Shelley Duvall, 'The Shining' Star, Dies at 75

Once a Hollywood darling, Duvall's career was marked by tragedy and controversy

Shelley Duvall, the big-eyed, waifish performer who won the Cannes actress award for Robert Altman's "3 Women" and endured Stanley Kubrick's abusive treatment on the set of "The Shining," has died. She was 75.

A Texan Original

Shelley Alexis Duvall was born on July 7, 1949, in Fort Worth, Texas. The first child of Bobbie Ruth Crawford and Robert Safe "Bobby" Duvall Jr., she was raised in a strict Baptist household. Duvall attended Lamar High School in Houston and studied drama at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas.

After graduating from college, Duvall moved to New York City to pursue her acting career. She made her film debut in Altman's 1970 film "Brewster McCloud" and went on to star in a series of acclaimed Altman films, including "Thieves Like Us" (1974), "3 Women" (1977), and "Popeye" (1980).

Kubrick's Nightmare

Duvall's most famous role was as Wendy Torrance in Kubrick's 1980 horror masterpiece "The Shining." The film was a critical and commercial success, but Duvall's performance was met with mixed reviews. She has since said that Kubrick's abusive treatment of her on set left her traumatized.

After "The Shining," Duvall's career declined. She struggled with depression and substance abuse, and she made only a handful of films in the years that followed. In 2016, she gave a bizarre interview to Dr. Phil McGraw in which she appeared delusional and disoriented.

Duvall died on Thursday at the age of 75. The cause of death was not immediately known.