Olivia Hussey, star of 1968 film ’Romeo and Juliet,’ dies at 73

Olivia Hussey, famous for her role as Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet," dies at 73 surrounded by loved ones.

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, December 28, 2024. She was 73.

Hussey died on Friday (December 27, 2024), “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.

Decades later, Hussey and Whiting brought a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures alleging sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud over nude scenes in the film.

They alleged that they were initially told they would wear flesh-colored undergarments in a bedroom scene, but on the day of the shoot Zeffirelli told the pair they would wear only body makeup and that the camera would be positioned in a way that would not show nudity. They alleged they were filmed in the nude without their knowledge.

The case was dismissed by a Los Angeles County judge in 2023, who found their depiction could not be considered child pornography and the pair filed their claim too late.