Actress Olivia Hussey, best known for her role as Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 production of Romeo and Juliet, has died at the age of 73.

She died peacefully on Friday at her home in California surrounded by her loved ones, according to a post on her official Instagram account.

The message, posted alongside a sunset photo of Hussey in her youth, paid tribute to “a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom and pure kindness touched the lives of everyone who knew her.”

It continued: “Olivia lived a life full of passion, love and devotion to the arts, spirituality and kindness to animals.”

Her family called her a “truly special soul” and said while they mourn her “immense loss,” they would also “celebrate Olivia’s lasting impact on our lives and the industry.”

Hussey was born in Buenos Aires in 1951 to an Argentine father and an English mother. At the age of seven she returned to London with her mother and studied at the Italia Conti Academy drama school.

Hussey was discovered by Italian director Zeffirelli in a stage show of The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie alongside Vanessa Redgrave. With her portrayal of Julia, she became a star at the age of just 15 and won a Golden Globe.

16-year-old actor Leonard Whiting played her Romeo, after which the couple sued Paramount Pictures in 2022 for sexual abuse over the Oscar-nominated film’s nude scene.

The case was dismissed by a judge the following year.

Hussey worked with Zeffirelli again, playing the Virgin Mary in the 1977 TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth.

Appearances in horror films like Black Christmas and the Psycho prequel Psycho IV: The Beginning established Hussey as a scream queen over the years.

Other notable appearances included Hercule Poirot’s film Death on the Nile and the Mother Teresa biography Madre Teresa.

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Hussey was reunited with Whiting in the 2015 British film Social Suicide, which was loosely based on it Shakespeareis Romeo and Juliet.

Her daughter, actress India Eisley, played her on-screen daughter in the film.

According to IMDB, it was Hussey’s final film role.

Hussey is survived by three children, Alex, Max and India, her husband of 35 years, David Glen Eisley, and her grandson, Greyson.