A message on Olivia Hussey’s Instagram account announced her death. She was 73.
Hussey died on Friday, December 27, “peacefully at her home, surrounded by her loved ones,” according to the statement.
“Olivia was a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom, and pure kindness touched the lives of all who knew her,” her family said, later defining her life as “full of passion, love, and dedication to the arts, spirituality, and kindness toward animals.”
Hussey leaves behind her three children, Alex, Max, and India; her husband, the musician David Glen Eisley; and her grandson, Greyson.
“While we mourn this enormous loss, we also celebrate Olivia’s enduring impact on our lives and the industry,” her family’s statement said. “We thank you for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time and ask for privacy as we mourn the loss of a truly special soul.”
Hussey was born on April 17, 1951, in Buenos Aires and relocated to London as a kid. At the age of 13, Hussey started her acting career, playing small roles in films until director Franco Zeffirelli cast her in Romeo and Juliet.
Released in 1968, the film became a box office phenomenon, renowned for featuring performers close to the ages of Shakespeare’s doomed lovers. Hussey was sixteen, and her co-star, Leonard Whiting, was seventeen.
“So much happened so fast,” Hussey told PEOPLE in July 2018 while promoting her novel, The Girl on the Balcony. “It was overnight superstardom, and I wasn’t prepared for it.”
Hussey continued to act on stage and in films after Romeo and Juliet. In 1977, she portrayed Mary, Jesus’ mother, in the all-star TV drama Jesus of Nazareth. Hussey has also been in the 1974 horror picture Black Christmas and the 1990 miniseries based on Stephen King’s It. She also appeared in an episode of Boy Meets World and as Norman Bates’ mother in Psycho IV: The Beginning.
She retired from acting in 2016, following her final film role in 2015’s Social Suicide.
Hussey married Dean Paul Martin, Dean Martin’s late son, from 1971 to 1979. She previously married Japanese musician Akira Fuse in the 1980s before marrying Eisley in 1991.
Hussey had a breast cancer diagnosis in 2008. It went into remission when she underwent a mastectomy, but Hussey told Express in 2018 that doctors discovered a new tumor.
“I regret not stretching myself more as an actress and taking on meatier roles,” she expressed to the Express. “However, I took time off to live my life and have three children. At the moment, raising my children took precedence over advancing my career. Overall, I’ve had a few jobs that I’m pleased with, and I’m extremely content with my life.”
India Eisley, who appeared in The Secret Life of the American Teenager, told PEOPLE in 2018 that her mother is “wonderful and quaint,” but also “very resilient and strong.”
“She instilled in myself and my brothers… having a good sense of self,” India, 31, told the newspaper. You can’t rely solely on the opinions of others, particularly in this industry.