“I Worked At Least Twelve Hours A Day In Rehearsals, Lost Weight, And My Body Was Sore From The Rigorous

NATALIE WOOD in THE GREAT RACE dir. Blake Edwards 

During my Ophelia stage, I began to watch films starring Natalie Wood that were shot in the 1960s. There was something about her wide eyes and fragility that reminded me of these drowning women, the fair Ophelia. In Splendor in the Grass, Natalie’s character Deanie loses her mind and self-destructs in more and more glamorous ways, eventually wading into a pond decked out in a gorgeous flapper dress for her suicide attempt. Deanie is saved, goes to therapy, and gets set to marry a nice doctor. But I didn’t care about that. I cared about the frantic way she slid into the water, the way she picked her footing as she climbed down. In her beauty and self-destruction, she wielded an ugly power. Why were these fictional beautiful women always losing their minds so extravagantly? Why are they so compelling? I’ve always found wilting orchids more compelling [than girl bosses] - women who burn bright and burn out, undermined by their own desire for love or wholeness or whatever it is that pushes them under water. Some of us choose the self-destructive model and discover power in the tatters. - Patricia Grisafi; Why Are We So intrigued by Beautiful Drowning Women? A Look at Natalie Wood’s Hysterical Glamour

Natalie Wood reviewing a script, 1964.

Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020) |  Laurent Bouzereau

“She had a great sense of humor. Her humor was cute, really cute. There was nothing stuck-up about Natalie. She never had the attitude of a movie star—and I have seen some mean divas. I was spoiled by Natalie. Like I said, she was my first star. I thought all the rest of the stars would be like that, but they never were. They never were. . . .”

Photographer Michael Childers on Natalie Wood.

Natalie Wood photographed on set of “the Burning Hills,” 1956.

Natalie Wood at a party thrown by songwriter Jimmy McHughes, 1958.

A very chic baby doll. - Sal Mineo on Natalie Wood NATALIE WOOD in PENELOPE (1966)

Natalie Wood in a film still from “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,” 1969.

Natalie Wood in a promotional photo for “Penelope,” 1966.

“I want to be a movie star,” a seven-year old Natalie Wood once told the press. Here at twenty-five, on the set of “Sex and the Single Girl,” her wish is fulfilled.”