Olivia Hussey was born Olivia Osuna on April 17 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her father was Argentine opera singer Andrés Osuna (who used the stage name Osvaldo Ribó). Her mother, Joy Hussey, was an English legal secretary. Her parents separated when she was only two years old. When she was seven years old she moved with her mother and brother to London. There she attended the Italia Conti Academy for five years. Shew as 13 years old when she began acting on stage, taking her mother's maiden name for her stage name.
Olivia Hussey made her television debut in an episode of Drama 64. She made her film debut in The Battle of the Villa Fiorita in 1965. That same year she appeared in Cup Fever (1965). In 1966 she played Jenny in a production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie on the West End. The play brought her to the attention of director Franco Zeffirelli, who cast her as Juliet in his film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet (1968). The film proved to be a huge success.
In the Seventies Olivia Hussey played Mary in the limited series Jesus of Nazareth. On television she also appeared in the mini-series The Bastard, as well as the TV movies The Pirate and The Thirteenth Day: The Story of Esther. She appeared in the movies All the Right Noises (1971), H-Bomb (1971), The Summertime Killer (1972), Lost Horizon (1973), Black Christmas (1974), Death on the Nile (1978), The Cat and the Canary (1978), Virus (1980), and The Man with Bogart's Face (1980).
In the Eighties Olivia Hussey guest starred on Murder, She Wrote and Hallmark Hall of Fame (the presentation The Corsican Brothers). She appeared in the TV movies Ivanhoe (1982) and Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990). She appeared in the mini-series The Last Days of Pompeii and It.She appeared in the movies Turkey Shoot (1982), Distortions (1987), The Jeweller's Shop (1989), and Undeclared War (1990).
In the Nineties Miss Hussey provided the voice of Talia al Ghul on the TV shows Superman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond. She was also a guest voice on Pinky and the Brain. She guest starred on Lonesome Dove: The Series and Boy Meets World. She appeared in the movies Quest of the Delta Knights (1993), Save Me (1994), Ice Cream Man (1995), Bad English I: Tales of a Son of a Brit (1995), The Gardener (1998), Shame, Shame, Shame (1998), and El grito (2000). She provided a voice for the movie The Lord Protector (1996).
In the Naughts Olivia Hussey played the title role in the TV movie Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She appeared in the movies Island Prey (2001), Headspace (2005), Seven Days of Grace (2007), Tortilla Heaven (2007), Three Priests (2008), and I am Somebody: No Chance in Hell (2008). Her final appearance was in the film Social Suicide in 2015.
Olivia Hussey provided voices for several Star Wars video games.
Olivia Hussey was a remarkable actress. For many she will remain the quintessential Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, a performance that was particularly impressive given her age. She would go onto give several other great performances. She was particularly impressive as Mary in Jesus of Nazareth, playing the role with a humility while at the same time seeming otherworldly. She also gave a great performance as Rosalie Otterbourne in Death on the Nile (1978), the sulky and secretive daughter of the flamboyant Salome Otterbourne (Angela Lansbury). She played Rebecca of York in the 1982 television adaptation of Ivanhoe well. That the "final girl" became a trope common to slasher films may be due in part to the strength of her performance as Jessica Bradford in Black Christmas (1974). Olivia Hussey was an incredible actress and one who left her mark with several iconic roles.
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