Adult Career
Early in her adult career, Lana played bit parts in Natalie's films; but, in the 1960s, her own career took off. One of her roles was in the beach party film The Girls on the Beach (1965). After appearing in the short-lived drama series, The Long, Hot Summer, she landed the role of Sandy Webber in the prime-time soap Peyton Place, which she played from 1966 to 1967.
In 1971, Wood appeared in the April 1971 Playboy issue, along with her poetry. Even though Natalie strongly disapproved of Lana's posing nude, the publicity was a major reason for her being cast as Bond girl Plenty O'Toole in Diamonds Are Forever (1971). In a scene with Sean Connery, she appeared wearing only a flimsy pair of see-through panties.
Wood has more than 20 other films and over 300 television shows to her credit, including The Fugitive, Bonanza, Mission: Impossible, Police Story, Starsky and Hutch, Nero Wolfe, Fantasy Island, and Capitol. Some of her other film roles have been in the Disney film Justin Morgan Had a Horse (1972) and the western Grayeagle (1977). After appearing in the horror film Demon Rage (1982), she retired from acting, concentrating on her career as a producer.
In 1984, Wood published the controversial tell-all book Natalie, A Memoir by Her Sister, which reached number three on The New York Times Best Seller list. In 2004, she produced the biopic The Mystery of Natalie Wood. She recently returned to acting and has several projects in production. Lana is a character in the 2009 Steve Alten book Meg: Hell's Aquarium.
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