Olivia Hussey | |
|---|---|
| File:Olivia Hussey ca 1974 crop.jpg Hussey c. 1974 | |
| Born | Olivia Osuna 17 April 1951 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Spouse(s) | Dean Paul Martin (m. 1971–78) Akira Fuse (m. 1980–89) David Glen Eisley (m. 1991) |
| Children | 3, including India Eisley |
| Website | oliviahussey |
Olivia Hussey (née Osuna; 17 April 1951) is an English film, stage, and television actress. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a David di Donatello Award. The daughter of Argentine opera singer Andrés Osuna, Hussey was born in Buenos Aires but spent the majority of her early life in her mother's native England. She aspired to become an actress at a young age and studied drama for five years at London's Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.
Hussey began acting professionally as an adolescent and appeared in a 1966 London production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, opposite Vanessa Redgrave. This led to her being scouted for the role of Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Hussey received widespread acclaim and international recognition for her performance.
In 1974, she appeared as the lead character Jess Bradford in the cult slasher film Black Christmas. This role, along with her subsequent horror films, earned her the title of scream queen.[1][2][3] She reunited with Zeffirelli in the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977) as Mary and appeared in John Guillermin's Agatha Christie adaptation Death on the Nile (1978). She appeared in several international productions throughout the 1980s, including the Japanese production Virus (1980) and the Australian dystopian action film Turkey Shoot (1982). She appeared in two made-for-television horror productions: Psycho IV: The Beginning and Stephen King's It, both first screened in 1990.
In addition to screen acting, Hussey has worked as a voice actress, providing voice roles in multiple Star Wars video games, including Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Star Wars: Force Commander, and Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Early life[]
Hussey was born Olivia Osuna on 17 April 1951[4] in Buenos Aires, Argentina,[5] the first child of Argentine opera singer Andrés Osuna (who performed under the stage name Osvaldo Ribó), and Joy (née Hussey), a legal secretary originally from England.[6] Her parents were both Roman Catholics, and she was raised in that denomination.[7] "My mother was a devout Catholic," Hussey recalled. "I grew up with a mini-altar at home that she had, a candle was always alight on it. She always had a great love for God and she instilled that in me."[7] When Hussey was two years old, her parents separated.
Hussey was fascinated by acting from a young age, and as a child, would dress herself and pretend to be a nun.[8] At the age of seven, she moved with her mother and younger brother to London, where she spent the remainder of her early life.[6] There, Hussey's mother enrolled her in the Italia Conti Academy drama school, which she attended for five years.[9] At 13, she began acting professionally on the stage.[6]
Career[]
1968–1969: Career beginnings and Romeo and Juliet[]
Assuming her mother's maiden name as her stage name, Hussey appeared on the London stage in a West End production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, playing the role of Jenny opposite Vanessa Redgrave.[10] During the run of this play, Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli noticed her because "she was the only choice mature enough with experience and natural beauty to play Juliet while still looking 14."[11] At 15,[12] she was chosen out of 500 actresses to star as Juliet in Zeffirelli's film version of Romeo and Juliet (1968), opposite 17-year-old Leonard Whiting's Romeo.[13] Prior to her role in Romeo and Juliet, she had appeared in minor roles in two films: The Battle of the Villa Fiorita and Cup Fever (both 1965), and an episode of the television series Drama 61–67 (1964).[14] In 1969, she won a special David di Donatello Award and the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actress for her performance in Romeo and Juliet.[15]
