Shelley Duvall, Star of The Shining and Nashville, Dies at 75

Shelley Duvall, best known for her role in The Shining, has died. She was 75. Duvall, who worked frequently with acclaimed filmmaker Robert Altman, has been open about her mental and physical health struggles in recent years. Duvall reportedly died in her sleep, due to complications from diabetes, at her home in Blanco, Texas. Her passing was announced by her life partner, Dan Gilroy, via The Hollywood Reporter. Discovered by Altman’s casting crew in her hometown of Houston, Duvall made her screen debut in 1970′ Brewster McCloud. She would go on to star in and produce numerous movies and TV shows in the following two decades, before largely retreating from the spotlight and returning to Texas in the 1990s.

“My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley,” Gilroy said in a statement.

Her early career was almost entirely defined by her work with Altman, with whom she collaborated on McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971); Thieves Like Us (1974); Nashville (1975); Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976); and 3 Women (1977) for her role in 3 Women, Duvall won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Altman also directed 1980’s Popeye, in which Duvall played the role of Olive Oyl opposite Robin Williams as Popeye. At that point, Williams had not yet become a superstar, and the movie was a critical and box office disappointment. It has since become a cult classic, with audiences praising its highly-stylized look and performance styles.

Duvall’s most recognizable role — as Wendy Torrance in The Shining — would be one that haunted her. She recalled being terrorized on set, with a method acting Jack Nicholson and a notoriously perfectionist director in Stanley Kubrick, she found herself crying for hours at a time, with little in the way of support from her collaborators. THR related a 1981 People magazine quote where she said Kubrick had her “crying 12 hours a day for weeks on end.” She added, “I will never give that much again. If you want to get into pain and call it art, go ahead, but not with me.”

After 1981’s Time Bandits, Duvall would slow down, performing in fewer movies and focusing on children’s entertainment, including appearing in numerous episodes of her first kids’ series, Faerie Tale Theatre. During this period, she had a role in Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie and movies like Frankenweenie and Suburban Commando.

From 1988 until 1993, Duvall ran Think Entertainment, a production company dedicated to children’s educational content. There, she produced series like Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories, Stories from Growing Up, and Nick Jr. Rocks. During that time, she earned two Emmy Award nominations.

Duvall appeared on TV quite a bit in the ’90s — just on her own shows, but in episodes of The Ray Bradbury Theater, L.A. Law, Frasier, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Wishbone, and The Hughleys. On the feature film side, she had fewer big-budget successes, often appearing in small roles in movies like RocketMan, Casper Meets Wendy, and Home Fries. She largely retired from acting in 2002, but returned for a small role in the 2023 movie The Forest Hills with Edward Furlong and Dee Wallace.

Later in life, she would appear on The Dr. Phil Show, clearly in distress. While she wanted to get help, the 2016 episode was widely condemned, as she appeared delusional and not able to give consent to talk on TV. A few years later, she would give one of the most memorable interviews in her career, where she seemed to have largely recovered, and was looking back on those hard times.

Our condolences go out to Ms. Duvall’s family, friends, collaborators, and fans during this difficult time.