
The Girl on the Balcony
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $17.16
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Carol Monda
About this listen
In 1968, Olivia Hussey became one of the most famous faces in the world, immortalized as the definitive Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo & Juliet. Now the iconic girl on the balcony shares the ups and downs of her truly remarkable life and career....
At only 16 years old, she was an internationally celebrated overnight discovery. The part was an opportunity of a lifetime for a simple girl from Buenos Aires, Argentina. But for Olivia, admired for her beauty and innocence and praised as a fresh and burgeoning young talent, the role of movie star was hard to play and, harder still, to live up to.
In this candid memoir, Olivia Hussey tells her story - from being an "It Girl" in swinging '60s London and her enduring friendship with Romeo & Juliet costar Leonard Whiting, through three tumultuous marriages - including one with Dean Martin's son, Dino - motherhood, stage-four breast cancer, debilitating agoraphobia, bankruptcy, and ultimately, a journey of self-discovery in India that led her on a path to fulfillment.
She brings listeners intimately close to the legendary performers she knew, loved, worked with, and battled, including The Beatles, Vanessa Redgrave, Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Anthony Perkins, Christopher Reeve, Lawrence Olivier, Ingrid Bergman, and more. Olivia also finally reveals for the first time, the identity of the actor - a fellow young newcomer - who raped her, but who would not break her.
Featuring a foreword by her star-making director Franco Zeffirelli, Olivia Hussey's memoir shines with her luminous spirit and perseverance as she reflects on her unique life and experiences - inspiring, surprising, and fascinating to hear.
©2018 Olivia Hussey and Alexander Martin (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
North of Normal
- A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My Unusual Family, and How I Survived Both
- By: Cea Sunrise Person
- Narrated by: Cea Sunrise Person
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the late 1960s, riding the crest of the counterculture movement, Cea's family left a comfortable existence in California to live off the land in the Canadian wilderness. But unlike most commune dwellers of the time, the Persons weren't trying to build a new society - they wanted to escape civilization altogether. Led by Cea's grandfather Dick, they lived a pot-smoking, free-loving, clothing-optional life under a canvas tipi without running water, electricity, or heat for the bitter winters.
-
-
Entertaining but Frustrating
- By Nikki on 09-01-21
-
Making It So
- A Memoir
- By: Patrick Stewart
- Narrated by: Patrick Stewart
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From his acclaimed stage triumphs to his legendary onscreen work in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises, Sir Patrick Stewart has captivated audiences around the world and across multiple generations with his indelible command of stage and screen. Now, he presents his long-awaited memoir, Making It So, a revealing portrait of an artist whose astonishing life—from his humble beginnings in Yorkshire, England, to the heights of Hollywood and worldwide acclaim—proves a story as exuberant, definitive, and enduring as the author himself.
-
-
Incredible! So much more than a memoir
- By Jason on 10-04-23
By: Patrick Stewart
-
More than I Imagined
- What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew
- By: John Blake
- Narrated by: John Blake
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Blake grew up in a Black neighborhood in inner-city Baltimore that became the setting for the HBO series The Wire. There he became a self-described “closeted biracial person,” hostile toward white people while hiding the truth of his mother’s race. The son of a Black man and a white woman who met when interracial marriage was still illegal, Blake knew this much about his mother: She vanished from his life not long after his birth, and her family rejected him because of his race. But at the age of seventeen, Blake had a surprise encounter that uncovered a disturbing family secret.
-
-
Should be required reading!
- By Karen Campbell on 05-15-23
By: John Blake
-
Lightning Sky
- By: R. C. George
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
October 6, 1944. Twenty-year-old Army Air Corps Second Lieutenant David "Mac" Warren MacArthur was on a strafing mission over Greece when a round of 88-mm German anti-aircraft flak turned his P-38 Lightning into a comet of fire and smoke. Dave parachuted to safety as the Lightning lived up to her name and struck the Adriatic Sea like a bolt of flames. In minutes, he was plucked from the water - only to find himself on the wrong end of a German rifle pointing straight at his head.
-
-
A True American Hero
- By David Kinne on 05-10-19
By: R. C. George
-
Elvis and Ginger
- Elvis Presley's Fiancée and Last Love Finally Tells Her Story
- By: Ginger Alden
- Narrated by: Ginger Alden
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elvis Presley and Graceland were fixtures in the life of Ginger Alden, having been born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. But she had no idea that she would play a part in that enduring legacy - as Elvis Presley’s fiancée, and his last great love. For over three decades Ginger has held the truth of their relationship close to her heart. Now she shares her unique story, and while a lot has been written about the King, the Elvis we meet in this long-anticipated memoir is a revelation.
