'Romeo and Juliet', 'Jesus of Nazareth' actress Olivia Hussey dies aged 73

Actress Olivia Hussey, remembered for her roles as Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" and Mary, mother of Jesus in "Jesus of Nazareth" has died, aged 73.Hussey shot to international prominence as a teenager for her role in the acclaimed 1968 film version o

By: independent.com.mt

Dec 28 2024
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'Romeo and Juliet', 'Jesus of

Actress Olivia Hussey, remembered for her roles as Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" and Mary, mother of Jesus in "Jesus of Nazareth" has died, aged 73.

Hussey shot to international prominence as a teenager for her role in the acclaimed 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet.

The actress, who grew up in London, died on Friday surrounded by her loved ones, a statement posted on her Instagram said.

Hussey won the best new actress Golden Globe for her part as Juliet, but decades later she sued Paramount Pictures for sexual abuse as she was aged just 15 when she filmed the movie's nude scene.

Her other most notable screen role was as Mary, mother of Jesus, in 1977 TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth.

Hussey was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1951, before moving to London aged seven.

She was 15 when Romeo and Juliet director Franco Zeffirelli discovered her as he was looking for someone to play the role of Juliet.

He cast Hussey alongside British 16-year-old Leonard Whiting as Romeo in the film.

The film was nominated for an Oscar for best picture and director. Hussey missed out on an Oscar nomination herself in a strong year in which Barbra Streisand won the main award for Funny Girl.

But at that year's Golden Globes, Hussey won the award for best new star.

Decades later, she and Whiting sued Paramount Pictures alleging Zeffirelli - who died in 2019 - had encouraged them to film nude scenes despite previous assurances they would not have to.

The pair sought damages of more than $500m (£417m), based on suffering they said they had experienced and the revenue brought in by the film since its release.

But last year a judge dismissed the case, finding the scene was not "sufficiently sexually suggestive".

In 1977, Hussey had reunited with Zeffirelli for Jesus of Nazareth to play the Virgin Mary, before appearing in Death on the Nile a year later based on Agatha Christie's novel.