Natalie Wood: The All American Actress
"I raised my daughter to be a movie star" those were the words of Maria Gurdin talking of her daughter. On July 20, 1938 a star was born in San Francisco. Natasha Nikolaevna Zacharenko (later changed to Natalie Wood for easier pronunciation) was born to Russian parents Maria and Nicholas Gurdin. Natalie was born a true star. By the age of four she had already snagged an ensemble role in a movie, Happy Land. Mrs.Gurdin saw her daughter as a star so she moved the family to Los Angeles in 1943 to try to get Natalie into acting. …
