Acting · Fort Worth, Texas, USA · Born July 7, 1949
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 Altman's 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 Allen's 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 Altman's live-action feature version of Popeye (1980) and Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's horror film The Shining (1980). She appeared in Terry Gilliam's 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 (1982–1987), Tall Tales & Legends (1985–1987) (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 Soderbergh's 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 21-year 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.
MovieShine On: The Forgotten Shining Location
2024
as Self (archive footage)
MovieKubrick by Kubrick
2020
as Self (archive footage)
MovieSaturday Night Live: The Best of Dan Aykroyd
2005
as Bad Ballet Dancer (archive footage)
MovieManna from Heaven
2002
as Detective Dubrinski
MovieStanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures
2001
as Self
MovieDreams in the Attic
2000
as Aunt Nellie
MovieThe 4th Floor
1999
as Martha Stewart
MovieHome Fries
1998
as Mrs. Jackson
Maggie Winters
1998
as Muriel
TVThe Hughleys
1998
as Mrs. Crump
MovieCasper Meets Wendy
1998
as Gabby
MovieRussell Mulcahy’s Tale of the Mummy
1998
as Edith Butros
MovieBig Monster on Campus
1998
as Mrs. Stein
MovieAlone
1997
as Estelle
MovieRocketMan
1997
as Mrs. Randall (uncredited)
MovieTwilight of the Ice Nymphs
1997
as Amelia Glahn
MovieGuy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight
1997
as Self
MovieChanging Habits
1997
as Sister Agatha
TVThe Adventures of Shirley Holmes
1997
as Alice Flitt
MovieShadow Zone: My Teacher Ate My Homework
1997
as Mrs. Fink
MovieThe Portrait of a Lady
1996
as Countess Gemini
MovieRobert Altman: Giggle And Give In
1996
as Self
TVWishbone
1995
as Renee Lassiter
MovieThe Underneath
1995
as Nurse
MovieShelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories: The Christmas Witch
1994
as Host
TVAaahh!!! Real Monsters
1994
as Ocka (voice)
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
1994
as Potsi
MovieAliens for Breakfast
1994
as Teacher
TVFrasier
1993
as Caroline (voice)
TVShelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
1992
as Shelley Duvall
MovieSuburban Commando
1991
as Jenny Wilcox
MovieFrogs!
1991
as Annie
MovieThe Chipmunks Rockin' Through The Decades
1990
as Self
MovieMother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme
1990
as Little Bo Peep
MovieEarthquake Survival
1988
as Self
MovieThe Dancing Princesses
1987
as Self - Host
MovieRoxanne
1987
as Dixie
MovieThe Little Mermaid
1987
as Self - Host
MovieFaerie Tale Theatre: Rip Van Winkle
1987
as Self - Host (uncredited)
MovieFrog
1987
as Mrs. Anderson
MovieDavy Crockett
1986
as Self / Host
MovieJohn Henry
1986
as Self / Host
MoviePonce de Leon
1986
as Self / Host
MovieJohnny Appleseed
1986
as Self / Host
TVL.A. Law
1986
as Margo Stanton
MovieMr. Bill's Real Life Adventures
1986
as Self
MovieThe Princess Who Had Never Laughed
1986
as Self - Host
MovieAladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
1986
as Self - Host
MovieLily
1986
as Lily Miniver
MovieDarlin' Clementine
1986
as Self / Host / Clementine
MovieCasey at the Bat
1986
as Host
MoviePecos Bill
1986
as Self / Host
MovieAnnie Oakley
1985
as The Host
MovieThe Emperor's New Clothes
1985
as Self - Host
TVThe Twilight Zone
1985
as Margaret (segment "A Saucer of Loneliness")
MovieThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow
1985
as Self / Host
TVTall Tales & Legends
1985
as Self - Host
MoviePuss in Boots
1985
as Self - Host / Narrator
MovieCinderella
1985
as Self - Host
TVThe Ray Bradbury Theater
1985
as Leota Bean
MovieThe Pied Piper of Hamelin
1985
as Self - Host
MovieThe Snow Queen
1985
as Host / Narrator (voice)
MovieFrankenweenie
1984
as Susan Frankenstein
Booker
1984
as Laura
WonderWorks
1984
as Laura Burroughs
MovieThe Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
1984
as Self - Host (uncredited)
MovieThe Secret World of the Very Young
1984
MovieBeauty and the Beast
1984
as Self - Host (uncredited)
MovieSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs
1984
as Snow White's Mother / Self - Host
MovieThumbelina
1984
as Self - Host (uncredited)
MoviePinocchio
1984
as Self - Host (uncredited)
MovieThe Princess and the Pea
1984
as Self - Host (uncredited)
MovieGoldilocks and the Three Bears
1984
as Self - Host (uncredited)
MovieHansel and Gretel
1983
as Self - Host (uncredited)
MovieLittle Red Riding Hood
1983
as Self - Host (uncredited)
MovieJack and the Beanstalk
1983
as Self - Host (uncredited)
MovieSleeping Beauty
1983
as Self - Host (uncredited)
MovieThe Fairest of Them All
1983
as Self
MovieThe Nightingale
1983
as Nightingale (voice) / Narrator (voice) / Self - Host
Six Kinds of Light - John Alcott
1983
as Self
MovieRapunzel
1983
as Rapunzel / Marie, Rapunzel's Mother / Self - Host
MovieRumpelstiltskin
1982
as The Miller's Daughter / Self - Host
MovieThe Tale of the Frog Prince
1982
as Self - Host (uncredited)
TVFaerie Tale Theatre
1982
as The Miller's Daughter
MovieTwilight Theatre
1982
MovieTime Bandits
1981
as Dame Pansy / Pansy
MoviePopeye
1980
as Olive Oyl
MovieMaking 'The Shining'
1980
as Self
MovieThe Shining
1980
as Wendy Torrance
TVFridays
1980
as Self
MovieThe Paul Simon Special
1977
as Joan of Arc
Movie3 Women
1977
as Mildred "Millie" Lammoreaux
MovieAnnie Hall
1977
as Pam
MovieBernice Bobs Her Hair
1976
as Bernice
MovieBuffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson
1976
as The First Lady (Mrs. Cleveland)
TVSaturday Night Live
1975
as Self - Host
MovieNashville
1975
as L.A. Joan
TVSpécial cinéma
1974
as Self
MovieThieves Like Us
1974
as Keechie
Film '72
1971
as Self
TVCannon
1971
as Liz Christie
MovieBrewster McCloud
1971
as Suzanne
MovieMcCabe & Mrs. Miller
1971
as Ida Coyle
MovieHello, I'm Shelley Duvall
as Self
Howl: Inside the Forest Hills
as Self
