Beautiful 'Haya Harareet' from Oscar winning 'Ben-Hur' dies at 89

BEN-HUR from MGM (1959). It won 11 Academy Awards including best picture. Charlton Heston played the title role of "Juda Ben-Hur" who won the best actor Oscar. It was a remake of the 1925 silent movie that starred Ramon Navarro as Juda. 

Both films were huge box office for MGM. The 1959 version remained in movie theaters for a full year. The chariot race is the best action sequence ever filmed. 

It was said that actress Haya Harareet quit movies after the success of "Ben-Hur" (1959). She portrayed Esther who was Juda's love interest in the film. She made only one more American movie before going back to Europe. 

She would always be remembered for this epic Biblical story. She passed away at age 89. RIP....

(A scene from the movie. Haya Harareet as Esther).

(Another scene from the movie with Sam Jaffe, Haya and Stephen Boyd).