After the success of Romeo and Juliet, Hollywood producer Hal B. Wallis offered her the title role in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) and to co-star with John Wayne in True Grit (1969).[16] In her 2018 memoir Hussey stated that she had "mumbled something about being interested in Anne of the Thousand Days" but added that she "couldn't see herself with Wayne". She claims that this "adolescent and opinionated" remark inevitably ended her professional relationship with Wallis and he immediately withdrew his offer from her. "It had taken me less than a minute to talk my way out of it" Hussey stated.[17]
1970–2000: Black Christmas and continued acting[]
Hussey in 1979
In 1971, she appeared in the British drama All the Right Noises, followed by the crime film The Summertime Killer (1972),[14] and the musical Lost Horizon (1973), opposite Liv Ullmann, John Gielgud, and Sally Kellerman.[18] In 1974, she played the leading role of Jess Bradford in the Canadian horror film, Black Christmas (1974), which became influential as a forerunner of the slasher film genre of horror films. She played Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the 1977 television production of Jesus of Nazareth (her second work for director Zeffirelli).[19] In 1978, she played Rosalie Otterbourne in Death on the Nile with Peter Ustinov,[5] and appeared in The Cat and the Canary (1979).[20] She also starred as Marit in the Japanese film Virus (1980),[21] and played Rebecca of York in the 1982 remake of Ivanhoe (1982); the same year, she had a lead role in the Australian horror film Turkey Shoot (1982).[22]
In 1987, Hussey appeared in a clip for the Michael Jackson video Liberian Girl, among others, who also included Steven Spielberg, John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Whoopi Goldberg, Lou Ferrigno, and Billy Dee Williams.[23] In 1990, Hussey appeared in two horror projects, playing Norma Bates, the mother of Norman Bates, in Psycho IV: The Beginning, a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960),[24][25] and in the miniseries It, an adaptation of the Stephen King novel.[26]
2000–present: Later films and voice work[]
Hussey at the 2008 Cinema City Film Festival
Hussey played the lead in Mother Teresa of Calcutta (2003), a biographical film about Mother Teresa, for which she was presented with a Character & Morality in Entertainment Award on 12 May 2007 in Hollywood.[5] She stated in an interview that it had been her dream and wish to portray the role of Mother Teresa of Calcutta since she finished her role as the Virgin Mary in Jesus of Nazareth.[27] Hussey and Leonard Whiting reunited as on-screen partners in the film Social Suicide (2015), the only film that they both appeared in since Romeo and Juliet (1968). Hussey's daughter, actress India Eisley, played their fictional daughter Julia Coulson, in the project.[28]
Hussey has also worked as a voice actress, and was nominated for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Television Production" at the Annie Awards for her work in the DC animated universe, as Talia, daughter of Ra's al Ghul. She voiced the character of Kasan Moor in the PC/Nintendo 64 game, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (1998)[29] and was also in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011) as Jedi Master Yuon Par.[30] She also lent her voice to Star Wars: Force Commander in 2000.
Personal life[]
Hussey quit acting for two years following the success of Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet, due to an ongoing struggle with agoraphobia.[6] As teenagers, she and Whiting dated for a brief period following the production of the film and have remained friends since, reportedly speaking "at least once every ten days."[31]
In 1971, she married actor Dean Paul Martin, the son of singer Dean Martin, on the day of her twentieth birthday. They had a son, Alexander Gunther Martin (who became an actor), in 1973, before divorcing in 1978.[32] Dean Paul Martin died in 1987, when his National Guard F-4 Phantom jet fighter crashed in California's San Bernardino Mountains during a snowstorm.[33]
In 1980, Hussey married Japanese singer Akira Fuse, in two ceremonies: one at home in Los Angeles, and a second, an Indian wedding, in Miami. She gave birth to their son Max in 1983 and divorced Fuse in 1989. In 1991, she married the American rock musician David Glen Eisley, a son of actor Anthony Eisley. In October 1993, she gave birth to their daughter, India Eisley, also an actress.
