7. Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood’s birth name was Natalia “Natasha” Zakharenko. Her mother, Maria, wanted desperately for her daughter to become a star. “God created her, but I invented her” was Maria’s claim regarding her Natalie’s carefully crafted persona, right down to the name “Natalie Wood.” It worked, for better or worse.
When Natalie was five years old, Maria got her daughter a bit part in the film Happy Land. The film led to much more, and Natalie became a well-known child actress known as “one-take Natalie” because of her talent and professionalism at such a young age. Maria was behind the scenes, of course. At one point, she even went so far as to tear apart a butterfly to ensure Natalie could cry on cue.
As Natalie grew up, Maria used various methods to keep her in the limelight, such as setting up 15-year-old Natalie with 38-year-old Frank Sinatra and, when Natalie was 17, setting up a relationship with 43-year-old Nicholas Ray. Once again, Maria’s machinations worked. Nicholas Ray directed Rebel Without a Cause and the film showcased Natalie’s talent in a new light and introduced her as serious young actress.
But it didn’t always end well. Another meeting with a significantly older and very powerful actor allegedly ended in a brutal rape while Natalie was still in her teens. The story was recounted by Natalie’s friends, including her close confidant from childhood, Jackie Eastes, and Dennis Hopper, who had co-starred in Rebel Without a Cause. Natalie was reportedly scared to tell her mother, but she was forced to tell when she had to seek medical treatment for excessive bleeding and pain from the incident. The emotional trauma only deepened when her mother showed no support for her ailing daughter, even pressuring Natalie to stay silent. One friend of Natalie claims that Maria actually “thought it was great” that Natalie was able to spend time with the man who allegedly raped her, as he could further her career.
Natalie suffered from alcohol abuse and had a number of high-profile but tumultuous relationships. She tried to commit suicide in 1966, prompting daily psychoanalysis for years. After becoming a mother, she put Hollywood aside to raise her two daughters. Her mysterious death in 1981 is still covered in the news and tabloids over 30 years later.
6. Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake was a film goddess of the 1940s, but by 1962 she was working for tips in a New York cocktail lounge. When she died in 1973 of hepatitis and kidney injury, she was so low on money that a friend had to pay for the funeral.
Born Constance Ockleman in Brooklyn, New York, there were symptoms of mental issues very early on including rebelliousness and a mercurial nature. She was kicked out of an all-girls Catholic boarding school for her constant disregard for authority and refusal to follow even basic rules. Regardless of how or why the trouble started, the mental issues progressed into odd speech patterns, hallucinations, and paranoia, eventually leading to a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Despite her mental issues, which was certainly less understood at the time, her family supported a career in acting. They had moved to Miami which is where a talent agent first spotted Veronica. Upon his suggestion, they moved again to Los Angeles in order to take a chance on Veronica’s talent or, perhaps more accurately, exploit her as a golden ticket.
In 1948, once Veronica was a household name, her mother sued her for support claiming that the star would have never been an actress without her help and that Veronica had allegedly agreed to pay her mother and stepfather $200 a week for life.
Veronica’s career fell apart early. She was in her first movie by age 17, a star by 19 thanks to Sullivan’s Travels, but unable to find work in Hollywood by 30. Three divorces, the death of a child, untreated mental illness, alcoholism, and a generally difficult nature had finally broken Veronica down. The woman who had been known for her haughty beauty on screen died a bloated alcoholic with rotting teeth. Who knows what could have been had Veronica received the medication and treatment she needed?
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