Romeo and Juliet actor Olivia Hussey dies at 73

The British-Argentine actor Olivia Hussey Eisley, known for her performances in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet and Black Christmas, breathed her last on Friday. She was 73.

Her death, caused by cancer, was confirmed by filmmaker Marc Huestis to the San Francisco Chronicle. It is noteworthy that the actor was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and endured a recurrence in 2018.

Born Olivia Osuna on April 17, 1951, to Argentine tango singer Andres Osuna and Joy Hussey, a Scottish-English legal secretary. Her parents separated when she was two, and Olivia took her mother's maiden name as her stage name when she took up acting. She made her film debut in 1965 with The Battle of the Villa Fiorita. She won several nominations with her 1968 film adaptation of Shakespeare's romantic-tragedy Romeo and Juliet. She has since appeared in a wide range of films, including All the Right Noises (1971), The Summertime Killer (1972), and Death on the Nile (1978). Hussey has also worked in television, with notable roles in series such as Laverne & Shirley and Jesus of Nazareth.

She made her last on-screen appearance in the 2015 film Social Suicide.

Throughout her career, Hussey has received numerous awards and nominations for her performances. She has been married three times, including to actors Dean Paul Martin, Japanese singer Akira Fuse, and American musician David Glen Eisley. Hussey has continued to work in the entertainment industry, with recent appearances in films and television shows. With Dean she had a son Alexander Gunther Martin; with Fuse she had a son Maximillian Hussey Fuse; and with David she had a daughter India Eisley, who is also an actor.