-
-
Jealous of Linda and Priscilla
- By Gracey on 09-25-14
By: Ginger Alden
-
Escape from Mariupol
- A Survivor's True Story
- By: Adoriana Marik, Anne K. Howard
- Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In early 2022, life in the port city of Mariupol, Ukraine was safe and predictable for Adoriana Marik. The thirty-one-year-old tattoo artist loved walking her dog by the seaside and meeting friends at cafés and public gardens. But all that changed on February 24, 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his “special military operation.”
-
-
Valuable perspective
- By Maureen Frandsen on 10-01-23
By: Adoriana Marik, and others
-
North of Normal
- A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My Unusual Family, and How I Survived Both
- By: Cea Sunrise Person
- Narrated by: Cea Sunrise Person
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the late 1960s, riding the crest of the counterculture movement, Cea's family left a comfortable existence in California to live off the land in the Canadian wilderness. But unlike most commune dwellers of the time, the Persons weren't trying to build a new society - they wanted to escape civilization altogether. Led by Cea's grandfather Dick, they lived a pot-smoking, free-loving, clothing-optional life under a canvas tipi without running water, electricity, or heat for the bitter winters.
-
-
Entertaining but Frustrating
- By Nikki on 09-01-21
-
Making It So
- A Memoir
- By: Patrick Stewart
- Narrated by: Patrick Stewart
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From his acclaimed stage triumphs to his legendary onscreen work in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises, Sir Patrick Stewart has captivated audiences around the world and across multiple generations with his indelible command of stage and screen. Now, he presents his long-awaited memoir, Making It So, a revealing portrait of an artist whose astonishing life—from his humble beginnings in Yorkshire, England, to the heights of Hollywood and worldwide acclaim—proves a story as exuberant, definitive, and enduring as the author himself.
-
-
Incredible! So much more than a memoir
- By Jason on 10-04-23
By: Patrick Stewart
-
More than I Imagined
- What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew
- By: John Blake
- Narrated by: John Blake
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Blake grew up in a Black neighborhood in inner-city Baltimore that became the setting for the HBO series The Wire. There he became a self-described “closeted biracial person,” hostile toward white people while hiding the truth of his mother’s race. The son of a Black man and a white woman who met when interracial marriage was still illegal, Blake knew this much about his mother: She vanished from his life not long after his birth, and her family rejected him because of his race. But at the age of seventeen, Blake had a surprise encounter that uncovered a disturbing family secret.
-
-
Should be required reading!
- By Karen Campbell on 05-15-23
By: John Blake
-
Lightning Sky
- By: R. C. George
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
October 6, 1944. Twenty-year-old Army Air Corps Second Lieutenant David "Mac" Warren MacArthur was on a strafing mission over Greece when a round of 88-mm German anti-aircraft flak turned his P-38 Lightning into a comet of fire and smoke. Dave parachuted to safety as the Lightning lived up to her name and struck the Adriatic Sea like a bolt of flames. In minutes, he was plucked from the water - only to find himself on the wrong end of a German rifle pointing straight at his head.
-
-
A True American Hero
- By David Kinne on 05-10-19
By: R. C. George
-
Elvis and Ginger
- Elvis Presley's Fiancée and Last Love Finally Tells Her Story
- By: Ginger Alden
- Narrated by: Ginger Alden
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elvis Presley and Graceland were fixtures in the life of Ginger Alden, having been born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. But she had no idea that she would play a part in that enduring legacy - as Elvis Presley’s fiancée, and his last great love. For over three decades Ginger has held the truth of their relationship close to her heart. Now she shares her unique story, and while a lot has been written about the King, the Elvis we meet in this long-anticipated memoir is a revelation.
-
-
Jealous of Linda and Priscilla
- By Gracey on 09-25-14
By: Ginger Alden
-
Escape from Mariupol
- A Survivor's True Story
- By: Adoriana Marik, Anne K. Howard
- Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In early 2022, life in the port city of Mariupol, Ukraine was safe and predictable for Adoriana Marik. The thirty-one-year-old tattoo artist loved walking her dog by the seaside and meeting friends at cafés and public gardens. But all that changed on February 24, 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his “special military operation.”
