OAN Staff Abril Elfi
10:56 AM – Sunday, December 29, 2024
Olivia Hussey, known for her role in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet”, has died at 73-years-old.
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Her family announced her passing on Instagram, stating Hussey died “peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones” on Friday.
“Olivia was a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom, and pure kindness touched the lives of all who knew her,” the statement continued. “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.”
“We thank you for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time and ask for privacy as we mourn the loss of a truly special soul,” the post concluded.
Hussey was born on April 17th, 1951, in Bueno Aires, Argentina, and moved to London as a child where she grew up.
At the age of 15, Hussey became a movie star after playing Juliet in 1968’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
During an interview with Fox News Digital in 2018, Hussey spoke about the international attention the movie attracted.
“It was actually very overwhelming,” Hussey stated. “Even when we were shooting, we had reporters waiting for an interview during our lunch and tea breaks. And they came from all over the world.”
“I celebrated my 16th birthday during shooting… When the film was released, we traveled all over the world and I couldn’t really spend my teenage years like other teenagers… Everyone would come up to us for a photo, an autograph. But it was the experience of a lifetime really,” she continued.
The film went on to win two Oscars and Hussey won a Golden Globe for best new actress.
Before the movie was released, it began to draw criticism as both Hussey and her co-star Leonard Whiting who played Romeo appeared in a naked love scene at just 16-years-old. Hussey said at the time that she felt at ease on set.
“I think because it was done very tastefully,” she explained. “And in Europe, it was very different. In America, it was very taboo. But in Europe a lot of the films had nudity. Nobody really thought much of it. But it was just the fact that I was 16 that got a lot of publicity… The large crew we worked with was whittled down to only the very basic people, a handful of people. It was done later in the day when it wasn’t busy. It was a closed set…
However, decades later Hussey and Whiting brought a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures alleging sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud over nude scenes in the film, according to the Associated Press.
On the day of the filming, Zeffirelli allegedly informed the two that they would only wear body makeup and that the camera would be positioned so as not to reveal nudity, despite their original assurance that they would wear flesh-colored underwear in a bedroom scene. They claimed that they were unaware that they were being filmed in their undies.
In 2023, a court in Los Angeles County dismissed the complaint, ruling that the pair’s representation was not child pornographic and that their claim was brought too late.
Hussey also appeared as Mary, mother of Jesus, in the 1977 television series “Jesus of Nazareth,” and in the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile.”
Hussey is survived by her husband David Glen Eisley, her three children and a grandson.
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