Hussey was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008.[34] Rather than pursuing chemotherapy or radiation, she underwent a double mastectomy to treat the cancer.[34] After being in remission for nearly a decade, Hussey learned in 2018 that the breast cancer had returned when a small tumor was discovered growing between her heart and lungs.[34] She opted to use radiation and chemotherapy to treat the tumor, stating: "I'd refused chemotherapy and radiation treatment 10 years ago, wanting to avoid those poisons, but last year I had no choice and they saved my life. The tumour shrank, I'm hoping to the size of a pea, and I'm doing well now. I'm healthy and happy."[34]
Hussey's memoir, The Girl on the Balcony: Olivia Hussey Finds Life After Romeo and Juliet, was released on 31 July 2018.[35]
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | The Battle of the Villa Fiorita | Donna | |
| 1965 | Cup Fever | Jinny | |
| 1968 | Romeo and Juliet | Juliet | |
| 1971 | All the Right Noises | Val | |
| 1971 | H-Bomb | Erica | |
| 1972 | The Summertime Killer | Tania Scarlotti | |
| 1973 | Lost Horizon | Maria | |
| 1974 | Black Christmas | Jess Bradford | |
| 1978 | Death on the Nile | Rosalie Otterbourne | |
| 1979 | The Cat and the Canary | Cicily Young | |
| 1980 | Virus | Marit | |
| 1980 | The Man with Bogart's Face | Elsa | |
| 1982 | Turkey Shoot | Chris Walters | |
| 1987 | Distortions | Amy Marks | |
| 1989 | The Jeweller's Shop | Thérèse | |
| 1990 | Undeclared War | Rebecca Eche | |
| 1993 | Quest of the Delta Knights | The Mannerjay | |
| 1994 | Save Me | Gail | |
| 1995 | Ice Cream Man | Nurse Wharton | |
| 1995 | Bad English I: Tales of a Son of a Brit | ||
| 1996 | The Lord Protector: The Dark Mist | Voice of the Ancients (Voice) | |
| 1998 | The Gardener | Mrs. Carter | |
| 1998 | Shame, Shame, Shame | Therapist | |
| 2000 | Bloody Proof | Laura | |
| 2001 | Island Prey | Catherine Gaits | |
| 2003 | Mother Teresa | Mother Teresa | |
| 2005 | Headspace | Dr. Karen Murphy | |
| 2006 | Seven Days of Grace | Jewel | |
| 2007 | Tortilla Heaven | Petra | |
| 2008 | Three Priests | Rachel | |
| 2008 | I Am Somebody: No Chance in Hell | Mrs. Duncan | |
| 2015 | Social Suicide | Julia's Mother |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Drama 61-67 | Mrs. Ken's daughter | Episode: "Studio '64 – The Crunch" |
| 1977 | Jesus of Nazareth | Mary, mother of Jesus | Miniseries |
| 1978 | The Bastard | Alicia | Miniseries |
| 1978 | The Pirate | Leila | Television film |
| 1979 | The Thirteenth Day: The Story of Esther | Esther | Television film |
| 1982 | Ivanhoe | Rebecca | Television film |
| 1984 | The Last Days of Pompeii | Ione | Miniseries |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote | Kitty Trumbull | Episode: "Sing a Song of Murder" |
| 1985 | The Corsican Brothers | Annamarie de Guidice | Television film |
| 1990 | Psycho IV: The Beginning | Norma Bates | Television film |
| 1990 | It | Audra Phillips Denbrough | Miniseries |
| 1994 | Lonesome Dove: The Series | Olivia Jessup | 3 episodes |
| 1996 | Dead Man's Island | Rosie, the housemaid | Television film |
| 1997 | Boy Meets World | Prudence Curtis | Episode: "A Long Walk To Pittsburgh (Part 2)" |
| 1998 | Pinky and the Brain | Queen (Voice) | 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Superman: The Animated Series | Talia (Voice) | Episode: "The Demon Reborn" |
| 2000 | Batman Beyond | "Talia" (Voice) | Episode: "Out of the Past" |
| 2003 | Mother Teresa of Calcutta | Mother Teresa | Television film |
Video games[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Star Wars: Rogue Squadron | Kasan Moor |
| 2000 | Star Wars: Force Commander | AT-AA Driver, Abridon Refugee 2 |
| 2011 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | Jedi Master Yuon Par |
Stage credits[]
| Year | Title | Role | Location | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie | Jenny | Wyndham's Theatre | [36] |
Awards and nominations[]
| Award/association | Category | Year | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALMA Awards | Outstanding Performance of a Lead Latino/a Cast in a Motion Picture (shared with the cast) | 2008 | Tortilla Heaven | Nominated | |
| Annie Awards | Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Television Production | 2001 | Batman Beyond | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe Awards | Most Promising Newcomer – Female | 1969 | Romeo and Juliet | Won | |
| David di Donatello Awards | Best Actress | 1969 | Won | ||
| Laurel Awards | Female New Face | 1970 | Nominated |
References[]
- ↑ "10 Iconic Scream Queens (& Their Highest Rated Movie on Rotten Tomatoes)". 25 December 2020.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Pin on Horror Nerd".
