Olivia Hussey, who played a teenage Juliet in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” has died, her family announced on social media Saturday. She was 73.
Hussey died on Friday, “peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones,” according to a statement posted on her Instagram account.
Hussey was 15 when director Franco Zeffirelli cast her in his adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy after seeing her perform in the play “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” which also starred Vanessa Redgrave.
“Romeo and Juliet” won two Oscars, and Hussey received a Golden Globe for best new actress for her performance as Juliet opposite British actor Leonard Whiting, who was 16 at the time.
Hussey and Whiting sued Paramount Pictures decades later, alleging sexual abuse, harassment, and fraud in connection with the film’s nude scenes.
They claimed that they were initially told they would wear flesh-colored underwear in a bedroom scene, but on the day of the shoot, Zeffirelli informed them that they would only wear body makeup and that the camera would be positioned in a way that would not reveal nudity.
They claimed they were filmed naked without their knowledge.
A Los Angeles County judge dismissed the case in 2023, determining that their depiction could not be considered child pornography and that the pair filed their claim too late.
Whiting was among those who paid tribute to Hussey on Saturday. “Rest now, my beautiful Juliet; no injustice can hurt you now. And the world will always remember your inner and outer beauty,” he wrote.
Hussey was born on April 17, 1951, in Bueno Aires, Argentina, and spent his childhood in London. She attended the Italia Conti Academy drama school.
She also played Mary, Jesus’ mother, in the 1977 television series “Jesus of Nazareth,” as well as the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile” and the horror films “Black Christmas” and “Psycho IV: The Beginning.”
She is survived by her husband, David Glen Eisley, three children, and one grandson.