-
-
Valuable perspective
- By Maureen Frandsen on 10-01-23
By: Adoriana Marik, and others
-
The Paris Apartment
- By: Kelly Bowen
- Narrated by: Polly Lee, Marisa Calin, Gemma Dawson, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London, 2017: When Aurelia Leclaire inherits an opulent Paris apartment, she is shocked to discover her grandmother’s hidden secrets - including a treasure trove of famous art and couture gowns. One obscure painting leads her to Gabriel Seymour, a highly respected art restorer with his own mysterious past. Together they attempt to uncover the truths concealed within the apartment’s walls.
-
-
Thank you for an Amazing story!
- By A.vega on 07-20-21
By: Kelly Bowen
-
Hidden Valley Road
- Inside the Mind of an American Family
- By: Robert Kolker
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream. After World War II, Don's work with the Air Force brought them to Colorado, where their 12 children perfectly spanned the baby boom: the oldest born in 1945, the youngest in 1965. In those years, there was an established script for a family like the Galvins—aspiration, hard work, upward mobility, domestic harmony. But behind the scenes was a different story: psychological breakdown, sudden shocking violence, hidden abuse. By the mid-1970s, six of the 10 Galvin boys, one after another, were diagnosed as schizophrenic.
-
-
A story you've never heard before
- By Kelley Cox on 04-19-20
By: Robert Kolker
-
Beyond the Wand
- The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard
- By: Tom Felton
- Narrated by: Tom Felton
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tom Felton’s adolescence was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame in beloved films like The Borrowers catapulted him into the limelight, but nothing could prepare him for what was to come after he landed the iconic role of the Draco Malfoy, the bleached blonde villain of the Harry Potter movies. For the next ten years, he was at the center of a huge pop culture phenomenon and yet, in between filming, he would go back to being a normal teenager trying to fit into a normal school. Speaking with great candor and his signature humor, Tom shares his experience.
-
-
So enjoyable
- By Lisa Suit on 10-22-22
By: Tom Felton
-
Live Long and…
- What I Learned Along the Way
- By: William Shatner, David Fisher
- Narrated by: William Shatner
- Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After mulling over the lessons he's learned, the places he's been, and all the miracles and strange occurrences he's witnessed, he arrived at one simple rule for living a long and good life: don't die. It's the only one-size-fits-all advice, William Shatner argues in Live Long and..: What I Learned Along the Way, because everyone has a unique life - but, to help us all out, he's more than willing to share stories from his unique life. With a combination of pithy humor and thoughtful vulnerability, Shatner lays out his journey from childhood to peak stardom.
-
-
Better with Age, The insights of a Courageous Human Being...
- By Jeffrey D Gawrys on 02-06-19
By: William Shatner, and others
-
Precious Few Clues
- The True Crime Investigation of Kansas City’s “Precious Doe” Murder
- By: Marla Bernard
- Narrated by: Lee Ann Howlett
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On an unseasonably warm April evening in 2001, the headless body of a tiny girl was found discarded in a makeshift dump site in the woods on the southeast side of Kansas City, Missouri.
-
-
Gone but Not Forgotten
- By Rebecca Hill on 07-28-23
By: Marla Bernard
-
What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us
- Who We Become After Tragedy and Trauma
- By: Mike Mariani
- Narrated by: Shawn K. Jain
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger,” the adage—adapted from Nietzsche’s famous maxim—goes. But how much truth is there to that ubiquitous, inexhaustible saying? Tracing the lives of six people who have experienced profoundly life-changing events, journalist Mike Mariani explores the nuances and largely uncharted territory of what happens after one’s life is severed into a before and after. If what doesn’t kill us does not necessarily make us stronger, he asks, what does it make us?
-
-
One of the best books I've listened to in years.
- By Stephen A. Fast on 09-19-22
By: Mike Mariani
-
Capote
- A Biography
- By: Gerald Clarke
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 25 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
First published in 1988 - just four years after Capote's death - Clarke paints a vivid behind-the-scenes picture of the author's life, based on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with the man himself and the people close to him. From the glittering heights of notoriety and parties with the rich and famous to his later struggles with addiction, Capote emerges as a richly multidimensional person - both brilliant and flawed.
-
-
the brightest stars can self destruct
- By Placeholder on 09-22-21
By: Gerald Clarke
-
The Speckled Beauty
- A Dog and His People
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All Over but the Shoutin', the warmhearted and hilarious story of how his life was transformed by his love for a poorly behaved, half-blind stray dog.
-
-
Finest Book on Audible, Bar None (imho)
- By Mary Burnight on 08-12-22
By: Rick Bragg
-
Yours Cruelly, Elvira
- Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark
- By: Cassandra Peterson
- Narrated by: Cassandra Peterson
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The woman behind the icon known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the undisputed Queen of Halloween, reveals her full story, filled with intimate bombshells - and told by the bombshell herself.
