Shelley Duvall Biography

Born in Houston, Texas, Shelley Duvall was discovered at a Houston party by director Robert Altman. Though she had no acting experience, Altman immediately cast her in a featured role in the film Brewster McCloud (1970). Since then, she brought sensitivity and subtlety to the screen by embodying a wealth of diverse characters.

Evidently, the rapport between Shelley and Robert was one that worked. He cast her in several of his other films, including the Oscar-nominated drama McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) with Warren Beatty and Julie Christie, the crime drama Thieves Like Us (1974) with Louise Fletcher, the Oscar-winning ensemble Nashville (1975), the drama 3 Women (1977) with Sissy Spacek (for which she won the Best Actress Award at Cannes), and the adventure comedy Popeye (1980) with Robin Williams, in which she played Olive Oyl.

Around the same time, she also worked alongside Diane Keaton in Woody Allen's Oscar-winning Annie Hall (1977) and Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick's thriller The Shining (1980).

Throughout the '80s, Shelley acted with Sean Connery and John Cleese in the adventure comedy Time Bandits (1981), an episode of the hit sci-fi mystery series The Twilight Zone (1986), and the Golden Globe-nominated romcom Roxanne (1987) with Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah. She also concentrated on her production company, Platypus Productions, which produced the series Fairy Tale Theatre between 1982 and 1987 (for which she received a CableAce Award), and Tall Tales and Legends between 1985 and 1988. For her work on Tall Tales and Legends, she earned an Emmy nomination.

She stayed busy in the '90s, producing three shows for the production company Think Entertainment: Nightmare Classics, Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories, and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. She won her second Emmy nomination for Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories.

Also in the '90s, Shelley worked on episodes of L.A. Law (1994) and Frasier (1995), as well as films including Jane Campion's Oscar-nominated drama The Portrait of a Lady (1996) and the romcom Home Fries (1998) with Drew Barrymore, Luke Wilson and Catherine O'Hara.

Shelley appeared in Manna from Heaven (2002), a comedy starring Shirley Jones, Cloris Leachman and Louise Fletcher, then took a long break before her final film role in the 2023 horror movie The Forest Hills, starring alongside Edward Furlong and Dee Wallace.

Shelley died of diabetes complications at her home in Blanco, Texas, where she was accompanied by her partner Dan Gilroy. She was previously married for seven years to Bernard Sampson from 1970 to 1977.

Filmography:

The Forest Hills (2023)
Manna From Heaven (2002)
Big Monster on Campus (2000)
Dreams in the Attic (2000)
The 4th Floor (1999)
Home Fries (1998)
Tale of the Mummy (1998)
Changing Habits (1996)
Portrait of a Lady (1996)
The Underneath (1995)
Suburban Commando (1991)
Roxanne (1987)
Time Bandits (1981)
Popeye (1980)
The Shining (1980)
Annie Hall (1977)
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976)
Nashville (1975)
Thieves Like Us (1974)
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
Brewster McCloud (1970)