Shelley Duvall Through the Years: From Budding Actress to Hollywood Scream Queen

Shelley Duvall became one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces through her roles in a slew of iconic films.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas in July 1949, Duvall began her acting career in the 1970s and scored her first major breakout role playing L.A. Joan in Robert Altman‘s classic 1975 movie Nashville. Two years later, she appeared as Pam in Woody Allen‘s Annie Hall and later turned into two of her most notable performances, Wendy Torrance in The Shining and Olive Oyl in Popeye, in 1980.

Duvall recalled working on The Shining in a rare 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, sharing that listening to “sad songs” helped her prepare for the movie’s emotionally draining scenes.

“You just think about something very sad in your life or how much you miss your family or friends,” she told the outlet. “But after a while, your body rebels. It says: ‘Stop doing this to me. I don’t want to cry every day.’ And sometimes just that thought alone would make me cry.”

Duvall eventually took a break from acting after 2002’s Manna from Heaven but made a brief comeback in 2023’s The Forest Hills. She died at age 75 one year later due to complications from diabetes.

Scroll down to look back at Duvall’s biggest career and life moments: