Shelley Duvall, one of the most iconic movie stars of the ’70s and ’80s, died on Thursday from complications related to diabetes. She was 75.
Duvall got her start working with the late Robert Altman, with her first acting role being in his 1970 film Brewster McCloud. This sparked a longtime collaboration and friendship, with Duvall starring in Altman’s films, including Nashville, 3 Women and Popeye.
Her work with Altman led to being cast in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining as Wendy Torrance, her most recognizable role. In addition to her film work, Duvall hosted children’s series Faerie Tale Theatre and Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories.
In 2002, Duvall decided to retire from acting. Following the attention from The Hollywood Reporter‘s 2021 cover story on her reclusive life in Texas Hill Country post-Hollywood, the actress returned to the screen in the 2023 independent horror film, The Forest Hills.
“My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley,” her partner Dan Gilroy said in a statement.
“RIP to the truly iconic Shelley Duvall, who burned up the screen in many funny, intense and idiosyncratic roles,” wrote director Edgar Wright. “I especially loved her in McCabe & Mrs Miller, Thieves Like Us, Nashville, the extraordinary Three Women, Annie Hall, Time Bandits, Roxanne, her Olive Oyl in Popeye (best comic book casting ever?) and, of course, her fierce, unforgettable performance as Wendy Torrance in The Shining. Whatever horrors are conjured up in that film, its power stands and falls on Duvall’s terrified reactions. What an incredible screen presence she was.”
Meanwhile, Mia Farrow wrote, “Very very sad to hear that the unique and truly wonderful actor- Shelley Duvall has died. She leaves us many unforgettable performances.”
“She was a brilliant actress. May this great one RIP,” Yvette Nicole Brown tweeted.
“When I was a boy, I went to the movies to see POPEYE with Robin Williams. A wonderfully strange movie. The moment Shelley Duvall sang ‘He’s Large’ I fell in love with “Olive Oil,” tweeted Wendell Pierce. “A moment I cherish to this day as a part of my innocent youth. Today Shelley Duvall died and that little boy shed a tear for “Olive Oil” with a heavy heart. RIP.”
“She simply was a great actress and i bow to her talent,” tweeted Vincent D’Onofrio.
