“Romeo and Juliette” film director Franco Zeffirelli (from left), actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting are seen after the Parisian premiere of the movie in Paris on Sept. 25, 1968.
Eustache Cardenas/AP
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Eustache Cardenas/AP
LONDON — Olivia Hussey, the actor who starred as a teenage Juliet within the 1968 movie “Romeo and Juliet,” has died, her household stated on social media Saturday. She was 73.
Hussey died on Friday, “peacefully at dwelling surrounded by her family members,” an announcement posted to her Instagram account stated.
Hussey was 15 when director Franco Zeffirelli solid 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 brought 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 advised they might put on flesh-colored undergarments in a bed room scene, however on the day of the shoot Zeffirelli advised the pair they might put on solely physique make-up and that the digicam can be positioned in a manner that might not present nudity. They alleged they have been filmed within the nude with out their data.
The case was dismissed by a Los Angeles County choose in 2023, who discovered their depiction couldn’t be thought-about baby pornography and the pair filed their declare too late.
Whiting was amongst these paying tribute to Hussey on Saturday. “Relaxation now my stunning Juliet no injustices can damage you now. And the world will bear in mind your magnificence in and out ceaselessly,” he wrote.
Hussey was born on April 17, 1951, in Bueno Aires, Argentina, and moved to London as a baby. She studied on the Italia Conti Academy drama college.
She additionally starred as Mary, the mom of Jesus, within the 1977 tv collection “Jesus of Nazareth,” in addition to the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Dying on the Nile” and horror films “Black Christmas” and “Psycho IV: The Starting.”
She is survived by her husband, David Glen Eisley, her three kids and a grandson.
