Shelley Duvall, the actress who starred in several Robert Altman films and evaded an ax-swinging Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, died July 11 due to complications from diabetes. She was 75.
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Duvall was discovered by Robert Altman, who cast her in his 1970 film, Brewster McCloud. The film would mark the first of seven projects that the pair would work on together over the next seven years, including 1975’s Nashville, 1977’s 3 Women, and 1980’s Popeye.
She also etched her name into horror history as Wendy Torrance in The Shining, a taxing role that saw her star opposite Jack Nicholson. Outside of film, Duvall also created, hosted, and executive produced several popular children’s television programs throughout the 1980s, including Faerie Tale Theatre, Nightmare Classics, and Tall Tales & Legends. She retired from acting in 2002, before appearing in a controversial Dr. Phil episode where she revealed that she’d been struggling with her mental health.
However, over two decades after saying farewell to Hollywood, Duvall returned to star in the 2023 indie horror film, The Forest Hills.