Question 1

True or false: Natalie Wood was born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko to Russian immigrant parents.

Accepted Answer

True. Her family changed their surname to Gurdin, then Wood. She was born in San Francisco in 1938 to Russian-born parents.

Question 2

True or false: She never won an Academy Award for her acting, despite three nominations.

Accepted Answer

True. Wood was nominated for Oscars for 'Rebel Without a Cause,' 'Splendor in the Grass,' and 'Love with the Proper Stranger,' but never won.

Question 3

True or false: She was married to actor Robert Wagner twice, with a brief marriage to Richard Gregson in between.

Accepted Answer

True. Wood married Wagner in 1957, divorced in 1962, then married Gregson in 1969, and remarried Wagner in 1972 until her death.

Question 4

True or false: Wood was the first actress to win a Golden Globe at age 17 for 'Rebel Without a Cause.'

Accepted Answer

False. She never won a Golden Globe for that film. She did win a Golden Globe for 'West Side Story' in 1962, but not at age 17.

Question 5

True or false: She was a close friend of actress Marilyn Monroe and attended her funeral in 1962.

Accepted Answer

False. Wood knew Monroe socially but was not a close friend. She did not attend Monroe's funeral, as she was filming at the time.

Question 6

True or false: Wood had a lifelong fear of drowning, which tragically became the cause of her death.

Accepted Answer

True. She was terrified of dark water after nearly drowning as a child during the filming of 'The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.' She died by drowning in 1981.

Question 7

True or false: Her final film, 'Brainstorm,' was released posthumously and featured her own singing voice.

Accepted Answer

False. 'Brainstorm' was released after her death, but Wood did not sing in it. Her singing in earlier films like 'West Side Story' was dubbed by Marni Nixon.

Question 8

True or false: Natalie Wood learned to speak fluent Russian from her parents and often used it in films.

Accepted Answer

False. Though her parents spoke Russian at home, Wood did not learn it fluently. She spoke English as her primary language throughout her life.

Natalie Wood Trivia Questions