Olivia Hussey, the actor who rose to fame as a teenager for her lead role in Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, has died aged 73.
Her passing was announced on her social media accounts saying she had passed away son Thursday surrounded by loved one.
“Olivia was a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom, and pure kindness touched the lives of all who knew her.” the statement from her family read.
Hussey was sixteen years old when she starred in Zeffirelli’s iconic version of Romeo and Juliet alongside 15-year-old Leonard Whiting as Romeo. The film was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The actor is also remembered for her appearances in the 1977 TV series Jesus of Nazareth, also directed by Zeffirelli, where she played Mary.
The following year she appeared in the star-studded film version of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile alongside Peter Ustinov, Maggie Smith, Angela Lansbury, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Jane Birkin, and David Niven.
Olivia Hussey was born Olivia Osuna in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her parents separated when she was a child, and she moved to England with her mother and began using her mother’s maiden name.
She attended the Italia Conti Acadamy drama school and began acting as a teenager. She appeared in the West End production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie alongside Vanessa Redgrave. Here she was spotted by Zeffirelli who cast her his film version of the Shakespeare play.
The film earned her a Golden Globe award as New Star of the Year in 1969. The film featured a controversial nude scene involving both Hussey and Whiting which Hussey defended as being artistic for many years. However, in 2022 she and Whitling filed a $500 million lawsuit against Paramount Pictures for sexual exploitation, sexual harassment and fraud. In 2023 the case was dismissed.
Over the decades Hussey continued to act appearing in thrillers and horror films including The Summertime Killer (1972), Black Christmas (1974), and The Cat and the Canary (1979). She ventured to Australia in 1982 for the cult horror Turkey Shoot. Hussey was also one of the many stars to appear in Miichael Jackson’s video for his song for Liberian Girl.
The actor was married several times. Her first husband was Dean Paul Martin, the son of Dean Martin. Their son Alexander who was born in 1973 died in 1987 when the National Guard F-4 Phantom he was piloting crashed.
From 1980 until 1989 Hussey was married to Japanese singer Akira Fuse, their son Maximillian was born in 1983. in 1991 she married American businessman David Glen Eisley. Their daughter India Eisley was born in 1993.
Hussey was a cancer survivor having been treated for breast cancer in 2008, and for a tumor in 2017.
