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Natalie Wood was a successful Hollywood actress whose death remains mysterious to this day.
Natalie began her career at the age of eight as Susan Walker in 1947's Miracle on 34th Street. She found continued fame throughout the '50s and '60s in roles from films like Rebel Without a Cause, West Side Story, and a Best Actress Oscar nomination for 1961's Splendor in the Grass.
Throughout the '70s, the young actress leaned more into television roles while raising her two daughters, Natasha in 1970 – from her marriage to second husband Richard Gregson, and Courtney in 1974 – from her third (and also first) marriage to fellow actor Robert Wagner.
Natalie divorcedWagner in 1962 and got married to Gregson, a British producer, in 1969. Shortly after the birth of their daughter, the pair divorced in August 1971, and Natalie remarried her original husband in 1972, according to E! News.
Despite Natalie's fame, she met a tragic end on November 29, 1981, and died after drowning in the Pacific Ocean at just 43 years old.
Although Natalie was with Wagner and her then-co-star Christopher Walken at the time of her demise, her death still raises quite a lot of questions decades later.
Here's everything to know about Natalie Wood's death.
A weekend boating trip
Natalie went on a weekend boating trip on Wagner's boat alongside Walken, her Brainstorm co-star at the time – the three were heading to Santa Catalina Island.
On the night that Natalie was last seen, she was with Wagner while Walken was hanging out with the boat's captain, Dennis Davern. Per NBC News, Wagner told authorities that Natalie was not with him when he headed to bed. However, Natalie's body was found at 8 A.M. the following day one mile away from the boat.
It is still unclear how she entered the water, but Natalie had bruises and a left cheek abrasion, which were found during her autopsy.
Los Angeles coroner Thomas Noguchi ruled Natalie's cause of death as accidental drowning and hypothermia. His theory, as she had a blood alcohol of 0.14 and a painkiller in her system, is that she slipped while getting on the dinghy because she was drinking.
Natalie's argument with Wagner
Despite this ruling, many wondered if Natalie had been in a fight with her husband. Wagner initially denied captain Davern's claim that they had fought, only to admit there was an argument between the couple in his 2008 memoir Pieces of my Heart.
"I remember wondering if she¹d taken the dinghy because of the argument, and then I thought, No way, because she was terrified of dark water," Wagner wrote. He also pointed out in the book that he was fighting with Walken over Natalie's career, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Davern claimed that Natalie and Walken had a flirtation that upset Wagner and he would not let Davern turn on any search lights or notify the police of Wagner's wife's disappearance. Because of this claim, Davern believes Wagner was responsible. The most recent update to the case was in 2018 when Wagner was named a person of interest.
According to E! News, Natalie's sister Lana Wood stated that Natalie could not swim, making it questionable that the victim would even be near the water in the first place. Lana also pointed out that her sister was "terrified" of water her whole life.
Christopher Walken's involvement
Although Walken was on the boat with Natalie at the time of her death, he was not considered a suspect by the authorities. He has also maintained this stance, even thought some people have different theories.
"I don't know what happened," Walken told People Magazine in 1986. "She slipped and fell in the water. I was in bed then. It was a terrible thing."
"We're in a conversation I won't have," he added. "It's a f****** bore."
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