Olivia Hussey-Easley, the British-Argentine actress who rose to fame as a teenager playing Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” and then starred in the 1978 cult classic “Black Christmas” and “Death on Earth.” Nile died on Friday. She was 73 years old.
Hussey’s death was confirmed to the San Francisco Chronicle by director Mark Huestis, who said she died of cancer and made the announcement on the actor’s Instagram account. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and it recurred in 2018.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of Olivia Hosie-Easley, who went peacefully home surrounded by her loved ones on December 27,” the social media statement read. “Olivia was an amazing person whose warmth, wisdom and pure kindness touched the lives of everyone who knew her. …Olivia lived a life filled with passion, love, dedication to the arts, spirituality and kindness to animals.
After making her debut in the West End production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, starring opposite Vanessa Redgrave, Hussey was chosen to lead Italian director Zeffirelli’s film adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. She was only 15 years old when she was cast and 16 during filming. The film, in which Hussey starred opposite Leonard Whiting as star-crossed lovers, launched its two teenage stars onto the world stage. The film was a major success due to its casting of actors closer to the characters’ real ages, a rarity at the time, and despite brief glimpses of nudity, it received a G rating. Each was nominated at the 1969 Golden Globe Awards in their respective categories for Newcomer Promising Newcomers, while Zeffirelli’s film itself received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Director.
She said in 2018 diverse That Zeffirelli tastefully filmed the nude scenes and “it was necessary for the film”, Hussey and Whiting sued Paramount in 2022 for allegedly sexually exploiting them and distributing nude photos. “This was not something she ever agreed to do. ‘I only did it because I felt like I couldn’t say no,'” she said at the time of filing the lawsuit. The suit was dismissed in 2023, partly for statute of limitations reasons. They filed a lawsuit again earlier this year, but that case was also dismissed in October, with a judge finding they had consented to the scenes.
After leading roles in All the Right Noises and The Summertime Killer, Hussey was tapped to lead Bob Clark’s 1974 horror film Black Christmas, now widely viewed as the predecessor of the horror film genre. Hussey starred as Jessica, a sorority sister whose house is inhabited by an unidentified deranged killer. Hussey also appeared in the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, with Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot.
Other notable credits include Norma Bates, mother of Norman Bates, in the flashback-filled “Psycho IV: The Beginning,” and Mary in the miniseries “Jesus of Nazareth,” which reunited her with Zeffirelli.
Hussey has also worked as a voice actor in video games such as “Star Wars: Rogue Squadron” and “Star Wars: The Old Republic.”
Hussey is survived by her husband, David Glenn Isley; Her children Alex, Max and India. and her grandson, Grayson.