First published 2001
Natalie Wood captivated audiences in Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without a Cause, and West Side Story, earning recognition alongside Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor as one of cinema's greatest actresses. But behind the glamorous facade lay a darker reality. Suzanne Finstad spent years investigating Wood's life, conducting over four hundred interviews with family members, close friends, legendary costars, lovers, film crews, attorneys, police officials, and Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the coroner who examined her drowning death. Through this extensive research, Finstad reconstructs a story of emotional abuse and exploitation that shadowed Wood's unprecedented fame. The biography reveals how Wood endured great loneliness and loss while navigating forces beyond her control. Finstad presents Wood as a complex figure who combined remarkable fragility with surprising strength, showing how this tragic beauty's public triumph masked private suffering. The book offers readers an intimate portrait of a woman whose mysterious death remains as compelling as her celebrated life.
Genres: biography, drama, mental-health, abuse, 20th-century, mental-illness, biography-memoir, film
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: complex-protagonist, dark-past, public-vs-private
Setting: Hollywood
Period: 20th Century
Audio CD · Brilliance Audio
Content warnings: abuse, emotional-abuse, mental-illness