Romeo and Juliet actress dies aged 73
Actress Olivia Hussey, who rose to international prominence with her performance in the critically acclaimed 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet, has died aged 73.
The Argentinian-born actress, who grew up in London, died Friday surrounded by her loved ones, a statement she posted on Instagram said.
Hussey won a Golden Globe for Best New Actress as Juliet, but decades later she sued Paramount Pictures for sexual abuse when she was just 15 when the film’s nude scenes were filmed.
Her other best-known screen role was as Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the 1977 television miniseries Jesus of Nazareth.
“As we mourn this tremendous loss, we also celebrate Olivia’s lasting impact on our lives and our industry,” the statement said.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1951, Hersey moved to London at the age of seven to study at the Conti Academy drama school in Italy.
She was just 15 when “Romeo and Juliet” director Franco Zeffirelli spotted her on stage opposite Vanessa in the stage production of “The Prime of Miss Jane Brody.” · Starring opposite Vanessa Redgrave.
Zeffirelli was looking for someone young enough to play the convincing Juliet in his planned film adaptation of Shakespeare’s play.
He cast Hussey and British 16-year-old Leonard Whiting as Romeo in the film.
The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Picture and Director. Hersey herself missed out on an Oscar nomination after a strong year that saw Barbra Streisand win a major award for “Funny Girls.”
But at the Golden Globe Awards that year, Hussey won the Best New Star Award.
Decades later, she and Whiting sued Paramount Pictures over Zeffirelli, who died in 2019 Encourage them to film nude scenes Despite previous assurances that they wouldn’t have to.
The pair are seeking more than $500m (£417m) in damages based on the pain they say they have experienced and the revenue the film has brought in since its release.
But last year The judge dismissed the casefound the scene “not sufficiently sexually suggestive.”
In 1977, Hersey reunited with Zeffirelli as the Virgin Mary in “Jesus of Nazareth” and a year later appeared in “Death on the Nile,” based on the Agatha Christie novel.
Her roles in the early horror film “Black Christmas” (1974) and the TV movie “The Beginning” earned her the title of scream queen. In the latter’s prequel storyline, she played Norman Bates’ mother.
In later years, she also worked as a voice actress, appearing frequently in video games.
But she did reunite with ex Romeo one last time – she and Whiting appeared together in the 2015 British film Social Suicide, which was loosely based on Romeo and Juliet and was set in the age of social media.
