Olivia Hussey (born Olivia Osuna; April 17, 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentine-English actress.
She is best known for her roles as Juliet in the 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet, Jess in the 1974 version of Black Christmas, Mary the mother of Jesus in Jesus of Nazareth, and Rebecca in the 1982 version of Ivanhoe, and also played Norma Bates in Psycho IV: The Beginning.
Actress India Eisley is her daughter. They appeared together in Headspace (2005) and Social Suicide (2015), with Hussey as her mother.
Filmography
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Live-Action Films
- The Battle Of The Villa Fiorita (1965) as Donna
- Cup Fever (1965) as Jinny
- Romeo And Juliet (1968) as Juliet
- All The Right Noises (1971) as Val
- H Bomb (1971) as Erica
- The Summertime Killer (1972) as Tania Scarlotti
- Lost Horizon (1973) as Maria
- Black Christmas (1974) as Jess Bradford
- Death on the Nile (1978) as Rosalie Otterbourne
- The Pirate (1978) as Leila
- The Cat and the Canary (1979) as Cicily Young
- Virus (1980) as Marit
- The Man With Bogarts Face (1980) as Elsa
- Turkey Shoot (1982) as Chris Walters
- Ivanhoe (1982) as Rebecca
- The Corsican Brothers (1985) as Annamarie de Guidice
- Distortions (1987) as Amy Marks
- The Jewellers Shop (1989) as Thérèse
- Undeclared War (1990) as Rebecca Eche
- Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) as Norma Bates
- Quest of the Delta Knights (1993) as The Mannerjay
- SAVE ME (1994) as Gail
- Ice Cream Man (1995) as Nurse Wharton
- Dead Mans Island (1996) as Rosie
- The Gardener (1998) as Mrs. Carter
- Shame Shame Shame (1998) as Therapist
- Bloody Proof (2000) as Laura
- Island Prey (2001) as Catherine Gaits
- Mother Teresa Of Calcutta (2003) as Mother Teresa
- Headspace (2005) as Dr. Karen Murphy
- Seven Days Of Grace (2006) as Jewel
- Tortilla Heaven (2007) as Petra
- Three Priests (2008) as Rachel
- I Am Somebody No Chance In Hell (2008) as Mrs. Duncan
- Social Suicide (2015) as Julia's Mother
Live-Action Series
- Drama 6167 (1964) as Mrs. Ken's daughter
- Jesus of Nazareth (1977) as Mary, mother of Jesus
- The Bastard (1978) as Alicia
- The Last Days Of Pompeii (1984) as Ione
- Murder, She Wrote (1984) as Kitty Trumbull
- It (1990) as Audra Phillips Denbrough
- Lonesome Dove The Series (1994) as Olivia Jessup
- Boy Meets World (1997) as Prudence Curtis
Voice Acting
- The Lord Protector (1996) as Voice of the Ancients
- Pinky and the Brain (1998) as Queen
- Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (1998) as Kasan Moor
- Superman: The Animated Series (1999) as Talia al Ghul
- Batman Beyond (2000) as Talia al Ghul
- Star Wars Force Commander (2000) as AT-AA Driver, Abridon Refugee 2
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011) as Yuon Par
Tropes associated with Olivia Hussey's roles:
- Casting Gag: In Social Suicide, a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet, she played Julia's (the Juliet character) mother. Her former co-star from the 1968 film, Leonard Whiting, played her husband, Julia's father (her daughter India Eisley played Julia-the modern Juliet-herself).
- Final Girl: The Trope Maker. She was the final girl in the first true Slasher Film, Black Christmas (1974), and the establisher of many of the associated tropes, particularly the look.
- Hollywood Hype Machine: The buzz surrounding her from Romeo and Juliet (1968) led to her being offered roles in Anne of the Thousand Days and True Grit but she turned them down due to teenage nerves, and took a couple of years off after Romeo & Juliet. She did however star in notable projects like Jesus of Nazareth, Death on the Nile, Mother Teresa of Calcutta and The Bastard - or else
Cult Classics like Black Christmas (1974) or It (1990). So while it's not the career it could have been, her filmography is still quite varied. - Ms. Fanservice: Hussey became famous as Juliet in 1968, briefly appearing topless, while some of her later roles had this too, well into her 50s.
- Named After Somebody Famous: She was named by her parents after Olivia de Havilland.
- Playing Against Type: One of her roles was the schizophrenic Norma Bates in Psycho IV.
- Production Posse: Franco Zeffirelli directed her in Romeo and Juliet (1968) and Jesus of Nazareth. He'd planned to direct her in another film but it never materialized.
- What Might Have Been:
- She was offered the Al Pacino's on-screen sister role in Scarface; however, production delays and her pregnancy prevented her from getting the part.
- She was offered the role of Alex in Fatal Attraction, but she turned it down after she read the screenplay and came across the rabbit in the boiling pot sequence.
- Was Francis Ford Coppola's initial choice for the role of Apollonia Vitelli Corleone in The Godfather.
- Was under consideration for the role of Tess McGill in Working Girl, but Melanie Griffith, who went on to be nominated for an Academy Award for her performance, was cast instead.
