Olivia Hussey, ‘Romeo & Juliet’ star, dies aged 73

Olivia Hussey, who rose to fame as a teenager in the 1968 adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Julietis dead, according to one statement posted on her Instagram account. She was 73.

Hussey died on Friday, December 27 “peacefully at his home surrounded by his loved ones,” the statement read.

“Olivia was a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom and pure kindness touched the lives of all who knew her,” her family continued, later describing her life as one “full of passion, love and dedication to art, spirituality and kindness to animal.”

Olivia Hussey (left) and Leonard Whiting (right) in ‘Romeo & Juliet’.

Courtesy Everett Collection


Hussey is survived by his children, Alex, Max and India; her husband, musician David Glen Eisley and her grandson, Greyson.

“As we mourn this tremendous loss, we also celebrate Olivia’s lasting impact on our lives and the industry,” her family’s statement concluded. “We thank you for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time and ask for privacy as we mourn the loss of a truly special soul.”

Hussey was born on 17 April 1951 in Buenos Aires and moved to London as a child. She began acting at 13 and had minor roles in films before being cast in director Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet.

When the film first hit theaters in 1968, it became a box office sensation and was noted for being the first time a film featured actors close to Shakespeare’s doomed lovers. Hussey was 16 and her colleague, Leonard Whiting, was 17.

“So much happened so fast,” Hussey told PEOPLE in July 2018 while promoting her memoir The girl on the balcony. “It was a superstar and I wasn’t prepared for it.”

Olivia Hussey in 2008.

John M. Heller/Getty


After Romeo and JulietHussey went on to star on stage and screen. In 1977, she played Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the television miniseries All Stars Jesus of Nazareth. Hussey also starred in the 1974 horror film Black Christmas and the 1990 miniseries based on Stephen King’s The. She also appeared in an episode of Boy Meets World and played Norman Bates’ mother Psycho IV: The Beginning.

She retired from acting in 2016 after appearing in her last film in the 2015s Social suicide.

Hussey was married to Dean Paul Martin, the late son of Dean Martin, from 1971 to 1979. She was married to Japanese singer Akira Fuse in the 1980s before marrying Eisley in 1991.

In 2008, Hussey was diagnosed with breast cancer. It went into remission after she had a mastectomy, but Hussey said Express in 2018, doctors found a new tumor.

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“I regret not stretching myself more as an actress and taking on meatier roles,” she shared Express. “But I took time off to live my life and raise three children. At the time it was more important than working on my career. Overall, I’ve played a few roles I’m proud of and I’m very happy in my life.”

India Eisley, who starred in The Secret Life of the American Teenagertold PEOPLE in 2018 that her mother is “wonderful and quaint” but “very resilient and strong.”

“She instilled in myself and my brothers … to have a good sense of self,” said India, 31, “Because you can’t really base everything, especially in this business … on what everybody thinks of you.”