Shelley Duvall
Acting
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.
TV Shows(18)
Maggie Winters
Muriel
1998
The Hughleys
Mrs. Crump
1998
The Adventures of Shirley Holmes
Alice Flitt
1997
Wishbone
Renee Lassiter
1995
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
Ocka (voice)
1994
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Potsi
1994
Frasier
Caroline (voice)
1993
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
Shelley Duvall
1992
L.A. Law
Margo Stanton
1986
The Twilight Zone
Margaret (segment "A Saucer of Loneliness")
1985
Tall Tales & Legends
Self - Host
1985
The Ray Bradbury Theater
Leota Bean
1985
WonderWorks
Laura Burroughs
1984
Faerie Tale Theatre
The Miller's Daughter
1982
Fridays
Self
1980
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
1975
Spécial cinéma
Self
1974
Cannon
Liz Christie
1971
Movies(84)
Dreams in the Attic
Aunt Nellie
2025
Kubrick by Kubrick
Self (archive footage)
2020
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Dan Aykroyd
Bad Ballet Dancer (archive footage)
2005
Manna from Heaven
Detective Dubrinski
2002
Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures
Self
2001
The 4th Floor
Martha Stewart
1999
Home Fries
Mrs. Jackson
1998
Casper Meets Wendy
Gabby
1998
Tale of the Mummy
Edith Butros
1998
Big Monster on Campus
Mrs. Stein
1998
Alone
Estelle
1997
RocketMan
Mrs. Randall (uncredited)
1997
Twilight of the Ice Nymphs
Amelia Glahn
1997
Guy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight
Self
1997
Changing Habits
Sister Agatha
1997
Shadow Zone: My Teacher Ate My Homework
Mrs. Fink
1997
The Portrait of a Lady
Countess Gemini
1996
Robert Altman: Giggle And Give In
Self
1996
The Underneath
Nurse
1995
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories: The Christmas Witch
Host
1994
Aliens for Breakfast
Teacher
1994
Suburban Commando
Jenny Wilcox
1991
Frogs!
Annie
1991
The Chipmunks Rockin' Through The Decades
Self
1990
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme
Little Bo Peep
1990
Earthquake Survival
Self
1988
The Dancing Princesses
Self - Host
1987
Roxanne
Dixie
1987
The Little Mermaid
Self - Host
1987
Faerie Tale Theatre: Rip Van Winkle
Self - Host (uncredited)
1987
Frog
Mrs. Anderson
1987
Davy Crockett
Self / Host
1986
John Henry
Self / Host
1986
Ponce de Leon
Self / Host
1986
Johnny Appleseed
Self / Host
1986
Mr. Bill's Real Life Adventures
Self
1986
The Princess Who Had Never Laughed
Self - Host
1986
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
Self - Host
1986
Lily
Lily Miniver
1986
Darlin' Clementine
Self / Host / Clementine
1986
Casey at the Bat
Host
1986
Pecos Bill
Self / Host
1986
Annie Oakley
The Host
1985
The Emperor's New Clothes
Self - Host
1985
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Self / Host
1985
Puss in Boots
Self - Host / Narrator
1985
Cinderella
Self - Host
1985
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Self - Host
1985
The Snow Queen
Host / Narrator (voice)
1985
Frankenweenie
Susan Frankenstein
1984
Booker
Laura
1984
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
Self - Host (uncredited)
1984
The Secret World of the Very Young
1984
Beauty and the Beast
Self - Host (uncredited)
1984
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White's Mother / Self - Host
1984
Thumbelina
Self - Host (uncredited)
1984
Pinocchio
Self - Host (uncredited)
1984
The Princess and the Pea
Self - Host (uncredited)
1984
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Self - Host (uncredited)
1984
Hansel and Gretel
Self - Host (uncredited)
1983
Little Red Riding Hood
Self - Host (uncredited)
1983
Jack and the Beanstalk
Self - Host (uncredited)
1983
Sleeping Beauty
Self - Host (uncredited)
1983
The Fairest of Them All
Self
1983
The Nightingale
Nightingale (voice) / Narrator (voice) / Self - Host
1983
Rapunzel
Rapunzel / Marie, Rapunzel's Mother / Self - Host
1983
Rumpelstiltskin
The Miller's Daughter / Self - Host
1982
The Tale of the Frog Prince
Self - Host (uncredited)
1982
Twilight Theatre
1982
Time Bandits
Dame Pansy / Pansy
1981
Popeye
Olive Oyl
1980
Making 'The Shining'
Self
1980
The Shining
Wendy Torrance
1980
The Paul Simon Special
Joan of Arc
1977
3 Women
Mildred "Millie" Lammoreaux
1977
Annie Hall
Pam
1977
Bernice Bobs Her Hair
Bernice
1976
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson
The First Lady (Mrs. Cleveland)
1976
Nashville
L.A. Joan
1975
Thieves Like Us
Keechie
1974
Brewster McCloud
Suzanne
1971
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Ida Coyle
1971
Hello, I'm Shelley Duvall
Self
Howl: Inside the Forest Hills
Self