Olivia Hussey, known for her iconic cast Romeo and Juliet, died age 73
Olivia Hussey, known for her iconic on-screen portrayals of Mary and Mother Teresa, died Dec. 27 at age 73 at her California home, according to a statement released by her family the following day.
Friend and filmmaker Marc Huestis confirmed Hussey’s death to the San Francisco Chronicle, with Hussey’s publicist later confirming breast cancer as the cause. Hussey had been diagnosed with the disease in 2008, and had been in remission until 2018.
Born Olivia Osuna in Buenos Aires, Hussey was the daughter of Argentine opera singer Andrés Osuna and his wife, Joy Hussey, whose parents were Scottish expatriates. After Andrés Osuna left his family, Olivia Hussey moved at a young age to London with her mother and brother, and began studying drama at age 13.
While performing onstage professionally, Hussey caught the eye of director Franco Zeffirelli, who cast her at age 15 in his film adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”– a role that rocketed her to international fame.
Over a decade later, Zeffirelli cast her as Mary in his critically acclaimed 1977 television miniseries “Jesus of Nazareth.” Hussey, who was 27 at the time, recounted in a 2016 interview with St. Anthony Messenger that the part was exceptionally demanding, as she had to spend eight months away from her young son Alexander during filming in Morocco and Tunisia.
Over the years, Olivia Hussey appeared in many action, thriller and horror films, including 1995’s direct-to-video horror comedy Ice Cream Man, starring Clint Howard. She also provided her lovely voice to a handful of Star Wars-related video games, including Rogue Squadron, Force Commander and The Old Republic. Her last film was 2015’s Social Suicide, in which she was reunited with her Romeo, Leonard Whiting.
She e passed away on December 27, two days after Christmas.
