Olivia Hussey, the legendary actress who enchanted viewers as Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet, passed away on Friday at 73. Her family shared the news in a touching Instagram statement, describing her as a “remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom, and pure kindness impacted the lives of everyone who knew her.” Hussey, who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was only 15 years old when she acted alongside Leonard Whiting in the Oscar-winning version of William Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy. Her performance garnered her a Golden Globe for “New Star of the Year” and solidified her position in cinematic history. In addition to her iconic role in Romeo and Juliet, Hussey developed a varied career in both film and television. She was a lead actress in the 1974 slasher movie Black Christmas and the 1978 version of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, along with other significant works. In 2023, Hussey and Whiting initiated a lawsuit against the studio responsible for Romeo and Juliet, claiming child abuse related to a contentious nude scene that included underage actors. Although a judge dismissed the lawsuit later that year, Hussey stood by the scene in a 2018 interview with Variety, stating, “People believe they were so young that they likely didn’t understand what they were doing.” However, we were quite aware. We both graduated from drama schools and approached our work with great seriousness. In 2023, Whiting looked back on the experience, remembering how they supported each other during filming: “Olivia was quite nervous and scared, but we had a strong bond and helped each other throughout the process.”