Tragic Details About Actor Shelley Duvall

The late Shelley Duvall had captivated audiences since her very first role in 1970 with Robert Altman's "Brewster McCloud." With her iconic style, doe-eyed beauty, and unique on-screen presence, she quickly became an icon of the '70s, and by 1980, she'd become a household name. 

Duvall, who died July 11, 2024, became recognized for her roles in "Popeye," as Olive Oyl, and "The Shining," as Wendy Torrance, and although she never earned so much as an Oscar or Golden Globe nomination, everyone remembered the actor for her remarkable performances. In writing about Duvall in December 1980, Roger Ebert penned, "In all of her roles, there is an openness about her, as if somehow nothing has come between her open face and our eyes — no camera, dialogue, makeup, method of acting — and she is just spontaneously being the character." 

Sadly, Duvall's life was characterized by many unfortunate circumstances, some of which eventually led the actor to leave her career behind and choose her family over fame. From her difficult upbringing until her death in July 2024, here are the tragic details about Shelley Duvall.

Shelley Duvall was born in Fort Worth, Texas on July 7, 1949, and was the eldest child of Robert and Bobbie Duvall. Her dad had several jobs over the years, working as a cattle auctioneer, insurance agent, lawyer, and judge, which required moving the family around a lot. "We lived mostly in hotels for the first five years of Shelley's life. When we moved into our first house, in Houston, Shelley asked me where the elevator was," Duvall's mom said during an interview with the Los Angeles Times in December 1991.

Duvall's parents had three more children, all boys, and by the time she turned 13, her mom opened a real estate office and left the young girl in charge. "I was practically a parent to my brothers. I was the eldest child, the responsible one," Duvall explained.

Surprisingly, Shelley Duvall hadn't always wanted to be an actor. In fact, she sort of stumbled into it after giving up her dreams of becoming a scientist. Duvall had been a stellar student in high school and enrolled at the South Texas Junior College in Houston, but it seems she didn't have the stomach for it as she dropped out in her second year after witnessing surgery done on a monkey. Having lost her direction, the young star took up a retail job.

In speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in February 2021, Duvall said, "So I went to work at Foley's department store. Ladies would come up to the counter, and I'd tie scarves for them and show them how to look pretty. I'd come home smelling like a lily. And I did some modeling — not much." She carried on her life in Texas until a chance encounter with director Robert Altman's staff, and he later convinced her to star in one of his films.

Shelley Duvall's first five movies were directed by Robert Altman, including "Thieves Like Us" and "Nashville." She became something of a protege to the director, and he became the reason she not only started as an actor but continued working in Hollywood for as long as she did. "After 'Thieves Like Us,' Robert [Altman] looked at me and said, 'I knew you were good, but I didn't know you were great,'" Duvall told People in February 2023. "It's the reason I stuck with it and became an actress."

Unfortunately, as glamorous as the film industry seemed at the time, women were dealt a worse hand than their male counterparts. "You didn't get paid much — just scale plus 10 percent," Duvall said. "They thought women would just marry and the husband's going to support them. But that doesn't happen for everybody."

Shelley Duvall was still a young, small-town girl when she met artist Bernard Sampson at a benefit for the astronauts of the 1967 Apollo 1 disaster. The couple married in 1970 while she was filming her first film, and as Duvall's popularity grew, they moved to Los Angeles together in 1974 to support her career. Unfortunately, the actor and Sampson parted ways within the same year. "We just grew apart," she told The New York Times in March 1977. "There really was no explanation at all. We're still very good friends."

A while later, when asked again about her relationship with Sampson by People in March 1981, Duvall admitted, "There were no arguments or contests. We were just so young." It didn't take long for the "Nashville" star to find her feet in Hollywood, and a couple of years after her divorce, she wound up dating a famed musician.

Shelley Duvall first met singer Paul Simon in 1976 while she was filming "Annie Hall" and the two hit it off. The couple lived together for a couple of years, but things weren't exactly great in their relationship. During an interview with Roger Ebert in December 1980, Duvall remembered how Robert Altman had wanted to cast her in a role, but she'd decided to stay behind with Simon.

"Paul had rented this house and would have been very upset if I hadn't spent the summer with him in it. So I did, which was against my better judgment. And then came my birthday. Bob and the whole cast called me up from Chicago and sang 'Happy Birthday' over the phone, and ... I missed them so much. And what did I do on my birthday? Served chicken salad sandwiches to Paul's parents," she said.

