LONDON (AP) — Olivia Hussey, the actor who starred as a teenage Juliet within the 1968 movie “Romeo and Juliet,” has died, her household mentioned on social media Saturday. She was 73.
Hussey died on Friday, “peacefully at residence surrounded by her family members,” an announcement posted to her Instagram account mentioned.
Hussey was 15 when director Franco Zeffirelli forged her in his adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy after recognizing her onstage within the play “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” which additionally starred Vanessa Redgrave.
“Romeo and Juliet” gained two Oscars and Hussey gained a Golden Globe for greatest new actress for her half as Juliet, reverse British actor Leonard Whiting, who was 16 on the time.
Many years later Hussey and Whiting introduced a lawsuit towards Paramount Photos alleging sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud over nude scenes within the movie.
They alleged that they have been initially instructed they might put on flesh-colored undergarments in a bed room scene, however on the day of the shoot Zeffirelli instructed the pair they might put on solely physique make-up and that the digicam can be positioned in a means that might not present nudity. They alleged they have been filmed within the nude with out their information.
The case was dismissed by a Los Angeles County choose in 2023, who discovered their depiction couldn’t be thought of baby pornography and the pair filed their declare too late.
Hussey was born on April 17, 1951, in Bueno Aires, Argentina, and moved to London as a baby.
She additionally starred as Mary, mom of Jesus, within the 1977 tv sequence “Jesus of Nazareth,” and within the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Loss of life on the Nile.”
She is survived by her husband, David Glen Eisley, her three youngsters and a grandson.
