Lana Wood

Lana Wood

Lana Wood as Plenty O'Toole, in "Diamonds Are Forever" in 1971.

Svetlana Gurdin (born March 1, 1946), better known as Lana Wood, is an American actress and producer born to Russian Orthodox emigré parents. She is the sister of the late Natalie Wood and Olga Gurdin.

Lana Wood's parents were Russian, but they grew up far from their homeland: her father lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, while her mother grew up in a Chinese province. After marriage, they settled in Santa Monica, California, where Lana was born. By the time Lana was born, her parents had legally changed their surname to Gurdin.

Lana's sister Natalie Wood was named after director Sam Wood when she first launched her child actor career. When Lana made her film debut with sister Natalie in The Searchers (1956), their mother was asked under what last name should Lana be credited and she agreed it would be best if she could be credited as Lana Wood, like her famous sister did.

In 1970, she was approached to pose for Playboy by Hugh Hefner and agreed. The Playboy pictures appeared in the April 1971 issue, along with Lana's poetry. Even though her sister strongly disapproved of Lana's move to pose nude, the publicity was a major reason for her being cast as Plenty O'Toole in the 1971 James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever.

Wood had participated in more than 20 other films or television shows through her career, including Peyton Place. She retired from acting in 1982, concentrating on her career as a producer. She has been involved in more than twenty productions.

Shortly after Natalie Wood's death, Lana wrote a best-selling memoir about her famous sister. The book, ultimately, was also an autobiography on Lana herself. Among the tidbits she revealed in the book was an off-the-set affair with Sean Connery during the filming of Diamonds Are Forever.

Lana Wood has one daughter, two grandsons, and a granddaughter.

According to her listing on the user-edited Internet Movie Database, Wood is scheduled to make her first film appearance in 25 years in an upcoming production entitled Wild Michigan.[1]

External links

*Lana Wood Official Site