Actress and icon Shelley Duvall passed away on July 11 at 75. The doe-eyed queen of “awkwardness” and unconventional beauty distinguished herself from other famous bombshells throughout her 32-year career. Duvall’s one-of-a-kind appearance was only a minor aspect of her magnetic and eccentric energy. Throughout the 70s and 80s, she occupied an unconventional space in Hollywood. Whether it was under the direction of Robert Altman or her own productions, Shelley Duvall could shapeshift into versatile and challenging roles to deliver unforgettable performances.
At 20 years old, Duvall was studying to be a research scientist and interested in nutrition at a junior college in Houston, Texas when Director Robert Altman’s staff members discovered her. Drawn by her unique look and open and authentic demeanor, Altman immediately cast her as teenage tour guide Suzanne Davis in Brewster McCloud (1970). Her onscreen debut established her as a new force to be reckoned with with her dramatically long eyelashes, Texas drawl, and undeniable charisma.
Over the next decade, Altman continued to cast his muse in six more of his films; Duvall played a mail-order bride in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), the romantic lead to Keith Carradine’s bank robber in Thieves Like Us (1974), LA groupie Joan in Nashville (1975), wife of President Grover Cleveland in Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976), and Millie Lamoureux, a confident and ironically dramatized version of the ideal woman in 3 Women (1977). She won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her portrayal of Millie, a role that was considered one of her best as she accomplished the challenging task of playing a flawed character while still garnering empathy from the audience.
In 1980, she was perfectly cast opposite Robin Williams in Popeye as Olive Oyl, the quirky, yet strong-willed damsel in distress. Altman was always confident in her skill and versatility as an actress and trusted her interpretation and stylistic choices. Duvall once shared that she always remembered his first piece of advice to her: “Don’t take yourself too seriously.”
Outside of Altman’s films, Duvall worked on many other iconic films. In Woody Allen’s Annie Hall (1977), Duvall had a brief, yet memorable appearance as Woody Allen’s date, a music journalist passionately prattling about Bob Dylan.
Duvall never stopped highlighting her versatility, even venturing into the music sphere with her record Sweet Dreams, a music album for children, in 1981. She also executive produced, narrated, and starred in over 26 episodes of the Peabody award-winning Faerie Tale Theatre. One may recognize this successful show as the origin of the viral TikTok sound, “Hello, I’m Shelley Duvall.” The virality of this one iconic line illustrates the influence Duvall imparts even on Gen Z.
Three years later, she starred in Tall Tales and Legends, an anthology series that featured adaptations of American folk tales. Countless A-listers joined, including Martin Short and Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Her family-focused vision continued when she launched Think Entertainment, which specialized in family entertainment like Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories.
But Duvall was best known for her leading role as Wendy Torrance in The Shining. Duvall contrasted her dark counterpart, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), with an innocent and rather timid demeanor, though she eventually rises to the role of a hero. Duvall’s emotion in the film was raw and palpable, with screams that rang through viewers’ ears. Nicholson played the role of villain with ease, but Duvall imbued the film with horror.
Director Stanley Kubrick’s cruel and abusive treatment of Shelley Duvall while filming The Shining created a cloud of controversy surrounding the film. Kubrick made Duvall refilm the film’s highly charged scenes for 12 hours a day, every day, for three weeks.
This infamous film was followed by Duvall’s mysterious absence from the spotlight. The media took this opportunity to dwell on her “disappearance from Hollywood” and spread stories in the media about the state and circumstances of her absence.
Since the oldest days of Hollywood, movie stars have been commodified as products rather than treated as human beings. If they present an opportunity for media attention, driven by positivity or negativity, they are exploited for their faults. Women, in particular, are capitalized on as the subject of rumors rather than recognized for their illustrious careers. Throughout her long career, Duvall displayed a rare and quiet resilience. She was a true artist, drawing on children’s fairytales as a source of whimsy and imagination in her own projects. Many people tried to cast a shadow on Shelley Duvall’s life, but in recognizing her legacy, we must remember Duvall for her influential bright light.
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