Fort Worth Actress Shelley Duvall Dead at 75

Actress and Fort Worth native Shelley Duvall died Thursday at her home in Blanco, Texas, at the age of 75.

The Shining star died from complications of diabetes, her longtime partner Dan Gilroy confirmed to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

“My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us,” Gilroy said to The Hollywood Reporter. “Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley.”

Duvall was born in 1949 in Fort Worth. She spent her early years living with her family in various places in Texas before they settled in Houston when she was 5 years old.

While at a party in Houston in 1970, Duvall was “discovered” by crew members from director Robert Altman’s film Brewster McCloud, according to the Los Angeles Times. They invited her to a secret casting call for Altman’s movie, which led to her first on-screen appearance in the film.

Duvall had never left Texas before Altman offered her a role.

Duvall continued to work with the director on films in the 1970s, including Thieves Like Us and Nashville. The actress went on to appear in more than 40 roles across film and television, most notably 1977’s The Shining, which made her a household name.

She's also known for her roles in Woody Allen's Annie Hall and as Olive Oyl in Popeye.

“When somebody recognizes you at a Dairy Queen in Texas, you know you’re a star,” Duvall said to People in 1981.

Duvall won Best Actress at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival, a 1984 Peabody Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards. She stepped out of the spotlight after a small role in the 2002 film Manna from Heaven.

In 2016, Duvall made an appearance on the Dr. Phil show, where she revealed she was suffering from mental illness. In the interview, she also spoke about her late Popeye co-star Robin Williams and how she did not think he was dead, but rather “shapeshifting.” She also mentioned how “the man who [was] threatening [her] is The Sheriff of Nottingham,” and how she has a “worrying disc” inside of her.

“I’m very sick, I need help,” she said in the interview with the show’s host, Phillip McGraw.

Although the episode never aired in full, Dr. Phil quickly drew criticism for the “appallingly cruel” and “exploitative” episode. Many Twitter users, including The Shining director Stanley Kubrick’s daughter, Vivian Kubrick, took to the platform to call for a boycott of the show.

"Unquestionably, this is purely a form of lurid and exploitative entertainment  it's appallingly cruel," Vivian Kubrick wrote. "Whatever dignity a mere unfortunate creature might have in this world is denied by your displaying her in this way. I recoil in complete disgust. I hope others will join me in boycotting your utterly heartless form of entertainment, because it has nothing to do with compassionate healing."

Duvall made a return to film in 2023. The actress took the role of Mama in the independent horror movie The Forest Hills, which she filmed remotely and was directed over Zoom by Scott Goldberg.

"Shelley leaves behind an amazing legacy and will be missed by so many people, myself included,” Goldberg said to People. “I am proud of her for overcoming adversity to act again and will always be forever grateful for her friendship and kindness."