Unfortunately, after Duvall reportedly introduced Simon to another up-and-coming actor, he broke up with her and wound up dating "Star Wars" star Carrie Fisher. She was on her way to film "The Shining" on New Year's Day in 1979 when Simon dumped Duvall at the airport.

When she came onto the scene, Shelley Duvall's look was so distinct that she was nicknamed Texas Twiggy, after her home state and the popular model with equally big eyes and slender frame. Today, bigger eyes are in style and there's even a doe-eyed makeup TikTok trend that was making the rounds in 2022, but sadly, even during the peak of her career, Duvall couldn't see how gorgeous she was. In a February 2023 interview with People, she explained, "I didn't feel beautiful. I had big eyes, big ears."

Duvall's iconic look undoubtedly set her apart from the other stars of her time. Sarah Lukowski, a fan of Duvall's who runs an Instagram account dedicated to the actor, said it perfectly in speaking with The New York Times in April 2024. "It's her unique look: the big eyes and oversized teeth and her offbeat personality. ... She was such an enigmatic force. I mean there are actors today like Anya Taylor-Joy and Mia Goth who have similar features and acting styles, but there'll never be another Shelley, you know?"

Many actors undergo serious training to prepare for a role, but nothing could have geared up Shelley Duvall for the grueling 56-week filming schedule she embarked on for Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," inspired by the Stephen King novel. She worked six days a week and 16 hours per day for the director, a notorious perfectionist who would shoot and reshoot scenes again and again (the famed staircase scene from the film, in which Duvall's character was practically hysterical, was shot 127 times). The role in the film sadly took a toll on Duvall, as she explained to People in March 1981 that she was "crying 12 hours a day for weeks on end. I will never give that much again. If you want to get into pain and call it art, go ahead, but not with me."

It was rumored that Kubrick had even been emotionally and verbally abusive toward Duvall to provoke a strong response on film, but during her The Hollywood Reporter interview, the actor defended him. "He was very warm and friendly to me," she explained. To prepare for the role, Duvall would "listen to sad songs. Or you just think about something very sad in your life or how much you miss your family or friends. But after a while, your body rebels. It says: 'Stop doing this to me. I don't want to cry every day.' ... I'd be like, 'Oh no, I can't, I can't.' And yet I did it."

Shelley Duvall had enjoyed many years in Hollywood as a successful actor, but as the '80s closed out, so did the peak of her fame. This was around the time that things seemed to shift for the actor as more tragic events ensued, including the destruction of her home.

In the early morning hours of January 17, 1994, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles where Duvall's home was. The disaster caused an estimated 57 deaths and $35 billion in damage. It's believed that this was one of the factors that led the "Popeye" actor to leave the area and eventually disappear from the spotlight.

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter whether the earthquake had been the last straw for her, Duvall replied, "Yeah. They wear you out, man. ... The people. Afterwards, it's like FEMA, then the next guys, and the next guys. Engineers one day, insurance people the next. Sometimes at the same time."

After the earthquake, Shelley Duvall flew to Austin, Texas to film a small role in a movie and she never returned to Hollywood. Over the years, she had been private about many of her experiences, and while it's known that she was having financial troubles around this time, she never revealed the extent of them or how they came about.

In 2021, Duvall spoke with The Hollywood Reporter saying that she'd gone back home to Houston after filming had wrapped because her mom was offering to help the actor with whatever difficulties she was facing at the time. "It's not just owning something that makes money. You have to also control it. You have to make sure it's a good deal," she said at the time.

Duvall also recounted a conversation she'd had with her mom about how she could make some extra cash, saying, "She said, 'You know, you do so many things, why don't ... you do some art?' And I kept thinking, 'Yeah, Joni Mitchell gets $40,000 a painting. I might as well try.'" Duvall sadly never followed through with the idea, though.

Another major factor that played a part in Shelley Duvall leaving Hollywood was the fact that her brother had become ill. The fact that she was being offered fewer roles perhaps played a part as well, but being there for her brother while he battled spinal cancer was what took priority for the actor. She told People during her February 2023 interview, "It's the longest sabbatical I ever took, but it was for really important reasons — to get in touch with my family again."

Sadly, the actor later faced several health issues herself, as she revealed to The New York Times in one of her last interviews that she'd been diagnosed with diabetes and had injured her foot, which limited her mobility quite a bit.

