The English actress of Argentine origin Olivia Hussey, female protagonist in the 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by Franco Zeffirelli, died this Friday at the age of 73, as can be read this Saturday on his Instagram profile.
The actress, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, died “at home surrounded by her loved ones,” according to an announcement on her official social media account that does not specify the place of her death.
“Olivia was a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom and pure kindness touched the lives of all who knew her,” the post reads. Hussey was just 15 years old when he starred alongside 16-year-old British actor Leonard Whiting, Romeo and Juliet of Shakespeare, remembers the magazine The Hollywood Reporter. The film, co-written by Zeffirelli, won two Oscars, for best photography and best costume design, and a Golden Globe, which Hussey won as a breakout star.
In 2023, both actors denounced the Paramount company, responsible for the film, for sexual exploitation, fraud and for distributing images of naked minors due to a sequence included in the final cut. Hussey and Whiting assured the Santa Monica Superior Court in California that Zeffirelli encouraged them to do that sequence, despite having guaranteed them that they would not have to take off their clothes, for which they claimed $500 million (480 million euros) in damages from the studio. The original lawsuit was dismissed in May 2023, due to the statute of limitations of the crime. The actors filed a new lawsuit in February 2024, arguing that the film’s re-release in the Criterion Collection in 2023, with a digital restoration, triggered a new statute of limitations. But the judge again dismissed their requests in October 2024.
The actress also worked with the Italian filmmaker in the role of Maria in the 1977 epic international miniseries Jesus of Nazarethand returned to play a religious character as the protagonist in Mother Teresa of Calcutta (2003).
He also had memorable roles in the classic horror film black christmas (1974), a cult Canadian film directed by Bob Clark, and was the moody Rosalie Otterbourne, the daughter of Angela Lansbury’s character in Death on the Nile (1978), adaptation of Agatha Christie directed by John Guillermin. In addition, she played Norman Bates’ mother in one of the sequels to the saga of Psychosis, appeared in the miniseries It (1990) and in series such as A crime has been written o The last days of Pompeii, and thanks to his voice he worked in animated series and video games in the Star Wars universe.
Olivia Osuna was born on April 17, 1951 in Buenos Aires. His father was an Argentine opera singer who used the stage name Osvaldo Ribó, and his mother, Joy, was an English-born secretary. When she was 7, her mother took her and her younger brother to London, and she attended the Italia Conti Academy drama school for five years. He first performed in theater when he was 13, taking his mother’s maiden name, Hussey, as his stage name.
“Olivia leaves behind a loving family: her children Alex, Max and India, her husband of 35 years David Glen Eisley, her grandson Greyson and a legacy of love that will always be treasured in our hearts,” the statement said on Instagram. “As we mourn 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 very difficult time and ask for privacy as we mourn the loss of a truly special soul.”