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Agence France-Presse

Shelley Duvall, the versatile actress known for her role in The Shining and working relationship with director Robert Altman, died on Thursday aged 75.
Citing her partner Dan Gilroy, The Hollywood Reporter said Duvall died in her sleep at her home in Blanco, Texas following complications of diabetes.
Born July 7, 1949 in Fort Worth, Texas, Duvall was discovered by Altman – the maverick filmmaker known for his rich characters, sharp social criticism and keen satire – who cast her in 1970’s dark comedy Brewster McCloud.
The saucer-eyed actress developed a broad repertoire, breaking through with 1975’s Nashville, and going on to portray memorable and eccentric characters that earned her a smattering of awards including at Cannes for her role in the acclaimed 1977 drama 3 Women.

Her career was defined by her work with Altman, who she said she kept working with because “he offers me damn good roles”.
“None of them have been alike,” she told The New York Times in 1977.
“He has a great confidence in me, and a trust and respect for me, and he doesn’t put any restrictions on me or intimidate me, and I love him.”
In a 1977 interview Altman praised Duvall for being able “to swing all sides of the pendulum: charming, silly, sophisticated, pathetic – even beautiful”.
But it was her work on the 1980 film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining that would become her highest profile role, which she played opposite Jack Nicholson.
Director Stanley Kubrick put her through the ringer to perform the part of Wendy Torrance in the horror classic that sees a writer husband descend into homicidal madness and terrorise his wife and young son.
Duvall has voiced admiration for Kubrick but also has publicly discussed how arduous the role was, telling People in 1981 the 13-month job was gruelling and that Kubrick had her “crying 12 hours a day for weeks on end”.
“I will never give that much again. If you want to get into pain and call it art, go ahead, but not with me.”


In one famous scene Nicholson’s character tortures Duvall’s with a baseball bat, which reportedly took 127 takes to satisfy Kubrick.
Duvall also made a cameo in 1977’s Annie Hall by Woody Allen, and played opposite Robin Williams in Altman’s 1980 live-action rendition of Popeye.
Later in the 1980s she made her way into children’s programming.
Her last film was 2023’s The Forest Hills, an independent horror-thriller she played in after a two-decade hiatus from professional acting.
Duvall’s fade from Hollywood prompted much speculation, over both her mental health and her aged appearance. In a 2024 interview with The New York Times both she and Gilroy voiced exasperation at such treatment.
She indicated she felt betrayed by the industry in which she excelled, even as her body of work continues to earn her new fans.
“I was a star; I had leading roles,” she said in the rare interview. “People think it’s just ageing, but it’s not. It’s violence.”
“How would you feel if people were really nice, and then, suddenly, on a dime … they turn on you?”
Gilroy – a musician who was part of the Breakfast Club band and had dated Madonna – was Duvall’s long-time partner after the pair met on the 1990 Disney Channel Movie Mother Goose Rock ‘n’ Rhyme.
“My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley,” Gilroy said in a widely published statement.


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Obituaries

The Shining actress Shelley Duval dead at 75

Shelley Duvall in the 1980 film The Shining. File photo: Warner Bros

Shelley Duvall in 1983. Photo: AP

Shelley Duvall and Robert Altman in 1974. File photo: AP

Donald Sutherland, star of M*A*S*H and The Hunger Games, dead at 88

Actor Donald Sutherland in 2017. File photo: AP

Donald Sutherland with his son Kiefer Sutherland in 2016. File photo: AP

Donald Sutherland played a despotic president in The Hunger Games and its sequels. Photo: Lionsgate 

Donald Sutherland in 1975. File photo: TNS

Donald Sutherland in M*A*S*H in 1970, directed by Robert Altman. File photo: TNS

Carl Weathers, who starred in Rocky films and The Mandalorian, dead at 76

Carl Weathers arrives at a special screening for the season three premiere of “The Mandalorian” in Los Angeles in February 2023. Photo: AP

Carl Weathers and Sylvester Stallone attend the “Creed” world premiere at Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles in November 2015. Photo: TNS

Bond actress Honor Blackman, who played Pussy Galore, dead at 94

Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore in Goldfiner. Photo: Eon Productions

epa08346422 (FILE) - Former Bond girl Honor Blackman is pictured during a protest with pensioners outside parliament in London, Britain, 04 November 2009 (reissued on 06 April 2020). On 06 April 2020 Honor Blackman has died aged 94 for 'natural causes not related to COVID-19 coronavirus' according to media reports. EPA-EFE/ANDY RAIN

Actor Sean Connery kisses actress Honor Blackman during a party at Pinewood Film Studios in England in March 1964. Photo: AP

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United States & Canada

Shelley Duvall’s career was defined by her work with maverick director Robert Altman and later with Stanley Kubrick


Shelley Duvall’s career was defined by her work with maverick director Robert Altman and later with Stanley Kubrick.


The Shining actress Shelley Duval dead at 75

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Shelley Duvall’s career was defined by her work with maverick director Robert Altman and later with Stanley Kubrick

Shelley Duvall’s career was defined by her work with maverick director Robert Altman and later with Stanley Kubrick