EXCLUSIVE: Radar Reveals What Natalie Wood Hid From the World as We Explore How Tragic Star's Success Grew Out of Teen Trauma
Natalie Wood's early trauma shaped the determination that helped drive her Hollywood success.
June 8 2026, Published 6:15 a.m. ET
Natalie Wood wasn't a crier, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Her mother once ripped a butterfly apart in front of her 7-year-old daughter to bring her to tears for the movie Tomorrow Is Forever, in which she played a WWII orphan.
Natalie's Mother Allegedly Controlled Everything
Rebecca Sullivan said Natalie Wood continued to struggle with crying scenes years after her mother's harsh coaching methods.
"In some of her final interviews, she still spoke about how much she hated crying on-screen," said Rebecca Sullivan, author of the 2016 biography Natalie Wood. "It caused her such internal torment because of the ways in which she had been forced to do that."
Wood absorbed the hard lessons her mother, Russian immigrant Maria Gurdin, taught her. According to the podcast Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood, the actress obediently went along with her mother's ambitions – even when it put Wood in danger.
"My mother controlled Natalie and she would drag anybody through the dirt to keep this fantasy alive," recalled Lana Wood, 72, Natalie's younger sister.
Gurdin even dragged Natalie into abusive situations. Around the time Natalie was 15 or 16, Lana said, "We drove her up to the Chateau Marmont [for a meeting] and my mother and I sat in the car for hours.... That was the interview where Natalie was raped."
Natalie Kept Assault Secret Forever
Lana Wood claimed Maria Gurdin prioritized Natalie's career ambitions despite concerns for her daughter's well-being.
Natalie never revealed her attacker's identity or talked about the abuse.
"Natalie only alluded to the fact that something bad had happened," said Lana, who added Gurdin "never would have said anything to the authorities because you don't want to make that big star angry, you don't want the studio knowing."
Still, shortly after the assault, Natalie began taking charge of her life.
"She wanted to grow up in a forceful way," said Cynthia Lucia, author of Natalie Wood: Her Life and Her Legacy.
Breakout Role Fueled Stardom Rise
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According to the podcast, 'Fatal Voyage 'Rebel Without a Cause'' marked a turning point in Natalie's career
She lobbied for and won a key role in Rebel Without a Cause that changed her career.
Natalie later said: "The picture, the script, expressed what I was feeling."
According to Fatal Voyage, after Rebel Natalie "became an unstoppable force."
