Marni Nixon

Marni Nixon was an American soprano who sang for actresses in Hollywood musicals when their own voices weren't up to the task. She was born Margaret Nixon McEathron in Altadena, California in 1930, studied voice and piano, and made her professional debut in opera at seventeen. In the early 1950s she began working in Hollywood, providing the singing for films like The King and I and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Her most famous work came in 1961's West Side Story, where she sang for Natalie Wood as Maria. Her voice is what you hear on I Feel Pretty, One Hand, One Heart, Somewhere, and Tonight. She was rarely credited for this kind of work, which meant her name stayed mostly unknown to audiences even as her singing became part of some of the most familiar musical moments in film.

Nixon also released solo albums like Marni Nixon Sings Gershwin and Porter in 1959 and Marni Nixon Sings Rodgers and Hammerstein in 1960. She worked as an actress too, appearing on stage and screen in roles where she could use her own voice.