Olivia Hussey, star of the 1968 film 'Romeo and Juliet,' dies at 73
Olivia Hussey, the actor who starred as a teenage Juliet in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” has died, her family said on social media
By SYLVIA HUI
Published - Dec 28, 2024, 10:50 AM ET
Last Updated - Dec 28, 2024, 10:50 AM EST
LONDON (AP) — Olivia Hussey, the actor who starred as a teenage Juliet in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” has died, her family said on social media Saturday. She was 73.
Hussey died on Friday, “peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones,” a statement posted to her Instagram account said.
Hussey was 15 when director Franco Zeffirelli cast her in his adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy after spotting her onstage in the play “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," which also starred Vanessa Redgrave.
“Romeo and Juliet” won two Oscars and Hussey won a Golden Globe for best new actress for her part as Juliet, opposite British actor Leonard Whiting, who was 16 at the time.