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "The 25 Most Badass Horror Movie Heroines". Complex. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Famous birthdays for April 17–Jennifer Garner, Olivia Hussey". United Press International. 17 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Staff (4 March 2002). "Part of me thinks I am Juliet". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Podolsky, J. D. (16 March 1992). "Forever Juliet – For Olivia Hussey, Life After Romeo and Juliet Brought Sweetness and Sorrow". People. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 7.0 7.1 Conte, Mario (23 January 2004). "God & I: Olivia Hussey". St. Anthony Messenger. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Nicholson, Amy (1 August 2018). "Olivia Hussey, star of Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet: 'I was wild'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Olivia Hussey—Romeo and Juliet Interview—01/10/08". grouchoreviews.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Redgrave 1991, p. 128.
- ↑ "Franco Zeffirelli Interview (1983)". The Seventh Art.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Daileader 2001, p. 188.
- ↑ Rapf, Maurice (6 September 1968). "Generation Gap in Verona". Life: 10. https://books.google.com/books?id=jT8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Olivia Hussey". British Film Institute (BFI). Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Olivia Hussey". Golden Globes. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Groucho. "Groucho Reviews: Interview: Olivia Hussey—Romeo and Juliet". Groucho Reviews. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Hussey 2018.
- ↑ "Lost Horizon Found". Film Brain. 19 May 2006. Archived from the original on 25 May 2006. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Boyle, Donna-Marie Cooper (9 June 2014). "An Iconic Screen Presence". Catholic World Report. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Mayo 2013, p. 397.
- ↑ Sussex Publishers, LLC (February 1990). "Go East, Old Actors". Spy: 38. https://books.google.com/books?id=f6LV5WJ5YIEC&q=olivia+hussey+star+wars&pg=PA38.
- ↑ "A Film that Makes Viewers Dream of Escape". Philadelphia Daily News (Newspapers.com): p. 44. 6 September 1983. https://www.newspapers.com/image/185934056/?terms=%22ESCAPE+2000%22.
- ↑ Donovan, Frank (24 February 2015). "The 50 Most WTF Celebrity Cameos in Music Video History". MTV. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Hinman, Catherine (15 July 1990). "Whirlwind Affair: 'Psycho Iv' Wraps Up". Orlando Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Mayo 2013, p. 288.
- ↑ Mayo 2013, p. 435.
- ↑ Cooper Boyle, Donna-Marie. "An Iconic Screen Presence". thecatholicworldreport.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Ford, Rebecca (29 September 2014). "Romeo and Juliet Stars Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey Reuniting for 'Social Suicide'". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/romeo-juliet-stars-leonard-whiting-735240.
- ↑ Factor 5. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. (Electronic Arts, LucasArts). (3 December 1998)
- ↑ BioWare. Star Wars: The Old Republic. (Electronic Arts, LucasArts). Scene: closing credits, 11:07 in, English Cast. (20 December 2011)
- ↑ Nolasco, Stephanie. "Olivia Hussey recalls controversial 'Romeo and Juliet' role at 16, reveals personal tragedies". Fox News. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Dean Martin's Son is dead in Jet". The New York Times. 27 March 1987. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/27/us/dean-martin-s-son-is-dead-in-jet.html.
- ↑ Arias, Ron (13 April 1987). "Actor, Athlete and Dashing Pilot, Dean Paul Martin Dies When His Jet Crashes on a Mountainside". People. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20096059,00.html.
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 Sheridan, Peter (15 August 2018). "Shakespearean tragedies of a Hollywood teen star". Daily Express. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Romeo and Juliet's Olivia Hussey Reveals She Was Raped in the Charles Manson Murder Home". People. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Shulman, Milton (6 May 1966). "What a teacher!–and what a performance from Miss Redgrave!". London Evening Standard. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89661502/evening-standard/.
Sources[]
- Daileader, Celia R. (8 October 2001). "Nude Shakespeare in film and nineties popular feminism". Shakespeare and Sexuality. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-80475-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=Shc68o2OXGkC&q=978-0-521-80475-2.
- Hussey, Olivia (2018). The Girl on the Balcony. London: Kensington Books. ISBN 978-1-496-71707-8.
- Mayo, Mike (2013). The Horror Show Guide: The Ultimate Frightfest of Movies (2 ed.). Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1-578-59420-7.
- Redgrave, Vanessa (1991). Vanessa Redgrave: An Autobiography. New York City, New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-40216-9. https://archive.org/details/vanessaredgravea00redg.
External links[]
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- Official website
- Olivia Hussey at the Internet Movie Database
- Olivia Hussey at AllMovie
- Olivia Hussey at the British Film Institute
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