Natasha Gregson Wagner

She was surrounded by Hollywood glamour from the onset as the daughter of film star 'Natalie Wood' (qv) and British producer/writer/agent 'Richard Gregson' (qv), who was briefly married to Wood between her two marriages to actor 'Robert Wagner' (qv). Natasha Gregson was born on September 29, 1970, in Los Angeles. Her mother was of Russian heritage and christened her Natalia but affectionately nicknamed her Natasha during her childhood -- hence, the name. Her parents separated before Natasha was even a year old and when Natalie remarried Wagner a year later, Natasha was informally adopted by her famous stepdad. It's hardly surprising, therefore, that the young girl expressed an early interest in acting. The tragic Catalina Island drowning of her mother in 1981, when Natasha was only 11, left deep emotional scars that would ultimately carry into the dark-edged roles she would play in Hollywood.The naturally beautiful dark-eyed and dark-haired actress certainly bears more than a passing resemblance to her famous mom. Unlike Natalie, however, Natasha has downplayed the glamour and displays a quirky, ditsy-like appeal. Refusing to conform to Hollywood standards, she has instead carved out her own individual path, finding herself much more attracted to offbeat and unconventional material. She debuted in a minor part in _Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)_ (qv) and initially went around playing cute and plucky in such innocuous TV-movie fare as _The Shaggy Dog (1994)_ (qv), the remake of the 1950s Disney classic, and the juvenile delinquent 1950s spoof _Dragstrip Girl (1994)_ (qv). In 1995 Natasha had a top role in one of the "Hart to Hart" TV mini-movies that served to reunite her onetime stepfather with his former co-star 'Stefanie Powers' (qv).Natasha started creating a major buzz shortly thereafter as her characters grew edgier, uninhibited and more risk-taking. In 'David Lynch' (qv)'s _Lost Highway (1997)_ (qv) she turned heads as 'Balthazar Getty' (qv)'s cheating girlfriend, and played an adulterous wife in _Quiet Days in Hollywood (1997)_ (qv).The ball really started rolling with her standout role as the feisty, street-savvy Lou in the improvisation-styled romantic triangle _Two Girls and a Guy (1997)_ (qv). With 'Robert Downey Jr.' (qv) and 'Heather Graham' (qv), the film truly captured Natasha's gift for gab and off-the-wall magnetism. From there she continued to offer solid work in hit-and-miss showcases. She co-starred with 'Giovanni Ribisi' (qv) in the sexy, no-holds-barred _First Love, Last Rites (1997)_ (qv) as a white-trash couple who assertively reevaluate their relationship between the sheets. In _Dogtown (1997)_ (qv) she played the mentally slow daughter of whacked-out 'Karen Black' (qv), and in _Another Day in Paradise (1998)_ (qv) she played a druggie who is taught the ropes of thievery by pros 'James Woods' (qv) and 'Melanie Griffith' (qv).Although Natasha has taken a couple of U-turns into the mainstream, notably as a decapitated victim in the slasher horror opus _Urban Legend (1998)_ (qv), they have been few and far between. During the filming of the well-received 'John Cusack' (qv) film _High Fidelity (2000)_ (qv), Natasha and the film's screenwriter/co-producer 'D.V. DeVincentis' (qv) became an item, and the couple married in 2003, but divorced five years later. She married actor 'Barry Watson' (qv) in 2014.She continues her affinity for the weird but compelling with the more recent films _Glam (1997)_ (qv), _The Medicine Show (2001)_ (qv), _Wishing Time (2003)_ (qv) and _Wonderland (2003)_ (qv), the last one a sensationalized account of the true-life mass murder committed by Los Angeles dope dealers in which drug-ravaged porn star 'John Holmes' (qv) was involved -- Natasha portrayed one of the victims.Later millennium credits include _A Kiss and a Promise (2011)_ (qv), _Anesthesia (2015)_ (qv), _Search Engines (2016)_ (qv) and _Thirty Nine (2016)_ (qv). Seen more on TV, she appeared as a regular on the crime mystery series _Pasadena (2001)_ (qv) and as a recurring character on the sci-fi series _The 4400 (2004)_ (qv). She also had guest shots on "Medium," "Cold Case," "ER," "CSI," "House," "The Closer" and "Date My Dad."::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]