Olivia Hussey
 |
This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2010) |
| Olivia Hussey | |
|---|---|
 Olivia Hussey, 2007 |
|
| Born | Olivia Osuna April 17, 1951 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Spouse | Dean Paul Martin (1971-1978) Akira Fuse (1980-1989) David Glen Eisley (1991-present) |
| Parents | Andrés Osuna (father) Joy Alma (mother) |
| Relatives | Andrew Osuna (brother) |
Olivia Hussey (born 17 April 1951) is an Argentinian actress who became famous for her role as Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's Academy Award-winning 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet. For this role she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actress as well as the David di Donatello for best actress. She is also well-known for her role as Mary, the mother of Jesus in the 1977 TV production of Jesus of Nazareth. She has starred in films such as Black Christmas (1974), Death on the Nile (1978), and Virus (1980).
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Hussey was born Olivia Osuna in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the daughter of Joy Alma (née Hussey), a British legal secretary, and Andrés Osuna (aka Osvaldo Ribó), an Argentine tango singer,[1] who divorced when Olivia was two. She was raised Catholic,[2] and when she was seven years old, Hussey, and her younger brother, went with their mother to live in London, where she attended the Italia Conti Academy drama school for five years. Her biggest fear in Romeo and Juliet (1968), according to an interview in 1969, was appearing topless.
[edit] Career
Assuming her mother's maiden name as her stage name, Hussey appeared on the London stage as Jenny in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, opposite Vanessa Redgrave. It was during the run of this play that Italian film director, Franco Zeffirelli, first spotted her because of her beauty and theatrical skill. Chosen out of 500 actresses, she appeared in her first starring role, as Juliet in Zeffirelli's 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet, opposite Leonard Whiting's Romeo. In 1969 she won the David di Donatello award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actress.
In her lifetime Hussey has appeared in over 42 films. She played the leading role of Jessica Bradford in the 1974 Canadian horror film, Black Christmas. The film became very influential as a forerunner of the Slasher film genre of horror films. She played Mary, the mother of Jesus in the 1977 TV production of Jesus of Nazareth (her second work for director Zeffirelli). In 1978 she played Rosalie Otterbourne in Death on the Nile with Peter Ustinov.
She also starred as "Marit" in the Japanese film Virus, and played "Rebecca of York" in the 1982 TV remake of Ivanhoe.
In 1990 Hussey played Norma Bates, the mother of Norman Bates in Psycho IV: The Beginning, a TV prequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. In 2003 Hussey played the lead in a film adaptation on the life of Mother Teresa, for which she was presented with a CAMIE award (for Character & Morality in Entertainment) on 12 May 2007 in Hollywood.
[edit] Voice work
She 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 Batman Beyond, as Talia Al Guhl. She also voiced the character Kasan Moor in the PC game, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.
[edit] Personal life
Hussey was married first to actor Dean Paul Martin in 1971. They had a son, Alexander Dean Martin (later an actor), in 1973, before divorcing in 1978. Dean Paul Martin died in 1987 when his National Guard F-4 Phantom fighter jet crashed in California's San Bernardino Mountains during a snowstorm.
In 1980, Hussey married Japanese musician Akira Fuse, and had one son, Max (born 1983). Divorced from Fuse in 1989, she married American musician David Glen Eisley in 1991. In October 1993, she gave birth to a daughter, India Eisley, now an actress.
She has suffered from agoraphobia.[3]
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Awards and nominations
- 2001: Nominated, "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Television Production" - Batman Beyond
- 1969: Won
- 1969: Won, "Most Promising Female Newcomer" - Romeo and Juliet
Laurel Awards
- 1970: Nominated, "Female New Face" - Romeo and Juliet
[edit] References
- ^ "Olivia Hussey Biography - Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800037133/bio. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
- ^ Japan Today - Newsmakers - Olivia Hussey realizes her dream to play Mother Teresa
- ^ Olivia Hussey - People Magazine – March 16, 1992
[edit] External links
- 1951 births
- Argentine film actors
- Argentine people of British descent
- Argentine people of English descent
- Argentine Roman Catholics
- British film actors
- British people of Argentine descent
- English Roman Catholics
- English film actors
- Latin American people of British descent
- Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
- Living people
- People from Buenos Aires
- Video game actors
- New Star of the Year (Actress) Golden Globe winners
