Olivia Hussey, who became famous for her role in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet”, has died. He was 73 years old.
Hussey died on Friday, “peacefully at home surrounded by his loved ones,” said a statement posted on his Instagram account.
“Olivia was a wonderful person with warmth, wisdom, and pure kindness that touched the lives of all who knew her,” the statement continued.
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“Romeo and Juliet” features a 1968 photo of Olivia Hussey. (Screenshot Archives/Getty Images)
“Olivia lived a life full of passion, love, and dedication to the arts, spirituality, and kindness to animals… As we mourn this great loss, we also celebrate Olivia's lasting impact on our lives and industry.”
“We thank you for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time and ask for privacy as we mourn the loss of a special soul,” the post concluded.
Hussey was born on April 17, 1951, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and moved to London as a child.
In 1967: British actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting join hands in “Romeo and Juliet.” (Larry Ellis/Express/Getty Images)
Hussey became a movie star at the age of 15 when he was cast as the doomed lover in 1968's “Romeo and Juliet.” She played the coveted role of Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's film, which became world-famous.
She wrote a memoir titled “Girl on the Balcony” about the good and bad times she endured in Hollywood.
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“It was actually very difficult,” Hussey told Fox News Digital earlier in 2018. “Even when we were filming, we had journalists waiting for interviews during our lunch and tea breaks. And they came from all over the world.”
“I celebrated my 16th birthday when I was filming… When the film was released, we traveled all over the world and I couldn't really spend my teenage years like other teenagers… Everyone came to us to get a picture, an autograph. But it was an experience of a lifetime really all.”
“Romeo and Juliet” director Franco Zeffirelli, left, actors Olivia Hussey, center, and Leonard Whiting are seen after the film's Paris premiere in Paris on September 25, 1968. (AP Photo/Eustache Cardenas)
The film made headlines even before it was released in theaters. At the age of 16, Hussey stripped for a romantic scene on her wedding night with co-star Leonard Whiting. [Romeo]who was also 16 years old when he took on this role.
Despite looking blank in the famous performance, Hussey said at the time he felt comfortable on set.
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“I think it's done in a very sweet way,” he explained. “And in Europe, it was very different. In America, it was very forbidden. But in Europe most of the films were nudity. No one thought much about it. But it was just the fact that I was 16 years old and I got a lot of publicity… where it was closed.
“Romeo and Juliet” went on to win 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 a production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet directed by Franco Zeffirelli. (Bettman)
Decades later Hussey and Whiting filed a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures alleging sexual assault, sexual harassment and fraud over the film's nude scenes, according to the Associated Press.
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They alleged that they were initially told that they would wear flesh-colored underwear in the scene room, but on the day of the shoot, Zeffirelli told the pair that they would only wear body makeup and that the camera would be placed in such a way that it would not be seen. nudity. They suspect that they were photographed naked without knowing.
The case was dismissed by a Los Angeles County judge in 2023, who found that their exposure could not be considered child pornography and that the two filed their claim too late.
Hussey is survived by her husband of 35 years, David Glen Eisley, her three children and a grandchild. (David Livingston/Getty Images)
She also starred as Mary, the 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, her three children and a grandson.
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Stephanie Nolasco of Fox News Digital and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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