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Olivia Hussey, star of 1968 film ‘Romeo and Juliet’, dies at 73 | Films

Olivia Hussey, star of 1968 film ‘Romeo and Juliet’, dies at 73 | Films

Olivia Hussey, who starred as a teenage Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet” and won her a Golden Globe, died peacefully at her home on Friday at the age of 73, her family announced.

“Olivia was a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom and pure kindness touched the lives of everyone who knew her,” her family said in a statement posted to her Instagram account. “Olivia lived a life full of passion, love and devotion to the arts, spirituality and kindness to animals.

“As we mourn this immense loss, we also celebrate Olivia’s enduring impact on our lives and the industry.”

Buenos Aires-born Hussey was 15 when she and co-star Leonard Whiting starred in the Oscar-winning adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy.

In 2023, the two actors filed a child abuse lawsuit against the studio over a controversial nude scene involving Hussey and Whiting, who were 15 and 16, respectively, at the time.

Olivia Hussey attends the 2008 Camie Awards in Beverly Hills, California. Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images

A judge dismissed the lawsuit later that year, saying there had been no convincing argument that the film was “sexually suggestive enough as a matter of law to be declared conclusively illegal.”

Romeo and Juliet was a box office hit at the time and received four Oscar nominations, including two for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design.

Hussey, who won a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year for her performance, later starred in the 1974 slasher film Black Christmas and the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, among others .

She is survived by her husband David Eisley, her three children and one grandchild.

With Agence France Presse

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