Natalie Wood to date.