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Olivia Hussey, who dazzled moviegoers as the female lead in Franco Zeffirelli‘s noteworthy 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, died Friday at her Los Angeles home of breast cancer. She was 73.

The Argentina-born actress died “surrounded by her loved ones,” according to an announcement on her official Instagram account. “Olivia was a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom, and pure kindness touched the lives of all who knew her,” the post reads.

She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008.

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Hussey was just 15 when she starred opposite British actor Leonard Whiting, 16, as Romeo in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Both were unknowns. The Paramount-distributed film, co-written by Zeffirelli, was nominated for the best picture Oscar and three other Academy Awards, and she received a David di Donatello prize and a Golden Globe for her efforts.

Hussey also...

Olivia Hussey Eisley, the British-Argentine actor who shot to fame as a teenager starring as Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” and went on to star in the slasher classic “Black Christmas” and the 1978 “Death on the Nile,” died Friday. She was 73.

Hussey’s death was confirmed to the San Francisco Chronicle by filmmaker Marc Huestis, who said she died of cancer, and announced on the actor’s Instagram. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and suffered a recurrence in 2018.

“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Olivia Hussey Eisley, who went peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones on December 27th,” reads the social media statement. “Olivia was a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom, and pure kindness touched the lives of all who knew her. … Olivia lived a life full of passion, love, and dedication to the arts,...