Lana Wood facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lana Wood
Wood in 1982
Born	Svetlana Lisa Gurdin (1946-03-01) March 1, 1946 (age 79) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress producer
Years active	1947–present
Known for	Diamonds Are Forever Peyton Place The Searchers The Long, Hot Summer
Spouse(s)	Jack Wrather Jr. ​ ​ (m. 1962; annulled 1963)​ Karl Brent ​ ​ (m. 1964; div. 1965)​ Stephen Oliver ​ ​ (m. 1966; annulled 1966)​ Stanley William Vogel ​ ​ (m. 1968; div. 1968)​ Richard Smedley ​ ​ (m. 1972; div. 1976)​ Allan Balter ​ ​ (m. 1979; div. 1980)​
Partner(s)	Alan Feinstein (1980s)
Children	1
Relatives	Natalie Wood (sister) Robert Wagner (brother-in-law) Natasha Gregson Wagner (niece)

Lana Wood (born Svetlana Lisa Gurdin on March 1, 1946) is an American actress and producer. She began her acting career as a child. She first appeared in the movie The Searchers. Later, she became well-known for playing Sandy Webber in the TV show Peyton Place. She also played Plenty O'Toole in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. Her older sister was the famous actress Natalie Wood.

Early Life

Lana Wood was born Svetlana Lisa Gurdin. Her parents, Maria Zudilova and Nicholas Zacharenko, were immigrants from Russia. They had both left Russia as children with their families. This happened after the Russian Civil War.

Lana's father's family left their home after her grandfather died in 1922. He was a chocolate factory worker who fought against the Bolshevik forces. His family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, and then to San Francisco.

Lana's mother's family left Russia in 1918. Her grandfather owned soap and candle factories. They settled in a Russian community in Harbin, China.

Nicholas and Maria got married in 1938. They had two daughters together. Their first daughter was Natalie, who was called "Natasha." Their family moved to Santa Monica, California, near Hollywood. They changed their last name to Gurdin. Svetlana, known as "Lana," was born there.

When Natalie started acting as a child, her parents changed her last name to Wood. This was after director Irving Pichel's friend Sam Wood. When Lana started her acting career in The Searchers (1956), her mother decided to use "Wood" for Lana's last name too. This helped Lana connect to her sister's already famous name.

Career

Wood in 1966

In her early career, Lana Wood often acted in movies that also starred her sister Natalie. In the 1960s, Lana's own career began to grow.

She appeared in the TV drama series The Long, Hot Summer. Then, she got the role of Sandy Webber in the soap opera Peyton Place. She played this role from 1966 to 1967.

One of her most famous roles was as a Bond girl, Plenty O'Toole. This was in the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever (1971).

Wood has acted in more than 20 other movies. She has also appeared in over 300 television shows. Some of these include The Fugitive, Bonanza, Mission: Impossible, and Starsky & Hutch.

After acting in the horror film Satan's Mistress (1982), she took a break from acting. She focused on working as a producer instead. However, since 2008, she has returned to acting in several movies. Lana Wood is also a character in the book Meg: Hell's Aquarium (2009) by Steve Alten.

Personal Life

Wood with her sister Natalie in 1956

Lana Wood has been married six times:

• Jack Wrather Jr. (1962–1963; annulled)
• Karl Brent (1964–1965; divorced)
• Stephen Oliver (1966–1966; annulled)
• Dr. Stanley William Vogel (1968–1968; divorced)
• Richard Smedley (1972–1976; divorced). They had one child, Evan Taylor Smedley Maldonado. Lana has three grandchildren through Evan.
• Allan G. Balter (1979–1980; divorced)

Between her marriages, Wood dated several actors and other creative people. For most of the 1980s, she was in a relationship with actor Alan Feinstein.

Lana's sister Natalie was married to actor Robert Wagner. Natalie sadly passed away in 1981.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Lana Wood para niños