Shelley Duvall, Star of The Shining and Popeye, Dies at 75

Shelley Duvall, the actress best known for playing unique and often eccentric characters, passed away today at age 75.

As The Hollywood Reporter writes, Duvall died in her sleep from complications of diabetes. Her life partner, Dan Gilroy, confirmed Duvall’s passing to the outlet. “My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us,” Gilroy told The Hollywood reporter in a statement. “Too much suffering lately; now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley.”

Duvall had a prolific career dating back to the 1970s, with some of her most notable roles coming in the 1970s and 1980s. Duvall perhaps is best known for her portrayal as Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror film The Shining. However, Duvall is also known for her lead role in the 1980 live-action film Popeye, in addition to her roles in 1974’s Thieves Like Us and the 1977 film 3 Women.

According to her IMDb page, Duvall took a break from acting in 2002, with her last appearance at the time being the 2002 independent film Manna from Heaven. During her acting hiatus, Duvall would appeared in an interview on Dr. Phil McGraw’s talk show in 2016, revealing she was suffering from mental illness. Her appearance on the show was was controversial, with Stanley Kubrick’s daughter Vivian Kubrick stating in a post on X/Twitter to Dr. Phil accusing him of exploiting Duvall as a form of “lurid entertainment.” Before her death, Duvall would appear in 2022 in the film The Forest Hills, presumably the actress’s final film.

Blogroll Credit: Reg Innell / Getty Images

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

About Post Author