Shelley Duvall, the big-eyed, waifish actress renowned for her roles in “3 Women” and “The Shining,” passed away on Thursday in Blanco, Texas, due to complications from diabetes. She was 75. Variety confirmed her death with her partner, Dan Gilroy.
“My dear, sweet, wonderful life, partner, and friend left us last night. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away beautiful Shelley,” said Gilroy in a statement.
Duvall gained fame working with director Robert Altman, who cast her in her debut film role in “Brewster McCloud.” She later appeared in his films “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” and “Thieves Like Us” before becoming part of the ensemble cast of “Nashville” in 1975. Her standout performance in “Nashville” led Altman to cast her in “Buffalo Bill and the Indians” and provided her with the opportunity to shine in “3 Women,” for which she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and received a BAFTA nomination.
In 1977, Duvall played a journalist in Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall,” where she met and dated Paul Simon for two years.
Duvall starred as Olive Oyl in Altman’s “Popeye” in 1980, a role that seemed tailor-made for her. Her performance as a health spa worker in “3 Women” caught the attention of Stanley Kubrick, leading to her role as Wendy Torrance in “The Shining,” based on Stephen King’s novel. The film’s production was grueling, with Kubrick pushing Duvall to her limits, sometimes requiring more than 100 takes for a single scene.
Reflecting on the difficult shoot, Duvall told the Hollywood Reporter, “After a while, your body rebels. It says: ‘Stop doing this to me. I don’t want to cry every day.’ And sometimes just that thought alone would make me cry… I don’t know how I did it. Jack [Nicholson] said that to me, too.”
Duvall’s other roles included Terry Gilliam’s “Time Bandits” and the comedy “Roxanne” with Steve Martin.
In the 1980s, she produced a series of children’s shows based on classic stories, including “Faerie Tale Theatre,” “Tall Tales & Legends,” “Nightmare Classics,” and “Bedtime Stories.” These programs featured notable directors like Tim Burton, Francis Ford Coppola, and Ivan Passer, as well as guest stars such as Robin Williams, Jamie Lee Curtis, Elliot Gould, Laura Dern, Molly Ringwald, and Ed Asner.
Born in Ft. Worth, Texas, Duvall met Altman at a party while he was shooting “Brewster McCloud” in Texas.
After returning to Texas, she appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s “The Underneath” in 1995 and starred in Jane Campion’s “The Portrait of a Lady” in 1996. She retired from acting in 2002.
In 2016, Duvall’s appearance on “Dr. Phil” generated negative publicity for sensationalizing her mental health struggles. However, a 2021 interview with the Hollywood Reporter found her reminiscing happily about her career and well-regarded in her Texas Hill Country community.
In 2023, Duvall returned to acting in the indie horror film “The Forest Hills,” though it was not widely released.
She is survived by her partner, musician Dan Gilroy, and her brothers, Scott, Stewart, and Shane.