Olivia Hussey, Star of 'Black Christmas,' Dead at 73

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Olivia Hussey, star of Romeo and Juliet, Black Christmas, and Death on the Nile, has died at 73. Hussey's family announced her death on social media; their statement says that Hussey was "a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom, and pure kindness touched the lives of all who knew her," and that she "lived a life full of passion, love, and dedication to the arts, spirituality, and kindness towards animals."

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 17, 1951, Hussey grew up in England, and wanted to act from a young age. At fifteen, she starred with Vanessa Redgrave on the West End stage in a production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; she was noticed by Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, who was looking to film William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with actors closer to the age of their characters than traditional productions. Chosen from 500 actors auditioning for the role, she was cast alongside Leonard Whiting's Romeo in the film. It was an enormous commercial and critical success, and rocketed Hussey to stardom; however, it also attracted controversy for a nude scene between Hussey and Whiting. Hussey initially defended Zeffirelli's choices, but in recent years she and Whiting sued Paramount Pictures for sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, and fraud; the suit was ultimately dismissed.

What Is 'Black Christmas'?

After appearing as part of the all-star musical flop Lost Horizon in 1973, Hussey took on another role that would become nearly as iconic as her Juliet. In 1974, she traveled to Canada to star in Bob Clark's Black Christmas as Jess Bradford, a college student plagued by obscene phone calls from a deranged killer. The Christmas-set horror film became a huge success, and would prove extremely influential on the nascent slasher genre. She would go on to appear in several other projects in the horror genre, including the prequel Psycho IV: The Beginning as Norma Bates, the Clint Howard slasher Ice Cream Man, and the 1990 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's It. Conversely, Hussey, who was raised Roman Catholic, also played a number of iconic religious roles, including Mary in the 1977 miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (which was directed by Zeffirelli) and Mother Teresa in Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Other notable Hussey films include the star-studded 1978 Agatha Christie adaptation Death on the Nile, with Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot; Virus, a post-apocalyptic film that was at the time the most expensive Japanese film ever produced; Turkey Shoot, a dystopian Australian actioner that has become a cult classic; and Social Suicide, a Romeo and Juliet-inspired thriller that reunited her with Whiting and would prove to be her final on-screen role. She also worked as a voice actor, playing the villainous Talia al Ghul in Superman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond.

Hussey is survived by her husband, musician David Glen Eisley; three children, including actor India Eisley; and one grandson. Our condolences go out to them.

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