When people ask who plays Juliet in Romeo and Juliet 1968, they aren't just looking for a name on an IMDb credit. They’re looking for the face that defined Shakespeare for an entire generation. That face belongs to Olivia Hussey. She was only 15 years old when filming began. Think about that for a second. While most kids that age were worrying about algebra or school dances, Hussey was in Italy, filming one of the most iconic pieces of cinema ever made under the direction of Franco Zeffirelli.
It was a massive gamble.
Before this version, Hollywood had a weird habit of casting actors in their 30s to play these "star-crossed" teenagers. Leslie Howard was 43 when he played Romeo in the 1936 version. It felt stiff. It felt like theater, not life. Zeffirelli changed the game by casting actual teenagers. He chose Olivia Hussey out of 500 hopefuls, pairing her with 17-year-old Leonard Whiting. The chemistry wasn’t just good; it was combustible.
Why Olivia Hussey Changed the Role Forever
Honestly, Hussey’s casting was a bit of a fluke. Zeffirelli initially rejected her because he thought she was too "heavy" for the role. She went away, cut her hair, lost a bit of baby weight, and came back. This time, he saw the spark. He saw the "light through yonder window" he’d been searching for.
Hussey brought a raw, almost feral vulnerability to Juliet. She wasn't just a girl in a dress reciting iambic pentameter. She was a kid in love who was terrified of her parents. You can see it in the way she breathes during the balcony scene. It’s frantic. It’s real. That’s why, decades later, when students in English class watch this movie, they don't laugh as much as they do at other versions. They see someone who looks like them.
The 1968 film won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design, but it was Hussey’s performance that anchored the aesthetic. She had these incredibly long, dark tresses and eyes that seemed to take up half her face. She became the "standard" Juliet. For better or worse, every actress who has stepped into those slippers since—from Claire Danes to Hailee Steinfeld—has had to deal with the shadow of 1968.
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The Controversy You Probably Didn’t Know About
It wasn't all roses and standing ovations. Because Hussey was a minor during filming, the "bedroom scene" caused a massive stir. It’s actually kind of wild to think about now, but at the time, Hussey wasn't even allowed to attend the London premiere of her own movie. Why? Because the film was rated for adults due to the brief nudity in that scene, and she was technically too young to watch it legally in a British cinema.
She sat across the street while the VIPs watched her become a star.
Decades later, in 2022, this became a legal flashpoint. Hussey and Whiting filed a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures, alleging sexual exploitation and the distribution of non-consensual sexual images of minors. They claimed Zeffirelli had promised them they’d wear flesh-colored undergarments but then pushed for the nude scene on the day of filming. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed by a judge in 2023, citing that the film didn't meet the legal threshold for "child pornography" and noting the long delay in filing, but the conversation it sparked about actor safety and consent on set changed how many people view the film today.
Beyond the Capulets: Life After 1968
People often wonder what happened to the girl who played Juliet after the credits rolled. Olivia Hussey didn't just disappear. She went on to have a pretty fascinating, if somewhat eclectic, career.
She reunited with Zeffirelli years later to play the Virgin Mary in the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth. Talk about a range. Going from the ultimate tragic lover to the most famous mother in history is a hell of a career arc. She also starred in the 1974 horror classic Black Christmas, which basically invented the "slasher" genre. If you've ever seen the "the call is coming from inside the house" trope, you're watching Olivia Hussey deal with a killer.
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Later on, she played the lead in the TV movie version of Stephen King’s IT. She played Audra, Bill Denbrough’s wife. She also voiced characters in various Star Wars video games. She’s had a long, working-actor career, but she has always been very open about the fact that Juliet was a role that both blessed and haunted her. It’s hard to top being the most famous teenager in the world before you’re old enough to drive.
The Technical Brilliance of the 1968 Performance
If you look at the technical aspects of her performance, Hussey did something very specific with her voice. She has a natural British-Argentine background, and she worked to keep her tone high and youthful. In previous film iterations, actresses tended to use a "stage voice"—very deep, very projected. Hussey whispered. She cried. She sounded like she was actually talking to herself in a garden.
The costumes by Danilo Donati also helped. Those heavy velvets and high waists were designed to make her look small and trapped within the stone walls of the Capulet estate. When you watch the film, pay attention to the colors. Juliet is often in reds and whites, symbolizing the passion and the "purity" (or innocence) that is being crushed by the family feud.
Comparing the 1968 Juliet to Other Versions
- Norma Shearer (1936): Shearer was 34. She was great, but it felt like a grand opera. It lacked the "teen angst" we expect now.
- Claire Danes (1996): Baz Luhrmann’s version was neon-soaked and frantic. Danes was incredible, but she played Juliet with a modern, gritty edge. Hussey’s Juliet felt more like a classical painting come to life.
- Hailee Steinfeld (2013): This version tried to capture the 1968 magic but felt a bit more sanitized.
Hussey occupies this middle ground where she is both classical and accessible. She didn't need to speak "modern" English to make you feel like she was a 1960s runaway.
What to Do if You’re a Fan of the Film
If you’ve recently re-watched the movie or are discovering it for the first time, there are a few things you should actually do to get the full experience of Olivia Hussey's work.
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First, track down her memoir, The Girl on the Balcony: Olivia Hussey Finds Life After Romeo and Juliet. It’s a very honest look at her struggles with agoraphobia, her high-profile relationships (including her marriage to Dean Paul Martin), and what it was really like on that set in Italy. It peels back the "glamour" and shows the work.
Second, watch Black Christmas. It is jarring to see "Juliet" in a gritty 70s horror flick, but it shows her range as an actress who could handle more than just romantic tragedy.
Finally, check out the 1968 soundtrack by Nino Rota. The theme song, "What Is a Youth," is inseparable from Hussey’s performance. Hearing those strings immediately brings back the image of her at the feast, meeting Romeo for the first time.
The question of who plays Juliet in Romeo and Juliet 1968 is easy to answer—it's Olivia Hussey. But understanding why she still matters requires looking at her as a pioneer for young actors and a survivor of a Hollywood era that didn't always have the best interests of its stars at heart. She remains the definitive Juliet because she wasn't acting at being a teenager; she was one.
Practical Steps for Film History Buffs
- Watch the 4K Restoration: If you’ve only seen the grainy DVD version, find the recent Criterion Collection restoration. The colors of the Italian landscape and the detail in Hussey’s costumes are night and day compared to older transfers.
- Read the Screenplay: Compare the 1968 script to the original Shakespearean text. Zeffirelli cut a lot of the fluff to focus on the movement and the looks between the actors.
- Check Out the "Romeo," Leonard Whiting: He and Hussey remained close friends throughout their lives. Looking at his career provides a parallel perspective on the "Zeffirelli curse" of being typecast after such a massive hit.