(July 20, 1938 - Nov. 29, 1981) Natalie Wood was an American film actress. At the age of 16 Natalie celebrated her release from child-star status by winning the role of Judy in Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause, co-starring James Dean, Sal Mineo, and Dennis Hopper. Another of her widely noted films was the Leonard Bernstein musical West Side Story, in which she played Maria. As a restless on-screen companion of James Dean and an off-screen date of Elvis Presley, she was much admired and envied by the young girls of the day.