Shelley Duvall
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.
Known for
Frasier
Caroline (voice)
The Twilight Zone
Margaret (segment "A Saucer of Loneliness")
L.A. Law
Margo Stanton
Cannon
Liz Christie
Faerie Tale Theatre
The Miller's Daughter
Faerie Tale Theatre
Marie / Rapunzel
Faerie Tale Theatre
Narrator / Nightingale (voice)
Faerie Tale Theatre
Snow White's Mother
Faerie Tale Theatre
Narrator (voice)
Faerie Tale Theatre
Self - Host
The Ray Bradbury Theater
Leota Bean
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
Ocka (voice)
The Shining
Wendy Torrance
Fridays
Self
The Hughleys
Mrs. Crump
Tall Tales & Legends
Self - Host
Tall Tales & Legends
Clementine
RocketMan
Mrs. Randall (uncredited)
Time Bandits
Dame Pansy / Pansy
Popeye
Olive Oyl
Nashville
L.A. Joan
3 Women
Mildred "Millie" Lammoreaux
Pinocchio
Self - Host (uncredited)
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
Shelley Duvall
Maggie Winters
Muriel
Wishbone
Renee Lassiter
Annie Hall
Pam
Home Fries
Mrs. Jackson
Cinderella
Self - Host
The Adventures of Shirley Holmes
Alice Flitt
Casper Meets Wendy
Gabby
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Ida Coyle
Frankenweenie
Susan Frankenstein
Suburban Commando
Jenny Wilcox
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Potsi
WonderWorks
Laura Burroughs
Roxanne
Dixie
Kubrick by Kubrick
Self (archive footage)
Brewster McCloud
Suzanne
Lily
Lily Miniver
Twilight Theatre
Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures
Self
The Portrait of a Lady
Countess Gemini
The Underneath
Nurse
Rumpelstiltskin
The Miller's Daughter / Self - Host
Big Monster on Campus
Mrs. Stein
Tale of the Mummy
Edith Butros
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson
The First Lady (Mrs. Cleveland)
Thieves Like Us
Keechie
Booker
Laura
Shadow Zone: My Teacher Ate My Homework
Mrs. Fink
Darlin' Clementine
Self / Host / Clementine
Alone
Estelle
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme
Little Bo Peep
The 4th Floor
Martha Stewart
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Dan Aykroyd
Bad Ballet Dancer (archive footage)
The Nightingale
Nightingale (voice) / Narrator (voice) / Self - Host
Annie Oakley
The Host
The Little Mermaid
Self - Host
Thumbelina
Self - Host (uncredited)
Ponce de Leon
Self / Host
Manna from Heaven
Detective Dubrinski
Little Red Riding Hood
Self - Host (uncredited)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Self / Host
Aliens for Breakfast
Teacher
Beauty and the Beast
Self - Host (uncredited)
Making 'The Shining'
Self
Sleeping Beauty
Self - Host (uncredited)
Howl: Inside the Forest Hills
Self
Davy Crockett
Self / Host
The Tale of the Frog Prince
Self - Host (uncredited)
The Chipmunks Rockin' Through The Decades
Self
Faerie Tale Theatre: Rip Van Winkle
Self - Host (uncredited)
Bernice Bobs Her Hair
Bernice
Johnny Appleseed
Self / Host
Frogs!
Annie
The Princess and the Pea
Self - Host (uncredited)
Frog
Mrs. Anderson
Casey at the Bat
Host
Jack and the Beanstalk
Self - Host (uncredited)
Puss in Boots
Self - Host / Narrator
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Self - Host
The Snow Queen
Host / Narrator (voice)
Twilight of the Ice Nymphs
Amelia Glahn
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White's Mother / Self - Host
Pecos Bill
Self / Host
The Emperor's New Clothes
Self - Host
Hansel and Gretel
Self - Host (uncredited)
The Princess Who Had Never Laughed
Self - Host
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Self - Host (uncredited)
Rapunzel
Rapunzel / Marie, Rapunzel's Mother / Self - Host
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
Self - Host (uncredited)
Changing Habits
Sister Agatha
Hello, I'm Shelley Duvall
Self
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
Self - Host
The Fairest of Them All
Self
John Henry
Self / Host
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories: The Christmas Witch
Host
Robert Altman: Giggle And Give In
Self
Guy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight
Self
Mr. Bill's Real Life Adventures
Self
The Dancing Princesses
Self - Host
The Paul Simon Special
Joan of Arc
Earthquake Survival
Self
Dreams in the Attic
Aunt Nellie
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
Saturday Night Live
Patron (uncredited)
Saturday Night Live
Self (uncredited)
Spécial cinéma
Self