Written By: Ben Cosgrove
At nearly every stage of Natalie Wood’s career the early days as a cute studio-contract moppet; her teenage Method experiments inspired by her work in Rebel Without a Cause; and her emergence as a powerful leading lady who could more than hold her own with Warren Beatty and Steve McQueen LIFE’s photographers were there, capturing Wood’s talent and beauty as they blossomed over the years.
But not every picture from those many rolls of film could make it to print, of course. Here, LIFE.com presents a selection of the best photos of the late, radiant star which were not originally published in LIFE magazine.
Natalie Wood died, far too young, in 1981. She was just 43 years old. She drowned near Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of California. In 2012, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner reclassified the cause of her death as “drowning and other undetermined factors.”
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.
Natalie Wood
John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood 1945
Martha Holmes The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood Swings as a Child
Martha Holmes The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood 1945
Martha Holmes The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood Draws on a Chalkboard
Martha Holmes The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Woods Waters the Lawn
Martha Holmes The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood in 1956
Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood, Dennis Hopper and Nick Adams Make Dinner
Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood Reads Aloud 1956
Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood in Character
Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood
Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood takes a call while sitting on her bed at home.
Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood in Research
Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood by the pool at 22
Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty
Eliot Elisofon The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty
Eliot Elisofon The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood and Academy Awards in April 1962.
Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood and the Academy Awards
Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood in 1962.
Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood Hair Spray
Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood Wears fancy dress
Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood at the Oscars in 1962.
Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen
John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood Smokes
John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen
John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
