Olivia Hussey
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
On her less than stellar career after such a promising start, Olivia Hussey told The Daily Telegraph (March 4, 2002): "You have to understand that I grew up with the whole world watching. One moment, I was just a girl acting in a movie, and then I was internationally famous, touring the world and getting mobbed, giving endless interviews. By the time all the publicity work was done, I was exhausted. I couldn't wait to get out of the spotlight."So I went home and hibernated for more than a year. I was a recluse. I didn't go anywhere. I didn't do much of anything but sit at home."
"I was so impressed by the Martins. They had stacks of photos showing all their good times with friends, and you would look at the pictures and suddenly notice that Marilyn Monroe or some other incredible star was standing in the background. When we went to Las Vegas and saw my father-in-law perform, I couldn't believe that I was part of this new circle that seemed bigger than life. Everyone loved Dean Martin, and he seemed to be having such a wonderful time." --Hussey on her first marriage to Dean Paul Martin, quoted in The Daily Telegraph, March 4, 2002.
Biography
A slender, petite (5'2"), lissome player, more recently in character roles, who has appeared in international films, Olivia Hussey is still perhaps best remembered as one of the rare Juliets to play the role while actually a teenager in Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" (1968). The Buenos Aires-born, London-raised actress subsequently appeared on a regular if not prolific basis in a wide variety of international productions, ranging from enjoyable all-star affairs in which she was outshone by more flamboyant performers ("Death on the Nile" 1978; "The Cat and the Canary" 1979) to major flops ("Lost Horizon" 1973) to a number of fairly obscure credits of at best modest merit ("Distortions" 1987; the direct-to-video erotic thriller "Save Me" 1994). Hussey has also appeared, demure and attractive, on TV with some regularity in guest spots, TV-movies and miniseries; reunited with Zeffirelli, for instance, she brought the appropriate gentility to the role of the Virgin Mary in the miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1960
Enrolled in drama school at age nine
1965
Cast opposite Vanessa Redgrave for a two-year West London run in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie"
1965
Feature debut in the UK/US co-production, "The Battle of the Villa Fiorita"
1968
Launched to international stardom as Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet"
1973
Made musical debut in the American production "Lost Horizon"
1977
TV miniseries debut, played the Virgin Mary in Zeffirelli's "Jesus of Nazareth" (NBC)
1979
Had title role in "The Thirteenth Day: The Story of Esther" (ABC)
1980
Appeared in the Japanese feature, "Virus/Fukkatsu no hi"
1982
Portrayed the exotic Rebecca in "Ivanhoe" (CBS)
1985
Episodic TV debut, "Sing a Song of Murder", a guest spot on CBS' "Murder, She Wrote"
1988
Approved by the Vatican to appear in "The Jeweller's Shop/La Boutique de l'orfevre", adapted from the play penned by Karol Wojtyla--a.k.a. Pope John Paul II
1990
Played Mrs. Bates in "Psycho IV: The Beginning" (Showtime)
1994
Acted in the little-seen "Save Me"
1996
Appeared in the CBS movie "Dead Man's Island"
1998
Had featured role in the movie "The Gardener"
1999
Played a therapist in the direct-to-cable film "Shame, Shame, Shame" (The Movie Channel)
Videos
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
On her less than stellar career after such a promising start, Olivia Hussey told The Daily Telegraph (March 4, 2002): "You have to understand that I grew up with the whole world watching. One moment, I was just a girl acting in a movie, and then I was internationally famous, touring the world and getting mobbed, giving endless interviews. By the time all the publicity work was done, I was exhausted. I couldn't wait to get out of the spotlight."So I went home and hibernated for more than a year. I was a recluse. I didn't go anywhere. I didn't do much of anything but sit at home."
"I was so impressed by the Martins. They had stacks of photos showing all their good times with friends, and you would look at the pictures and suddenly notice that Marilyn Monroe or some other incredible star was standing in the background. When we went to Las Vegas and saw my father-in-law perform, I couldn't believe that I was part of this new circle that seemed bigger than life. Everyone loved Dean Martin, and he seemed to be having such a wonderful time." --Hussey on her first marriage to Dean Paul Martin, quoted in The Daily Telegraph, March 4, 2002.
