Olivia Hussey Dead at 73: Remembering One of Cinema’s Greatest Ingénues and Final Girls

Hussey earned wide acclaim for her performances in Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" and the slasher film "Black Christmas."

Olivia Hussey, the world renowned actress of stage, screen, and even video games, widely recognized for her portrayal of Juliet in the 1968 adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet,” passed away peacefully at her home in Burbank, California on Friday, December 27 at the age of 73. News of her death was announced on the actress’ official social media channels.

Born Olivia Osuna in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 17, 1951, she was the daughter of Argentine tango singer Andrés Osuna, known by his stage name as Osvaldo Ribó. However, at the age of seven, she separated from her father and moved to London with her mother and younger brother, where she was accepted at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and began her career in performance. By 13, Hussey was already acting professionally on stage using her mother’s maiden name.

At 15, her career was accelerated upon Italian filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli seeing her in a production of “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” starring Vanessa Redgrave. Noting her natural beauty and beyond-her-years maturity, Zeffirelli cast her in his 1968 film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Hussey’s subsequent performance opposite Leonard Whiting would garner her international esteem, earning her a Golden Globe Award for Best New Actress and a David di Donatello Award from the Academia del Cinema Italiano.

Following this success, rather than remain blocked in by the romance genre, Hussey took on a variety of roles that showcased her versatility, portraying Jesus Christ’s mother Mary in the 1977 miniseries “Jesus of Nazareth” (1977) and appearing in mysteries like “Death on the Nile” (1978) and the Angela Lansbury TV series “Murder, She Wrote.” Her work in horror projects such as “Black Christmas” (1974), “Psycho IV: The Beginning” (1990), and Stephen King’s “It” (1990) also established her as one of cinema’s greatest “scream queens.”

In addition to her on-screen performances, Hussey also lent her voice to several characters in the “Star Wars” video game series, including “Star Wars: Rogue Squadron” (1998), “Star Wars: Force Commander” (2000), and “Star Wars: The Old Republic” (2011), as well as animated television shows like “Superman: The Animated Series” and “Batman Beyond.”

In 2008, Hussey was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. Unfortunately, after nearly a decade in remission, the cancer returned in 2017, leading to further treatment. Her memoir, “The Girl on the Balcony: Olivia Hussey Finds Life After Romeo and Juliet,” was published in 2018 and offers an intimate look into this experience, as well as her overall career.

Hussey is survived by her husband, singer, songwriter, and actor David Glen Eisley, as well as her three children, including “The Secret Live of the American Teenager” star India Eisley, and her grandson.