Shelley Duvall had resided in Texas for the remainder of the '90s, but continued acting in movies and had appearances in a few television shows until her second to last-ever role in 2002. At this point, her fame hadn't been what it once was and the offers were drying up. So, after a small part in the movie "Manna from Heaven," the actor retired and basically disappeared for nearly two decades. Everyone had wondered whatever happened to "The Shining" star, and when she did eventually turn back up in the '20s to give a few interviews, she was still vague about why she'd left in the first place.

In speaking with The New York Times in April 2024, Duvall said, "I was a star; I had leading roles. People think it's just aging, but it's not. It's violence. ... How would you feel if people were really nice, and then, suddenly, on a dime, they turn on you? You would never believe it unless it happens to you. That's why you get hurt, because you can't really believe it's true." Whether there'd been some inciting incident in her career that put her off of acting, she didn't say, so we'll probably never know.

Tragically, Shelley Duvall dealt with even more turmoil as she got older. After leaving Los Angeles for Texas, her mental health took a hit, according to Dan Gilroy, her long-term boyfriend and partner of 34 years. In an interview with The New York Times in April 2024, he explained, "She became paranoid and just kind of delusional, thinking she was being attacked. She tried to make calls to the FBI and asked our neighbor to protect us. It was just shocking that, suddenly, from normal, it went south like that."

It was revealed around 2016 that Duvall had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. The mental health disorder is characterized by schizophrenia symptoms like hallucinations and delusions, as well as symptoms of mood disorders. Tragically, in 2016, Duvall's mental health became something of a spectacle, but much of the public thankfully rallied around her in support.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health issues, contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

In 2016, after spending more than a decade away from the public, Shelley Duvall returned to the spotlight when she agreed to appear on Phil McGraw's daytime talk show, "Dr. Phil." Her sudden reemergence was a shock to many, but the topic of the episode, which was titled "From Hollywood Star to Near Isolation: Helping 'The Shining's' Shelley Duvall," was even more disturbing.

During her appearance, Duvall spoke about several of her delusions, from her belief that her late "Popeye" co-star Robin Williams was still alive somehow shapeshifting, to her concerns about a possible mechanism inside her. It was heartbreaking to watch as Duvall admitted, "I'm very sick. I need help." McGraw ended the episode saying, "After three days at the treatment center, Shelley still refused to agree to take any medications and she would not sign the paperwork required to treat her. She was accompanied by trained professionals and was safely returned to her family and boyfriend at home." He also claimed that his team was working with Duvall's mother to continue to help the actor.

Condemnation of McGraw's seeming exploitation of Duvall poured in, including from Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian, who took to X, then known as Twitter, to boycott "Dr. Phil." She wrote, "Unquestioningly, this is purely a form of lurid and exploitive entertainment — it's appallingly cruel." It became clear to many that Dr. Phil took things too far.

Shelley Duvall's infamous interview with Phil McGraw went viral, with many pitying the actor for her apparent exploitation from the show. Five years after her appearance, she told The Hollywood Reporter about the incidents that followed the interview, saying McGraw had started harassing her mother. "I found out the kind of person he is the hard way. My mother didn't like him, either. A lot of people, like Dan [Gilroy], said, 'You shouldn't have done that, Shelley.' ... [McGraw] started calling my mother. She told him, 'Don't call my daughter anymore.' But he started calling my mother all the time trying to get her to let me talk to him again," Duvall remembered.

McGraw faced major scrutiny after his team failed to provide Duvall with adequate care, but he claimed that the actor simply wouldn't work with them. While on CNN's "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace" in June 2023, McGraw was asked whether he regretted the way he handled the interview with Duvall. "I don't regret what I did. I regret that it was promoted in a way that people thought was unbecoming," he said simply.

Tragically, Shelley Duvall died in her sleep on July 11, 2024, just a few days after her 75th birthday. Her cause of death was determined to be from complications caused by her diabetes. Duvall's partner Dan Gilroy said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter at the time, "My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she's free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley,"

Thankfully, before she died, Duvall had gotten to act one last time, and for the first time in over two decades, in an indie horror movie called "The Forest Hills." She seemed thrilled to return to the craft that once brought her so much joy, as she told People in February 2023, "Acting again — it's so much fun. It enriches your life." She later added with a laugh, "[Jessica Tandy] won an Oscar when she was 80. I can still win."