Natalie Wood Mysteriously Drowned 43 Years Ago Today. Recounting the Star's Final Moments Aboard the Yacht — and Why One Woman Claimed It Wasn't an Accident

Mar. 15, 2025

Actress Natalie Wood, circa 1965.Photo:Silver Screen Collection/Getty

Silver Screen Collection/Getty

Natalie Wood’s tragic death at age 43 left many to question the circumstances surrounding her fatal drowning for decades.

Beginning her career in Hollywood at the age of 5, Wood becamean iconic figure in film and televisionafter seamlessly transitioning from child star to leading lady. She also made headlines for her personal life and had relationships withWarren Beatty, Richard Gregson andRobert “R.J.” Wagner, whom she was married to at the time of her death. Wood was also a mother — she shareda daughter named Natashawith Gregson and adaughter named Courtneywith Wagner.

Wood’s life was cut short less than a decade after the birth of her second daughter when she died during a 1981 boat trip to California’s Catalina Island. On Thanksgiving weekend that year, Wood and Wagner set sail on their 60-foot yacht, the Splendour, alongside Wood’sBrainstormcostarChristopher Walkenand their longtime friend and skipper, Dennis Davern.

What transpired over the next few days and how Wood ended up drowning in the dark waters off the coast of the island has been dissected for decades. While the actress' death was initially ruled an “accidental drowning,” the case would continue to stir controversy.

In 2011, Davern came to authorities with information about an alleged fight between Wood and Wagner moments before her death — details he had previously withheld — and the investigation was officially reopened. Since then, investigatorshave received more than 100 tips, and at one point Wagner was named “more of a person of interest” in relation to Wood’s death.

So, how did Natalie Wood die? Here are all the details of the star’s death and the investigation into its cause.

How did Natalie Wood die?

Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner attending a formal event, circa 1980.Darlene Hammond/Hulton Archive/Getty

Darlene Hammond/Hulton Archive/Getty

In Wagner’s memoir, he wrote that he had seen Wood go to bed prior to the argument, and when he returned to their bedroom later that night, she was nowhere to be found. He wrote that he soon discovered that the yacht’s dinghy was also missing. Although it would have been out of character for Wood to take the dinghy out so late at night, Wagner wrote that he initially figured she had headed to land to get away from the fighting.

InPieces of My Heart, Wagner wrote that he alerted Davern, his skipper, and then called for the shore boat to take him to the island. Wagner didn’t find Wood near the dinghy near the dock and at around 1:30 a.m. Davern radioed for help from the Baywatch, a private coast patrol. At 3:30 a.m., Wagner called the Coast Guard.

After an extensive search of the boat, the Coast Guard began search and rescue. After hours of searching, the dinghy was found at 5:30 a.m. in an isolated cove. The boat was in neutral and turned off — and Wood was not on board.

Two hours later, Wood’s body was discovered. She was wearing a red parka over a nightgown and had bruising on her arms and legs as well as an abrasion on her cheek. She also had a blood alcohol content of 0.14%.

How old was Natalie Wood when she died?

Wood was 43 years old when her body was discovered on the morning of Nov. 29, 1981, floating in a cove off the coast of California’s Catalina Island, about a mile away from her yacht.

Although the actress was semi-retired in 1981, she continued taking on smaller roles, often collaborating with Wagner. The couple acted alongside each other inSwitchandHart to Hartin the years leading up to her death.

When Wood died, she was near the end of filming the sci-fi movieBrainstorm. After her death, the ending of the film was re-written and Wood’s younger sister Lana, with whom she had an at-times troubled relationship, stood in for some of her last scenes.Brainstormcame out two years after Wood’s death and was dedicated to her memory.

What happened in Natalie Wood’s final moments?

American actress Natalie Wood.Silver Screen Collection/Getty

Hours before her death, witnesses said the group was intoxicated during dinner on the island, so the restaurant manager warned the harbormaster, perCBS News. Late in the evening, Wagner wrote in his book that he smashed a wine bottle in front ofWalken during a fight.

Upset, Wood allegedly retreated to their room, and Wagner followed, beginning a fight between the couple. Marilyn Wayne, a woman who came forward in 2011, said she heard the alleged fight occurring aboard Wagner and Wood’s yacht.

Wayne was on a boat with her boyfriend and son 50 feet away from the Splendour. She told detectives that she had heard the altercation — and a woman screaming for help, perThe Hollywood Reporter. Wayne said she called harbor patrol and no one answered.

