Golden Globe-winning actress Olivia Hussey, best known for playing Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 movie Romeo and Juliet, has passed away at the age of 73. Her family shared the sad news on Friday through her Instagram account.
“Olivia was a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom, and pure kindness touched the lives of all who knew her,” her family expressed in the heartfelt statement.
Born in Buenos Aires, Hussey was just 15 when she played Juliet alongside Leonard Whiting in the Oscar-winning adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragic love story.
In 2023, Hussey and Whiting made headlines when they filed a lawsuit against the movie studio over a controversial nude scene, alleging child abuse as they were both minors at the time. The case was dismissed by a judge later that year.
Reflecting on the scene in a 2018 interview with Variety, Hussey defended director Zeffirelli, saying it was filmed tastefully.
“Everyone assumes we were too young to understand, but we knew exactly what we were doing. We took our work very seriously,” Hussey said. Whiting also recalled their strong bond during that challenging time, sharing in 2023, “Olivia was nervous and scared, but we supported each other through it all.”
Hussey, born to an Argentine opera singer and a British legal secretary, moved to London with her family at age seven. She trained at the Italia Conti drama school and was already acting professionally when she was cast in Romeo and Juliet. Her stellar performance earned her a “New Star of the Year” Golden Globe.
Hussey’s career spanned decades, including roles in the 1974 horror classic Black Christmas and the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile.
She is survived by her husband, David Eisley, their three children, and a grandchild.
