Maria Zakharenko is no one other than the mother of American Actress Natalie Wood and Lana Wood.
Let’s read further about Maria, her life, about Natalie and more about their family and Natalie’s success as an actress.
About Maria
Maria was born on 26 January 1908 in Barnaul, Russia. Her father owned soap and candle factories as well as an estate in Russia. During the Russian Civil War, they fled to China and settled in Harbin Province in China. She married Armenian Mechanic Alexander Tatulof in 1925. They together had a baby girl named Olga. But in 1936, she divorced Alexander. Maria and Alexander moved to the United States in 1930. Then in 1938, she married a Russian Carpenter Nicholas Zakharenko, and they together had two daughters named Natalia in 1938 and Lana in 1946. Unfortunately her husband died in the year 1980 and then at the age of 89, on 6 January 1998 she also passed away.
About Natalia
Natalia was born on 20 July 1938 in San Francisco, United States. She attended Van Nuys High School in Los Angeles. She is also a notable alumni of Hollywood Professional School. She started her career as a child actress at the age of four. She got the co-star role in the movie Miracle on the 34th Street at the age of eight. Wood first married the Actor Robert Wagner in 1957. Further Wood dated Warren Beatty, Michael Caine and David Niven Jr. She even broke her engagement with Venezuelan Businessman Ladislav Blantik. Then in 1969, she married British producer Richard Gregson and they together had a daughter, Natasha in 1970. Then Wood divorced Gregson in 1972. Then she again married Wagner in 1972 and had a daughter named Courtney. In the year 1981, she died under mysterious circumstances while she was shooting for Brainstorm on a boat in Santa Catalina Island. In her biography by Finstad, it was mentioned that she was raped by a powerful actor at the age of 16.
About Lana
Lana was born on 1 March 1946 in Santa Monica, California, USA. She is a notable alumni of Hollywood Professional School. She started her career as a child artist. She made her debut in the movie The Searchers. She got famous from the TV series Peyton Place. With being an actress, she is a film producer. She married six times. In 1962, she married Jack Wrether Jr. but this was declared invalid as she was just 16 years old. Then she married Karl Brent in 1964 but divorced him the very next year. Further she married Stephen Oliver but their marriage too was annulled in 1966. Then she married Dr. Stanley William Vogel in 1968 and divorced him in the same year. Then in 1972, she married Richard Smedley with whom she had her only child named Evan Taylor Smedley Maldonado in 1974. She divorced Smedley in 1976. Then finally married Allan Balter in 1979 but later next year they both got divorced. She had dated many men in her career.
Natalia’s Achievements
- She was nominated for many awards in her career.
- She won Box Office Magazine’s Most Talented Young Actress of 1946 in 1946 for her work Tomorrow is forever.
- She was awarded the Golden Globe Award in the category of New Star of the Year- Actress in 1957.
Lana’s Achievements
- She was nominated for the Photoplay Awards.
- She was awarded Burbank International Film Festival in 2019.
Conclusion
Maria Zakharenko was a proud mother who gave Hollywood two great actresses. She has always motivated her kids in their career.