Svetlana Nikolaevna Gurdin (born March 1, 1946), better known as Lana Wood, is an American actress and producer born to Russian emigré parents, Nikolai and Maria Zakharenko.
Lana Wood as Plenty O'Toole in the film Diamonds Are Forever
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 her parents were married, they settled in Santa Monica, California, where Lana was born. By this time her parents had legally changed their surname to Gurdin.
Her older sister, Natalie Wood, was named after director Sam Wood when Natalie first launched her child acting career. When Lana made her film debut with sister Natalie in The Searchers (1956), their mother was asked under what last name Lana should be credited, and Maria agreed it would be best if she could be credited as "Wood," like her famous sister.
In 1970, Lana Glyde was approached to pose for Playboy by Hugh Hefner and agreed. The Playboy pictures appeared in the April 1971 issue, along with Wood's poetry. Even though her sister strongly disapproved of Wood's move to pose nude, the publicity was a major reason for her being cast as a Bond girl, Plenty O'Toole, in the 1971 James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever.
Wood acted in more than 20 other films and television shows throughout her career, including a regular role as Sandy Webber on the prime time serial Peyton Place from 1966-1967. She retired from acting in 1982, concentrating on her career as a producer.
Wood wrote a best-selling memoir, Natalie, A Memoir by Her Sister, about her famous sister shortly after her death. The book was also an autobiography. Among the tidbits she revealed in the book was an off-the-set affair with Sean Connery during the filming of Diamonds Are Forever.
She and Natalie have an older half sister, Olga Viriapaeff, from their mother's prior marriage. Lana has one child, Evan, a daughter with Richard Smedley. She has one granddaughter, Daphne, and two grandsons, Nicholas and Max.
Lana Wood has been married five times:
