Julie Christie showed off her youthful beauty and chic style earlier this month, as she was spotted out in London with her husband Duncan Campbell.

The Oscar-winning actress, 84, looked as glamorous as ever in her first public sighting since 2016, as she linked arms with her journalist partner, 80.

Julie put on a trendy display in navy blue cargo pants, teamed with a denim shirt, a black handbag and a pair of white sandals.

The Doctor Zhivago star accessorised her trendy look with a red scarf and tortoiseshell sunglasses, pulling a trolley behind her as she stopped by the dry cleaners.

Looking far younger than her years, Julie’s blonde hair was styled in a chic bob, while Duncan complemented her in a denim shirt of his own, with dark jeans and matching Converse.

Julie Christie showed off her youthful beauty and chic style earlier this month, as she was spotted out in London with her husband Duncan Campbell

The Oscar-winning actress, 84, looked as glamorous as ever in her first public sighting since 2016, as she linked arms with her journalist partner, 80

Julie put on a trendy display in navy blue cargo pants, teamed with a denim shirt, a black handbag and a pair of white sandals

The couple have been together for over four decades, having lived together since 1979, thought the date they tied the knot is unknown.

Despite her legendary acting career, Julie has always preferred to keep her life private, and been keen to avoid the spotlight.

She has admitted to disliking the fame that comes with her success, once describing being in the limelight as ‘like always having chewing gum stuck in your hair’. 

But her name has been revived in the public consciousness in recent weeks, following the tragic death of Hollywood legend and her former co-star Donald Sutherland.

The veteran Canadian actor’s death from a long illness at the age of 88 was announced by his movie star son Kiefer Sutherland last month.

And in the wake of his passing as the world has reflected on his iconic career, debate has begun anew surrounding one of the most controversial movie sex scenes of all time, between Donald and Julie.

The pair starred together in 1973 thriller Don’t Look Now, which saw them engage in a very steamy a near-five minutes romp – so intense that many assumed its stars weren’t acting.

In the years since, the film has faced much speculation about whether the erotic scene was immaculately choregraphed to look hyper realistic, or whether the actors had actually had an on-screen tryst in real life. 

The Doctor Zhivago star accessorised her trendy look with a red scarf and tortoiseshell sunglasses, pulling a trolley behind her as she stopped by the dry cleaners

Looking far younger than her years, Julie’s blonde hair was styled in a chic bob, while Duncan complemented her in a denim shirt of his own, with dark jeans and matching Converse

The couple have been together for over four decades, having lived together since 1979, thought the date they tied the knot is unknown

Despite her legendary acting career, Julie has always preferred to keep her life private, and been keen to avoid the spotlight

She has admitted to disliking the fame that comes with her success, once describing being in the limelight as ‘like always having chewing gum stuck in your hair’

In initial promotion for the film, directed by Nicolas Roeg, it was billed as ‘one of the frankest love scenes ever to be filmed’ and became hugely controversial.

It caused issues for censors both in Britain, where it received an X-rating, and in America, where it was rated R, with the scene in question being entirely removed by the BBC when it first aired on British television.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) at the time said it went beyond what it would normally pass, re-defining boundaries of how sex is shown on the big screen.

While even Julie’s own boyfriend at the time, the famous actor Warren Beatty, had issues with the scene, reportedly flying to London to demand it was cut from the film, according to Michael Deeley, who oversaw the film’s UK distribution.

Rumours that the sex was genuine have persisted for years, helped along by the likes of former Paramount executive Peter Bart, who said in his 2011 book that he had watched the scene being filmed and confirmed the actors made love.

But Donald has categorically denied the sex was real, previously stating that anyone who claims otherwise is ‘an idiot’.

Speaking to the New York Daily News at the premiere of The Leisure Seeker, the Hunger Games star said he adored the scene because it ‘reminded you of making love.’

But he added that performing actual sex would have been impossible since no take lasted longer than 15 seconds before the action was stopped so he and Julie could reposition themselves.

But her name has been revived in the public consciousness in recent weeks, following the tragic death of Hollywood legend and her former co-star Donald Sutherland (pictured 2019)

The veteran Canadian actor’s death from a long illness at the age of 88 was announced by his movie star son Kiefer Sutherland last month (pictured with Kiefer in 2015) 

And in the wake of his passing as the world has reflected on his iconic career, debate has begun anew surrounding one of the most controversial movie sex scenes of all time, between Donald and Julie (pictured in film)

The pair starred together in 1973 thriller Don’t Look Now, which saw them engage in a very steamy a near-five minutes romp – so intense that many assumed its stars weren’t acting (pictured)

While Julie has also said on record that it was nothing more than ‘pretend sex’, in a 2015 interview with BBC Radio 4.

She praised Nicolas, saying the director ‘managed to get the extraordinary thing that happens when you are making love’. 

She added: ‘It was just flesh squirming and rolling and touching, and God I thought it was absolutely lovely. I loved the squirming bits and all those things you don’t see.’

She added that the scene captured the moment that ‘you know you don’t exist, the other person perhaps doesn’t even exist. It’s just bodies that are existing.

‘It wasn’t even necessarily sexy, what it was – it reminded you of making love.’

In the years since, the film has faced much speculation about whether the erotic scene was immaculately choregraphed to look hyper realistic, or whether the actors had actually had an on-screen tryst in real life 

Rumours that the sex was genuine have persisted for years, but Donald (pictured 2015) categorically denied it was, previously stating that anyone who claims otherwise is ‘an idiot’