Natalie Wood
Wood in 1963
Birth Name: Natalie Zacharenko
Date of Birth: July 20, 1938
Place of Birth: San Francisco, California, United States
Date of Death: November 29, 1981
Place of Death: near Santa Catalina Island, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: Russian, Ukrainian
Natalie Wood was an American actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her performances in Splendor in the Grass and Love with the Proper Stranger. She drowned near Santa Catalina Island, California, on November 29, 1981.
Natalie was the daughter of Maria Stepanovna (Zudilova/Zoodiloff) and Nikolai/Nicholas Stephanovich Zakharenko. Her father was born in Nikolskoye, now Ussuriysk, Primorsky Krai, Russia. Her mother was born in Barnaul, Siberia, Russia, or in Tomsk, Russia. Her sister is actress and producer Lana Wood.
Natalie was married to actor Robert Wagner, until her death. She was previously married to British producer Richard Gregson. Natalie had two children, actress Natasha Gregson Wagner, with Richard, and Courtney Brooke Wagner, with Robert.
Natalie’s paternal grandfather was named Stephan A. Zakharenko.
Natalie’s paternal grandmother was named Eudoxie/Joyce Timothy/Timofeevna Sauchenko/Savchenko (the daughter of Timofey Savchenko). Eudoxie was born in Kiev, Ukraine.
Natalie’s maternal grandfather was named Stepan Ilich Zudilov/Zoodilov (the son of Ilya Semenovich Zudilov and Elisabeth).
Natalie’s maternal grandmother was named Maria Andreevna Kuleva (the daughter of Andrey Alekseevich Kulev).
Sources: Genealogy of Natalie Wood – http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com
http://www.geni.com
U.S. Naturalization records of Natalie’s paternal grandmother, Eudoxie/Joyce Timothy/Timofeevna (Sauchenko/Savchenko) Zavarin – https://www.familysearch.org
https://www.familysearch.org
Once I see this picture… she does look Russian. I don’t understand why people change their names. Be proud of who you are.
It was a different era then and everyone had to have easy to pronounce “non-foreign” sounding names. Loads of people changed their names like Rita Hayworth, Sandra Dee, Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, John Wayne to name a few. Even if they had normal sounding names they still changed them like Norma Jean Baker who became Marilyn Monroe.
Natalie was still called Natasha by her family though. It wasn’t that they weren’t proud of where they came from it was just what was done in earlier times.
Cary Grant, Greta Garbo, John Ford..
http://www.bustle.com/articles/57306-37-celebrities-you-didnt-know-were-using-a-stage-name
She was so beautiful!
She was not very pretty. Lauren Bacall was 100 times prettier.
Lea Michele’s character on Glee claimed that Natalie Wood was Jewish. Sigh. They can’t get anything right.
I agree.
Natalie was beautiful. Lauren was a stunner as well. Sometimes photos don’t do justice to people you have to see them on film.
agreed alice, everyone says my mother looks like natalie wood and jennifer beals and i didn’t believe my mum resembled jennifer beals from just looking at her photos but after watching flashdance it became quite evident
Jennifer was gorgeous in Flashdance. Your mother must be a real looker J.J. to resemble Natalie and Jennifer.
Her paternal grandmother’s surname was not Zoodilov. It her mother’s last name: Maria Stepanovna Zudilova.
Natalie’s maternal grandparents were Stepan Ilich Zudilov (or Zoodilov) and Maria Andreevna Kuleva.
You are probably right. But Natalie’s father’s California Death Records listing gives his own mother’s maiden name as “Zoodilova” (if you search for “Gurdin, Nicholas Stephen”).
http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi
She was so beautiful! I loved her in Splendor in the Grass, Gypsy, Love with the Proper Stranger and most everything she did. I was so sad that she died. Natalie you will always be missed!! R.I.P.Angels are looking out for you.