Shelley Duvall

Shelley Alexis Duvall July 7 1949 July 11 2024 was an American actress known for her portrayal of distinctive often eccentric characters She was the recipient of several accolades including a Cannes Film Festival Award and a Peabody Award and nominations for a British Academy Film Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards Born in Texas Duvall began acting after being discovered by director Robert Altman who was impressed with her upbeat presence and cast her in the black comedy film Brewster McCloud 1970 Despite her hesitance towards becoming an actress she continued to work with Altman appearing in McCabe Mrs Miller 1971 and Thieves Like Us 1974 Her breakthrough came with Altmans cult film Nashville 1975 and she earned widespread acclaim with the drama 3 Women 1977 also directed by Altman for which she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and earned a nomination for the British Academy Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role That same year she appeared in a supporting role as a writer for Rolling Stone in Woody Allens satirical romantic comedy Annie Hall 1977 and hosted Saturday Night Live In the 1980s Duvall became famous for her leading roles which include Olive Oyl in Altmans liveaction feature version of Popeye 1980 and Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubricks horror film The Shining 1980 She appeared in Terry Gilliams fantasy film Time Bandits 1981 the short comedy horror film Frankenweenie 1984 and the comedy Roxanne 1987 She ventured into producing television programming aimed at children and youth in the latter half of the 1980s notably creating and hosting the programs Faerie Tale Theatre 19821987 Tall Tales Legends 19851987 which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 1988 and Nightmare Classics 1989 Duvall sporadically worked in acting throughout the 1990s notably playing supporting roles in Steven Soderberghs thriller The Underneath 1995 and the Henry James adaptation The Portrait of a Lady 1996 directed by Jane Campion Her last performance was in Manna from Heaven 2002 after which she retired from acting Duvall for many years kept out of the public media keeping her personal life generally private however her health issues earned significant media coverage After a 21year hiatus from acting Duvall returned to acting in the horror film The Forest Hills She died due to complications from diabetes at her home in Blanco southwest of Austin Texas