Shelley Duvall, known for her unforgettable turns as Wendy Torrance and Olive Oyl in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Robert Altman’s live-action Popeye film, has passed away in her home in Blanco, Texas. She was 75.
Other prominent roles of Duvall’s include Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits, Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, and Altman’s 3 Women, the latter for which she received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and a nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role Award from BAFTA. She also created and hosted two children’s anthology television shows in Faerie Tale Theatre, Tall Tales & Legends, and a third series aimed at older audiences in Nightmare Classics.
Duvall passed away in her sleep due to diabetic complications. Her partner of 35 years, Dan Gilroy, reported the news to The Hollywood Reporter, saying in a statement: “My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley.”
Duvall briefly returned to acting after a 20-year hiatus in Scott Goldberg’s 2023 horror film The Forest Hills, but it was her final feature interview with the same publication that offers the most honest insight into Duvall’s legacy. In it, she rhymed off stories about her life before, during, and after her days in the entertainment industry, and the picture she paints is a richly rendered portrait of Duvall’s whole being.
And just as well, so we may remember Duvall not primarily as the tortured Torrance matriarch nor for the other interview that I’ve made a point to not name, but as a resolutely human artist who will be missed deeply.