Actress Olivia Hussey, who played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet in 1968, passed away at the age of 73

Olivia Hussey, who won awards for Jesus of Nazareth and Romeo and Juliet, passes away at the age of 73, leaving a lasting legacy.

The renowned actress Olivia Hussey, who gained notoriety as a teenager in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 Romeo and Juliet film adaption, passed away at the age of 73.

In a message posted on Instagram on Friday, her family announced her death and said she was surrounded by loved ones.

The statement said, “While we mourn this tremendous loss, we also honor Olivia’s lasting influence on our lives and the industry.”

Hussey, who was born in 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, relocated to London when he was seven years old and attended the Italia Conti Academy theater school. Zeffirelli found her onstage in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and at the age of 15, he cast her as Juliet. She won a Golden Globe for best new actress and received widespread praise for the part.

Leonard Whiting, then 16 years old, played Romeo in the film, which became a landmark interpretation of Shakespeare’s tragedy and was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director Oscars. But Barbra Streisand ended up winning Best Actress that year for Funny Girl, and Hussey was not nominated.

When Hussey and Whiting sued Paramount Pictures decades later, the film’s issue reappeared. They claimed that Zeffirelli had coerced them into recording nude sequences by promising them there wouldn’t be any nudity.

Citing mental suffering and the film’s long-term revenues, the couple sought damages of approximately $500 million (£417 million). However, in 2022, a court dismissed the complaint, stating that the scenes were not “sexually suggestive enough.”

Hussey did more than just play Romeo and Juliet. Her flexibility was solidified in 1977 when she rejoined with Zeffirelli to play Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Jesus of Nazareth. In addition, she starred in early horror movies like Psycho IV: The Beginning and Black Christmas (1974), as well as Death on the Nile (1978). In the latter, she became known as a “scream queen” after portraying Norman Bates’s mother in a prequel plot.

Hussey switched to voice acting in subsequent years and appeared in several video games. In the 2015 British film Social Suicide, a contemporary retelling of the Shakespearean story set in the social media age, she also reteamed with Whiting, her co-star from Romeo and Juliet.

Hussey’s influence on film is still evident, thanks to her timeless contributions to all genres and her famous Juliet. For the many admirers who appreciated her skill and grace, her demise signifies the end of an era.