Olivia Hussey, who starred as a teenage Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film Romeo and Juliet, garnering her a Golden Globe, died peacefully at her home on Friday at age 73, her family has announced.
“Olivia was a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom, and pure kindness touched the lives of all who knew her,” her family said in a statement posted to her Instagram account. “Olivia lived a life full of passion, love, and dedication to the arts, spirituality, and kindness towards animals.
“As we grieve this immense loss, we also celebrate Olivia’s enduring impact on our lives and the industry.”
Buenos Aires-born Hussey was 15 when she and her co-lead Leonard Whiting starred in the Oscar-winning adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy.
In 2023, the two actors filed a lawsuit against the studio alleging child abuse over a controversial nude scene featuring Hussey and Whiting, who were 15 and 16 respectively at the time.
A judge dismissed the lawsuit later that year, saying there had been no persuasive argument as to the film being “sufficiently sexually suggestive as a matter of law to be held conclusively illegal”.
Romeo and Juliet was a box office hit at the time and received four Oscar nominations, winning two, for best cinematography and best costume design.
Hussey, who received a “new star of the year” Golden Globe for her performance, would later star in the 1974 slasher film Black Christmas and the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, among other projects.
She is survived by her husband, David Eisley, their three children and a grandchild.
With Agence France-Presse