Romeo and Juliet actress dies aged 73

Actress Olivia Hussey, who shot to worldwide prominence as an adolescent for her position within the acclaimed 1968 movie model of Romeo and Juliet, has died aged 73.

The Argentine-born actress, who grew up in London, died on Friday surrounded by her family members, an announcement posted on her Instagram stated.

Hussey gained one of the best new actress Golden Globe for her half as Juliet, however a long time later she sued Paramount Footage for sexual abuse as she was aged simply 15 when she filmed the film’s nude scene.

Her different most notable display position was as Mary, mom of Jesus, in 1977 TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth.

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

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

She was 15 when Romeo and Juliet director Franco Zeffirelli found her onstage, taking part in reverse Vanessa Redgrave within the play The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

Zeffirelli was searching for somebody who was younger sufficient to be a convincing Juliet in what he supposed to be the definitive cinematic model of the Shakespeare play.

He forged Hussey alongside British 16-year-old Leonard Whiting as Romeo within the movie.

The movie was nominated for an Oscar for finest image and director. Hussey missed out on an Oscar nomination herself in a robust 12 months during which Barbra Streisand gained the primary award for Humorous Lady.

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

A long time later, she and Whiting sued Paramount Footage alleging Zeffirelli – who died in 2019 – had inspired them to movie nude scenes regardless of earlier assurances they’d not must.

The pair sought damages of greater than $500m (£417m), based mostly on struggling they stated they’d skilled and the income introduced in by the movie since its launch.

However final 12 months a choose dismissed the case, discovering the scene was not “sufficiently sexually suggestive”.

In 1977, Hussey had 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 based mostly on Agatha Christie’s novel.

Her roles in early slasher movie Black Christmas (1974) and TV movie Psycho IV: The Starting earned her recognition as a scream queen. Within the latter, she performed Norman Bates’s mom in a prequel storyline.

In later years she additionally took on work as a voice actress, showing steadily in video video games.

However she did have one last reunion along with her former Romeo – as she and Whiting appeared collectively within the 2015 British movie Social Suicide, which was loosely based mostly on Romeo and Juliet and set within the social media period.