Shelley Duvall, renowned for her role in The Shining and her distinctive impact on retro aesthetics, has passed away at the age of 75.
The Nashville actress died at her home in Blanco, Texas, shortly after celebrating her 75th birthday on July 7. Her partner of many years, Dan Gilroy, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that she succumbed to complications from diabetes.
In a statement, Gilroy, who had been with Duvall since 1989, said: “My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley.”
Shelley Alexis Duvall was born on July 7, 1959, in Fort Worth, Texas, to Bobbie Ruth Crawford, a real estate broker who lived until the age of 91 and passed away in 2020, and Robert Richardson “Bobby” Duvall, who transitioned from a cattle auctioneer to a lawyer.
Beyond her iconic role in The Shining, which brought renewed attention to both her performance and the arduous filming conditions she endured, Duvall’s career was marked by seven films under the guidance of mentor Robert Altman. Among these, she notably starred in 3 Women, for which she earned the Best Actress award at Cannes, and portrayed Olive Oyl opposite the late Robin Williams in 1980’s Popeye.
Despite enduring fascination from audiences across generations for her distinctive wide-eyed appearance and compelling backstory, hopes for her return to Hollywood were largely unmet following her brief resurgence in the 2023 horror film The Forest Hills. Her final film role separate from this brief comeback was in 2002’s Manna From Heaven.
In the last two decades of her rich life, she resided in Texas Hill Country, specifically in Blanco, a quaint town characterized by its single traffic light. There, she integrated fully into the local community, becoming a familiar presence with favorite orders at various establishments throughout the rural area.
Speaking with People last year about her two decades of seclusion, Duvall recalled how she was first discovered in her native Texas aged 21, and asked to audition for her seven-time hallowed director’s 1970 comedy Brewster McCloud; “acting on screen came naturally,” she said.
She went on to star in another seven Altman films, and remembered: “After Thieves Like Us, Robert [Altman] looked at me and said, ‘I knew you were good, but I didn’t know you were great.”
“It’s the reason I stuck with it and became an actress,” she further recalled. And while she said she never felt “beautiful” at the peak of her fame, Duvall was always aware of her gifts and instincts. To play Olive Oyl, for example, she said: “All it took was to put on the costume, and I knew exactly how to play Olive.”
Not long after, however, the job offers began to dwindle. When one of her three brothers got diagnosed with spinal cancer, she packed up her things, moved to Texas, and retired in 1994, when she was 45.
“It’s the longest sabbatical I ever took,” she said of her decision, adding: “But it was for really important reasons — to get in touch with my family again.”