“‘Help me, someone please help me, I’m drowning’ we heard repeatedly. Alarmed, I called out to my son, who also heard the cries, and looked at his new digital watch: it was just minutes after 11:00 p.m.,” Wayne shared, adding that she later heard a “man’s voice slurred, and in aggravated tone, say something to the effect of, ‘Oh, hold on, we’re coming to get you,’ and not long after, the cries for help subsided, but we heard the cries for up to 15 minutes.”

What do those on board the Splendour believe happened to Natalie Wood?

Paul Harris/Getty

In his memoir, Wagner wrote that he had thought about the final moments of Wood’s life for decades. He believes that her death was an accident and she slipped off the boat while attempting to get on or to tie up the dinghy.

Wagner explained that while he was hashing out his argument with Walken, Wood may have heard the dinghy banging against the boat outside of her window. He believes she went outside in the hopes of tying it tighter to stop the noise but accidentally slipped on the swim step, hitting her head and falling unconscious before ending up in the water.

“But it’s all conjecture. Nobody knows. There are only two possibilities: either she was trying to get away from the argument, or she was trying to tie the dinghy. But the bottom line is that nobody knows exactly what happened,” Wagner wrote.

While Walken has not often spoken out about that night, he told PEOPLE in 1986 that he believed Wood’s death was an accident. “I don’t know what happened. She slipped and fell in the water. I was in bed then. It was a terrible thing,” he said.

What happened during the investigation surrounding Natalie Wood’s death?

While the initial investigation around Wood’s death concluded it was an accident, over the years, Davern unsuccessfully tried to get authorities to give the case another look. In November 2011, the case was reopened after he came forward with information he had shared in his book but had previously withheld from investigators.

Over the next few months, authorities traveled to inspect the Splendourand spoke with witnesses. In August 2012, less than a year into the renewed inquiry, the coroner’s office decided to amend Wood’s death certificate. The cause of death was changed from accidental drowning to “drowning and other undetermined factors,” noting that the circumstances surrounding how Wood ended up in the water are “not clearly established.”

Then, in 2013, the coroner’s report was updated to reflect that Wood’sbodily injuries may have occurred prior to her drowning.

In 2018, two new people came forward claiming to be witnesses, saying they had seen Wagner and Wood on the back of the yacht on the night of her death. Shortly after,Wagner was called “more of a person of interest”in the case.

“This is a suspicious death investigation. This is not a murder investigation,” Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said during a press conference. “We’ve interviewed a lot of new people — near the island, near the boat, people who had knowledge about the couple and what was going on that weekend. We’re closer to understanding what happened.”

What has Natalie Wood’s family said about her death?

Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood with their daughters Natasha Gregson Wagner and Courtney Wagner at their Beverly Hills, California, home.Ted Streshinsky/Corbis via Getty

Ted Streshinsky/Corbis via Getty

“They were getting ready to go on the boat. I was hugging her and telling her I loved her and to have a great trip. She had an angora sweater on and it was very soft. That’s my last memory of her,” Natasha told PEOPLE in 2016.

While his children maintain Wagner’s innocence, Wood’s younger sister Lana has long believed that her death was not an accident. She published her bookLittle Sister: My Investigation into the Mysterious Death of Natalie Woodin 2021.

Natasha’s 2020 documentaryNatalie Wood: What Remains Behindincludes her reasoning why she believes Wagner had nothing to do with her mother’s death.

“It’s outrageous and completely unacceptable that others have created this narrative about my dad and the night my mom died,” Natasha said. “I know that if my mom had been in any kind of distress he would have given his life for her. I know that as well as I know my name.”

Wood and Wagner’s younger daughter Courtney has expressed similar sentiments about her father, telling PEOPLE that the “terrible things” said about Wagner are very upsetting.

“I wasfurious at the accusations being said about him, it felt incredibly disrespectful,” she told PEOPLE in 2020. “I love him so deeply so and it has gone on for so long that I still can’t believe they actually write such untrue things.”

What is Natalie Wood’s legacy?

Natalie Wood in a studio portrait, against a pink background, circa 1965.Silver Screen Collection/Getty

“The day my mom died my entire world was shattered. Since then, there’s been so much focus on how she died that it’s overshadowed who she was as a person,” Natasha said in the film.

In both the documentary and her memoirMore Than Love, Natasha characterized her mother as someone who wanted to be more than a movie star, saying, “She was human, she was an artist who struggled and she was brave and she was happy.”

source: people.com