Shelley Duvall, who famously starred as Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s horror classic The Shining, among many other legendary roles, has died at the age of 75. Duvall died in her sleep Thursday (July 11th) due to complications from diabetes, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Duvall was discovered by the legendary filmmaker Robert Altman while he was filming Brewster McCloud on location in Texas. Though she initially had no interest in acting, she agreed to appear in Brewster McCloud and continued to work with him on his next several films. Her breakout performance came in 1975 with Altman’s Nashville, and two years later, she received critical acclaim for her performance in 3 Women, also helmed by Altman, for which she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress. In 1977, she also co-starred in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall.
In 1980, Duvall delivered her most iconic performance as Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining, opposite Jack Nicholson. Duvall later recounted the immense mental and physical toll the production took on her, claiming that Kubrick had her “crying 12 hours a day for weeks on end,” and that she had lost clumps of her hair due to extreme stress. “I will never give that much again. If you want to get into pain and call it art, go ahead, but not with me,” she told People magazine in a 1981 interview.
Also in 1980, Duvall played Olive Oyl in Altman’s film adaptation of Popeye (Robin Williams starred as the titular sailor man). The following year, she appeared in Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits.
Beginning in 1982, Duvall narrated, hosted, and served as executive producer of Faerie Tale Theatre, a live-action anthology television series that adapted various children’s fairy tales. She also starred in seven episodes of the series. All told, the series spanned a total of 27 episodes, airing between 1982 and 1987 on Showtime. Duvall went on to helm several more anthology series for Showtime, including Tall Tales & Legends and Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories, both of which earned her Emmy nominations.
In the early 2000s, Duvall retired from acting. She later resurfaced in a 2016 appearance on Dr. Phil’s talk show, where she spoke candidly about her mental health issues. “I am very sick. I need help,” Duvall said at the time. The interview drew condemnation from fans and Hollywood alike, who accused Dr. Phil of exploiting Duvall’s condition for television ratings.
In 2023, Duvall briefly returned to acting to appear in the independent horror thriller The Forest Hills. It marks her final on-screen credit.