The Shining star Shelley Duvall dies aged 75

shelley duvall
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Shelley Duvall, the star of The Shining and frequent collaborator of director Robert Altman, has died at the age of 75.

Duvall, who had mostly been retired from acting since 2002, died at her home in Texas due to complications from diabetes, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley," her partner Dan Gilroy told the publication.

She was best known for playing Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining. Wendy is the wife of Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson, who slowly goes mad after being hired as the off-season caretaker at the Overlook Hotel.

Duvall also worked closely with Altman on seven movies throughout the '70s. She made her acting debut in 1970's Brewster McCloud after the director met her at a party and decided to cast her, and was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in his 1977 psychological drama 3 Women. Their other collaborations include McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Thieves Like Us, Nashville, and Popeye, in which she played Olive Oyl opposite Robin Williams' titular sailor.

And it wasn't just Altman and Kubrick – Duvall worked with no shortage of major filmmakers in her decades-spanning career. In the '80s, she starred in Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits and Tim Burton's Frankenweenie, while in the '90s she starred in movies made by Steven Soderbergh (1995's The Underneath) and Jane Campion (1996's The Portrait of a Lady).

In the last 20 years, Duvall only appeared in two movies. Before retiring in 2002, she appeared in the comedy Manna From Heaven, and then made a return to movies in 2023 with independent horror The Forest Hills.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

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