olivia hussey was 16 when she portrayed juliet capulet in zefferelli's 'romeo and juliet'. her's remains the best screen performance in this role in the best film version of this role. when the oscar noms rolled around for 1968 ms hussey was left off the ballot. how the hell could this have happened? watch this performance. as juliet she goes from a girl on the brink of adolescence to woman without a glitch. her development throughout the film is extraordinary. a more mature actress could not have, has not, pulled this off. and it was her first film to boot. losing the nomination in lieu of joanne woodward and patricia neal that year was one of the academy's biggest blunders and snubs.ms hussey would not have won. katharine hepburn would have still won. but if ms hepburn had to win in a tie it should have been with olivia hussey and not barbra streisand.
this has been bothering me for years. well now i at least got it off my chest.
