Natalie Wood received three award nominations before turning 25.
Natalie Wood ( born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko ; July 20 , 1938 -- November 28 or 29 , 1981 ) was an American film and television actress . She first worked in films as a child , then became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult , receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old . She starred in the musical films West Side Story ( 1961 ) and Gypsy ( 1962 ) , and received Academy Award for Best Actress nominations for her performances in Splendor in the Grass ( 1961 ) and Love with the Proper Stranger ( 1963 ) .