How Old Was Natalie Wood in West Side Story?

By Saumya On Jan 11, 2023

West Side Story is an American musical drama from 1961. It was written by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins and directed by Wise and Robbins. The movie is based on the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which was in turn based on Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. Ernest Lehman wrote the movie’s script.

Natalie Wood played Maria, the younger sister of Bernardo and Chino’s arranged bride, who falls in love with Tony. If you want to know How Old Was Natalie Wood in West Side Story? then read the full article.

Who was Natalie Wood?

Natalie Wood was an American actress who got her start in movies when she was a child and then moved on to play young adults. Natalie Zacharenko was born in San Francisco to Maria Zudilova, also known as Mary, Marie, and Music, and Nicholas Zacharenko, a carpenter.

Wood began acting when she was four years old, and when she was eight, she was given a co-starring role in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). After that, she had a part in John Ford’s The Searchers (1956).

Wood was the star of the musical movies West Side Story (1961) and Gypsy (1962), and she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles in Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Love with the Proper Stranger (1961).

How Old Was Natalie Wood in West Side Story?

Natalie Wood was 23 years old when she played the role of Maria in West Side Story. Wood played Maria, a restless Puerto Rican girl on the West Side of Manhattan, in the 1961 film version of the stage musical West Side Story, which was directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise and was a critical and commercial success.

Tibbetts said that her role in this movie and the role she played in the first Rebel were both similar. She was supposed to represent “the restlessness of American youth in the 1950s,” which was shown by youth gangs, juvenile crime, and early rock and roll. He says that both movies were “modern allegories based on the theme of ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ with private restlessness and public isolation.

In Rebel, she falls in love with James Dean’s character, whose gang-like friends and violent temper kept him from his family. In West Side Story, she starts a relationship with a white former gang member, whose dangerous group of outcasts kept him from following the law.

Which is Natalie Wood’s First Movie?

A few weeks before she turned five, Wood appeared in a 15-second scene in the movie Happy Land without being credited (1943). Even though she only had a small part, she caught the attention of the director, Irving Pichel.

For two years, he kept in touch with Wood’s family and told them when another role came up. The director called Wood’s mother and asked her to bring her to a screen test in Los Angeles.

Harris says that Wood’s mother was so happy that she moved the whole family to Los Angeles. Wood’s father didn’t like the idea, but his wife’s “overwhelming ambition to make Natalie a star” won out. Wood’s little sister, Lana, says that Pichel “found her and wanted to adopt her.“

Also Read: How Old Was Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday?

Did Natalie Wood Sing Herself In West Side Story?

Natalie Wood did use a full orchestra to record all of the songs for the movie. She was told that most of the singing would be done by her and that a few high notes would be added later. In her place, Marni Nixon was supposed to sing a few high notes.

In the end, Marni Nixon sang all of the songs, and no one told Natalie Wood. When Marni’s memoir was finally published, her co-author Stephan said, “Marni thought it was cruel because Natalie wasn’t good and everyone told her she was great, even though they weren’t going to use her music.”