Natalie Wood was a queen of the so-called Old Hollywood. Beautiful, talented, and charismatic, she deftly handled both serious and light-hearted roles. Among Wood's outstanding films were Splendor in the Grass, Inside Daisy Clover, and West Side Story. They and other movies she made are classics to this day.
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Sadly, Natalie Wood died mysteriously in November of 1981. While taking a trip aboard a yacht with her husband, Robert Wagner, actor Christopher Walken, and Captain Dennis Davern. she was discovered drowned at the age of 43 near the coast of Catalina Island. Questions about what happened that night and how she ended up in the water still remain so many years later. What is not in dispute is how much Natalie Wood is missed, both as an actress and a person.
Her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, is speaking about the awful away she found out about her beloved mother's shocking and untimely death. She was just 11 years old at the time. The news must have come as a devastating blow. In fact, Gregson Wagner heard it on the radio while visiting a friend's house for a sleepover, per Fox News Digital.
Gregson Wagner Was Crushed by Her Mother's Passing
She shared with The Daily Mail how her dad, Richard Gregson, and her stepdad, Robert Wagner, pitched in to get her through the grief and loss. "Luckily, I had these two men, Daddy Gregson and Daddy Wagner, who came together and rose to the occasion and completely put me first. They got me into therapy right away, and I had that same amazing therapist here in Beverly Hills until my 20s."
Both men wanted her to have a quiet life far from the hubbub of the entertainment industry her mother inhabited. "I had to do my laundry. We had dinner on the table at six o'clock. I learned how to cook in their kitchen. I learned how to do laundry. I learned how to take a bath with a hot tap and a cold tap, putting it in a pot and pouring it on my head and all these things."
She Stayed Away From Alcohol and Drugs
Natasha Gregson Wagner also sidestepped the pitfalls of alcohol and drugs that have often bedeviled the children of renowned parents. Her home environment was a barrier between those temptations and was an oasis of safety. "I've definitely felt pressure in my life. I know what's right, I know what's wrong. I'm not saying I haven't had very, very painful things in my life.... But in the home, it was all very safe and secure and warm. So, I got lucky in that way."
