The Two Men Natalie Wood Married Three Times: Inside The Tumultuous Love Life Of A Hollywood Icon

Few Hollywood romances capture the imagination and tragedy of the silver screen era quite like the marriages of Natalie Wood. As of December 2025, the enduring question remains: who was the legendary actress married to? The answer is a complex narrative of two men and three wedding ceremonies, a story that bookends her life from her teenage stardom to her mysterious death.

This deep dive into Natalie Wood's personal life reveals the intense, on-again, off-again dynamic with her most famous partner, Robert Wagner, and the brief, stabilizing interlude with a British producer. Her romantic history is a crucial part of her legacy, one that continues to be examined today, especially in light of the reopened investigation into her death.

Natalie Wood: A Hollywood Icon's Biographical Profile

Natalie Wood was one of the most beloved and successful actresses of her generation, transitioning seamlessly from child star to three-time Oscar nominee. Her personal life was as dramatic and public as her career, defined by high-profile relationships and a tragic end. Here is a look at the essential details of her life:

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• Birth Name: Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko (later changed to Natalia Nikolaevna Gurdin).
• Born: July 20, 1938, in San Francisco, California.
• Died: November 29, 1981, off Santa Catalina Island, California, at age 43.
• Spouses: Robert Wagner (married twice) and Richard Gregson (married once).
• Children: Natasha Gregson Wagner (with Richard Gregson) and Courtney Brooke Wagner (with Robert Wagner).
• Notable Films: Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), The Searchers (1956), Splendor in the Grass (1961), West Side Story (1961), and Love with the Proper Stranger (1963).
• Major Awards: Three Academy Award nominations, four Golden Globe nominations (winning one for Best Actress in From Here to Eternity, a TV miniseries).

The First and Final Love: Robert Wagner (RJ)

The central figure in Natalie Wood’s romantic history is the actor Robert Wagner, known affectionately as "RJ." Their relationship was a quintessential Hollywood romance, marked by passion, separation, and an undeniable pull back together that spanned decades.

The Golden Couple's First Marriage (1957–1962)

Wood and Wagner first met when she was just a child, but their romance began in earnest when Wood turned 18. They married on December 28, 1957, in a high-profile ceremony. At the time, they were arguably the most glamorous young couple in Hollywood, both stars on the rise.

However, the marriage was reportedly tumultuous, strained by the pressures of their respective careers and the intense public spotlight. They separated in 1961 and officially divorced in April 1962. During this period of separation, Wood starred in some of her most iconic, Oscar-nominated roles, including Splendor in the Grass and West Side Story.

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The Second Chance: Remarriage (1972–1981)

After both had moved on and married other people, Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood found their way back to each other. They remarried in a private ceremony on July 16, 1972, a decision that surprised many of their friends and the public.

This second marriage was reportedly a calmer, more domestic period for Wood. She largely stepped away from her intense film schedule to focus on her family, including her two daughters: Natasha (from her second marriage) and Courtney Brooke Wagner, born in 1974 with Robert Wagner.

The second marriage lasted until her tragic and mysterious death on November 29, 1981, while aboard the couple's yacht, Splendour, off Santa Catalina Island.

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The Interlude: Natalie Wood's Marriage to Richard Gregson

Between her two marriages to Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood was married to British screenwriter and agent Richard Gregson. This period, though brief, was significant as it brought Wood her first child.

A Period of Stability (1969–1971)

Wood married Richard Gregson on May 30, 1969. Gregson, who worked behind the scenes in the film industry, offered a sense of stability and normalcy that had often eluded Wood during her high-profile life with Wagner.

In 1970, the couple welcomed their daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner. Despite the joy of motherhood, the marriage did not last. Wood and Gregson separated a little over a year after their daughter's birth and divorced in 1971. Within months of the divorce, Wood reconnected with Robert Wagner, leading to their second marriage in 1972.

The Continuing Mystery: Robert Wagner and the Death Investigation

The story of Natalie Wood's marriages cannot be fully told without addressing the circumstances of her death, which occurred during her final marriage to Robert Wagner and remains a subject of intense media and legal scrutiny to this day. This is the most current and "fresh" angle on her life.

Wood drowned while on a weekend trip aboard the yacht Splendour, accompanied by Wagner and her Brainstorm co-star, Christopher Walken. The death was initially ruled an accident. However, in 2011, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reopened the investigation due to new information.

In a significant update, investigators publicly stated that Robert Wagner is a "person of interest" in the case, though he has consistently denied any involvement in her death. The ongoing nature of the investigation, decades after the event, ensures that the details of her final marriage to Wagner—the arguments, the tensions, and the events of that fateful night—continue to be scrutinized by biographers, law enforcement, and the public.

The legacy of Natalie Wood is a complex tapestry woven with cinematic brilliance, personal struggles, and a dramatic love life. She was married three times, but only to two men: Robert Wagner, the great love she couldn't stay away from, and Richard Gregson, the brief, stabilizing force in between. The enduring mystery surrounding her death ensures that her final marriage remains one of the most discussed and debated relationships in Hollywood history.