-
-
Chapter 14 cut off
- By Wildgreenthumb on 09-24-21
-
Anne of Green Gables
- By: Lucy Maud Montgomery, Abi Hynes – adaptation
- Narrated by: Sandra Oh, Catherine O'Hara, Victor Garber, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Directed by the skillful hand of Megan Follows (Directors Guild Award winner) and featuring the voices of Golden Globe® winner Sandra Oh, Emmy Award® Winner Catherine O’Hara, and Emmy Award® Winner Victor Garber, Anne Shirley’s (Emmy Award® winner Michela Luci) adventures come to life in a fresh adaptation of a timeless tale. Immerse yourself in the breathtaking beauty of Canada’s Prince Edward Island with the magic of an original score and immersive sound design.
-
-
sobbing, falling to my knees in Avonlea
- By forever hungry on 12-02-23
By: Lucy Maud Montgomery, and others
-
Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Thandiwe Newton
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
-
-
Perfect!!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-21-16
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
By Myself and Then Some
- By: Lauren Bacall
- Narrated by: Lauren Bacall
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The epitome of grace, independence, and wit, Lauren Bacall continues to astound generations with her audacious spirit and on-screen excellence. Together with Humphrey Bogart, she produced some of the most electric scenes in movie history, and their romance on and off screen made them Hollywood's most celebrated couple.
-
-
Wish it had been unabridged
- By Grace on 04-28-14
By: Lauren Bacall
What listeners say about The Girl on the Balcony
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lynn
- 04-09-21
fascinating!
I was a kid when I accompanied my parents to see the film Romeo & Juliet. My mother covered my eyes during the love scene. I've always wondered what became of Olivia Hussey. She has lived an extraordinary life.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- lotus
- 10-05-22
The girl on the balcony
How beautiful. I listened to it twice. The movie is still my favorite of all time. Thank you Olivia for sharing your life’s journey with us. You will always be the girl on the balcony just one with more experience now😀
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Bridget Councilman
- 12-07-22
Thank you Ms Hussey!
What an amazing woman and career. I appreciate and admire your strength and honesty. May you have much happiness.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dr Robert
- 02-21-22
This book is a work of art. My heartstrings were touched. I was moved by the straightforward candor of Olivia Hussey.
This book is a work of art. My heartstrings were touched. I was moved by the straightforward candor of Olivia Hussey. Sometimes I smiled broadly, and sometimes tears fell. What an incredible, brave and brilliant person. I saw the movie at age 18, the play itself at various ages, and I just happened to be in Verona at the age of 23. So yes, the heartstrings. This is a well written, revealing book. Enjoyable, meaningful, and sublime. Olivia Hussey is, for me, the only girl on the balcony.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- cinephile24
- 10-11-21
The Juliet I Grew Up With
This is the third time I have read this book. I was introduced to Shakespeare via Olivia Hussey as Juliet. I loved watching her in "Ivanhoe" and an episode of "Murder, She Wrote" and always wondered what happened to her when she was not on camera. This book answers that question. Her resilience is awe inspiring. Olivia Hussey is a marvel and Carol Monda does her perfect justice!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 12-06-20
courage and faith.
I believe she showed a courage and a deep faith to keep moving forward in life even through all the road blocks that fell before her. She proved that it does not matter who you are ,every day life gets in the way. It is how you reply to those road blocks, she did it with class even more so having to do it for the world to see. Thank you for your honesty...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Roo Loo
- 04-23-21
great listen
really liked this book, easy to follow and was interesting. loved the readers voice as well.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- LS
- 09-28-21
Bravo
I so enjoyed hearing her story I feel it good be
made into a movie!! She’s a romantic and did it her way!! Very interesting life!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- joni l.carollo
- 11-12-24
Sweet Sorrow ~
I could picture Olivia on every page! What a wonderful gift to hear the story of her life! I have loved Olivia since the day I first saw Romeo & Juliette, when I was 14 years old. I still listen to the soundtrack and can recite every line as they are spoken. Little did I know that growing up a Cali girl in the Valley, that she was so near to me! I would’ve fainted had I met her in a deli or walking down Ventura Boulevard! Thank you for this book Olivia! Thank you for sharing your life. To those of you who love the movie, this book will bring more joy than you can ever imagine! Xo
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Oh Livia! So Very Well Done! Excellent!
Magical lives make for magical storytelling. Such a beautiful book! A labor of love. I loved every minute of it! You will too!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful