Romeo and Juliet actress dies aged 73

Actress Olivia Hussey, who rose to worldwide prominence as a youngster along with her function within the acclaimed 1968 movie model of Romeo and Juliet, has died aged 73.

The actress of Argentinian origin, who grew up in London, died Friday surrounded by her family members, signifies a press launch revealed on her Instagram.

Hussey received the Golden Globe for Greatest New Actress for her function as Juliet, however a long time later she sued Paramount Photos for sexual abuse when she was simply 15 when she filmed the nude scene of the movie.

Her different most notable display function was that of Mary, mom of Jesus, within the 1977 tv miniseries Jesus of Nazareth.

“As we mourn this immense loss, we additionally have a good time Olivia’s lasting impression on our lives and on the business,” the assertion stated.

Hussey was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1951, earlier than transferring to London on the age of seven and finding out on the Italia Conti Academy drama college.

She was 15 when the director of Romeo and Juliet, Franco Zeffirelli, found her on stage, alongside Vanessa Redgrave within the play The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

Zeffirelli was searching for somebody younger sufficient to be a convincing Juliet in what he meant to be the definitive movie model of Shakespeare’s play.

He solid Hussey alongside 16-year-old Briton Leonard Whiting as Romeo within the movie.

The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Greatest Image and Greatest Director. Hussey herself missed out on an Oscar nomination throughout a powerful 12 months through which Barbra Streisand received the principle prize for Humorous Woman.

However at that 12 months’s Golden Globes, Hussey received the award for greatest new star.

Many years later, she and Whiting sued Paramount Photos, alleging that Zeffirelli – who died in 2019 – had encouraged them to film nude scenes regardless of earlier assurances, they might not have to take action.

The pair sought damages of greater than $500 million (£417 million), primarily based on the struggling they stated that they had suffered and the income generated by the movie since its launch.

However final 12 months, a the judge dismissed the casediscovering the scene not “sexually suggestive sufficient”.

In 1977, Hussey reunited with Zeffirelli for Jesus of Nazareth to play the Virgin Mary, earlier than showing in Loss of life on the Nile a 12 months later, primarily based on the Agatha Christie novel.

Her roles within the early slasher movies Black Christmas (1974) and the tv movie Psycho IV: The Starting earned her recognition as a scream queen. Within the latter, she performs Norman Bates’ mom in a prequel situation.

In later years, she additionally labored as a voice actress, often showing in video video games.

However she had one final reunion along with her previous Romeo – as she and Whiting appeared collectively within the 2015 British movie Social Suicide, loosely primarily based on Romeo and Juliet and set within the age of social media.