“Romeo and Juliet” star Olivia Hussey has died at the age of 73

Olivia Hussey, known for her role in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” has died. She was 73.

Hussey died “peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones” on Friday, according to a statement posted on her Instagram account.

“Olivia was a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom and pure kindness touched the lives of everyone who knew her,” the statement continued.

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“Romeo and Juliet” features a portrait of Olivia Hussey from 1968. (Screen Archives/Getty Images)

“Olivia lived a life filled with passion, love and devotion to the arts, spirituality and kindness to animals…As we mourn this immense loss, we also celebrate Olivia’s lasting 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 caption ended.

Hussey was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 17, 1951 and moved to London as a child.

Circa 1967: British actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting shake hands in “Romeo and Juliet.” (Larry Ellis/Express/Getty Images)

Hussey became a movie star at the age of 15 when she was cast as the most infamous doomed lover in 1968’s Romeo and Juliet. She landed the coveted role of Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s film, which became an international sensation.

She wrote a memoir, Girl on the Balcony, about the many ups and downs she experienced in Hollywood.

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“It was actually very overwhelming,” Hussey told Fox News Digital back in 2018. “Even during filming, there were reporters waiting for an interview during our lunch and tea breaks. And they came from all over the world.”

“I celebrated my 16th birthday while filming… When the movie came out we were traveling all over the world and I didn’t really get to spend my teenage years like other teenagers… Everyone came to us for a photo or an autograph. But it was truly the experience of a lifetime.”

“Romeo and Juliet” director Franco Zeffirelli (left), actors Olivia Hussey (center) and Leonard Whiting are seen in Paris after the film’s Paris premiere on September 25, 1968. (AP Photo/Eustache Cardenas)

The film made headlines even before its theatrical release. At the age of 16, Hussey stripped off her clothes for a love scene depicting her wedding night alongside her co-star Leonard Whiting (Romeo), who was also 16 when he took on the role.

Despite being visibly topless in the epic drama, Hussey said at the time that she felt comfortable on set.

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“I think because it was done very tastefully,” she explained. “And in Europe it was completely different. In America it was very taboo. But in Europe there was commercial nudity in a lot of films… The big crew we worked with was reduced to the very common people, a handful of people. This happened later in the day when there wasn’t much going on…

“Romeo and Juliet” won two Oscars and Hussey won a Golden Globe for best new actress for her role as Juliet.

Leonard Whiting plays Romeo Montague and Olivia Hussey plays Juliet Capulet in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. (bedman)

Decades later, Hussey and Whiting filed a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures alleging sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud related to nude scenes in the film, according to the Associated Press.

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They stated that they were originally told that they would be wearing flesh-colored underwear in a bedroom scene, but on the day of filming, Zeffirelli told the couple that they would only be wearing body makeup and that the camera would be positioned that way that she was not visible nudity. They claimed they were filmed naked without their knowledge.

The case was dismissed in 2023 by a Los Angeles County judge, who found that her depiction could not be considered child pornography and that the couple filed their lawsuit too late.

Hussey is survived by her husband of 35 years, David Glen Eisley, their three children and one grandson. (David Livingston/Getty Images)

She also played the role of 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 of 35 years, David Glen Eisley, their three children and one grandson.

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Stephanie Nolasco of Fox News Digital and the Associated Press contributed to this report.