44 Facts About Shelley Duvall

Shelley Alexis Duvall was an American actress and producer.

Shelley Duvall was discovered by film director Robert Altman at a party in 1970, who was impressed by her upbeat presence and cast her in the black comedy film Brewster McCloud.

Shelley Duvall achieved international fame for playing Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's horror film The Shining and Olive Oyl in Altman's adventure film Popeye.

Shelley Duvall furthered this success with Terry Gilliam's fantasy film Time Bandits, Tim Burton's short comedy horror film Frankenweenie, and Fred Schepisi's comedy film Roxanne.

Shelley Duvall then ventured into producing and creating television programs aimed at children and youth such as Faerie Tale Theatre and Nightmare Classics.

Shelley Duvall returned in 2022 for her final role in the horror independent film The Forest Hills, intending to make a comeback.

Shelley Alexis Duvall was born on July 7,1949, in Fort Worth, Texas, the first child of Bobbie Ruth Crawford, a real estate broker and in the legal field, and Robert Richardson "Bobby" Duvall, a cattle auctioneer-turned-lawyer.

Shelley Duvall was an artistic and energetic young child, eventually earning the nickname "Manic Mouse" from her mother.

Shelley Duvall became interested in science at a young age; as a teenager she aspired to become a scientist.

Shelley Duvall dropped out of college shortly after when she witnessed a monkey vivisection.

Shelley Duvall was very raw in Brewster but quite magic.

Shelley Duvall's leading role as Keechie, the forlorn daughter of a convict, in Thieves Like Us followed three years later in 1974.

Shelley Duvall had her breakthrough for playing Martha, a spaced-out groupie, in Altman's 1975 ensemble comedy film Nashville.

Also in 1976, Duvall starred as Bernice, a wealthy girl from Wisconsin, in PBS's adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald's short story Bernice Bobs Her Hair.

In 1977, Shelley Duvall gave what some critics considered to be one of her best performances in Altman's psychological thriller 3 Women, portraying Mildred "Millie" Lammoreaux, a woman living in a dreary California desert town.

Texas Monthly critics Marie Brenner and Jesse Kornbluth praised Shelley Duvall for giving an "extraordinary performance".

Shelley Duvall earned positive reviews for her performance in The Shining, but she was controversially nominated for Worst Actress at the Golden Raspberry Awards' inaugural ceremony; it was rescinded on March 31,2022, and Golden Raspberries cofounder Maureen Murphy said she regretted nominating Shelley Duvall.

The film was a commercial success despite negative critical reviews, while Shelley Duvall was praised for her performance.

Shelley Duvall looks and sounds like almost nobody else, and if it is true that she was born to play the character Olive Oyl, it is true that she has possibly played more really different kinds of characters than almost any other young actress of the 1970s.

In 1982, Shelley Duvall narrated, hosted, and was executive producer of the children's television program Faerie Tale Theatre.

In 1988, Shelley Duvall founded a new production company called Think Entertainment to develop programs and television movies for cable channels.

Shelley Duvall had started another production company, Platypus, in 1982.

Shelley Duvall created Nightmare Classics, a third Showtime anthology series, which featured adaptations of well-known horror stories by authors including Edgar Allan Poe.

In 1991, Shelley Duvall portrayed Jenny Wilcox, the wife of Charlie Wilcox in the Hulk Hogan action-adventure film Suburban Commando.

Also in 1993, Shelley Duvall produced a fifth series for Showtime, Mrs Piggle Wiggle, before selling Think Entertainment in 1993 and retiring as a producer.

The Forest Hills received negative critic reviews and little attention, but Shelley Duvall's involvement received some praise.

Shelley Duvall married artist Bernard Sampson in 1970, but their marriage disintegrated as Shelley Duvall's acting career accelerated, leading to their divorce in 1974.

Shelley Duvall met 24-year-old tobacco heir Patrick Reynolds in a Hollywood nightclub.

Shelley Duvall invited Reynolds to the set of Nashville, where director Robert Altman cast him in the film.

Shelley Duvall was in a relationship with musician and former Breakfast Club lead vocalist Dan Gilroy from 1989 through the remainder of her life.

Shelley Duvall had no children, but always had a menagerie of pets.

Shelley Duvall decided to return to her home state in 1994, while shooting the Steven Soderbergh film The Underneath.

Shelley Duvall told The New York Times that her reasons for moving were the health of one of her brothers and the earthquake.

In November 2016, Shelley Duvall was interviewed by Phil McGraw on his daytime talk show, Dr Phil, about her mental illness.

Unkrich noted that Shelley Duvall remained very proud of her career.

Shelley Duvall's death was announced by Gilroy to The Hollywood Reporter.

Several tributes were posted to Shelley Duvall, including messages from Stephen King and the Stanley Kubrick estate.

Shelley Duvall was known for her charismatic, upbeat presence, and is considered one of the most successful actresses of the 1970s.

MovieWeb ranked Shelley Duvall as the fifth-best scream queen of all time, writing that her performance in The Shining was "a thing of glory".

Beatrice Loayza of The Atlantic said that Shelley Duvall was "made for the screen" and called her "a gravitational force".

Shelley Duvall was fascinating, original, vulnerable and inscrutable all at once.

The resurgence of Faerie Tale Theatre helped introduce her to Generation Z Since 2021, Sarah Lukowski of the online Shelley Duvall Archivehas been documenting Duvall's extensive career and post-Hollywood life as a fan-turned-friend of the reclusive star.

Shelley Duvall's death spurred several tribute screenings in theaters around the United States.

In March 2025, Shelley Duvall was included in the "In Memoriam" segments at the 97th Academy Awards and 3rd Annual Children's and Family Emmys Awards.