The Shining's Shelley Duvall dies aged 75 as partner confirms cause of death amid tributes for actress
Shelley Duvall (left), star of The Shining, has died
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Shelley Duvall has died at the age of 75, her partner Dan Gilroy has confirmed.
The actress was best known for appearing in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining while also starring in a series of Robert Altman flicks.
Citing a cause of death, Gilroy told The Hollywood Reporter Duvall died in her sleep of complications from diabetes.
Her death took place at her home in Blanco, Texas.
Gilroy said in a statement to THR: "My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us.
"Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley."
Shelley Duvall alongside Jack Nicholson on the set of The Shining
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Tributes from far and wide have flooded in for Duvall following the news of her death, with many fondly remembering her stints in McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Nashville, Popeye and 3 Women, in particular.
On X, formerly Twitter, one film fan penned: "I honestly feel so heartbroken. shelley duvall made me fall in love with watching actors transform on screen. truly no one like her, we lost an icon."
A second echoed: "So long Shelley Duvall. What made her special was not just how versatile she was, but she was unlike any of her contemporaries.
"She simply made you fall in love with Olive Oyl," they added.
Shelley Duvall pictured in 1983
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Elsewhere, a third fan also reminisced about her stint in Popeye, sharing a clip of the film with the caption: "Shelley Duvall duetting with Robin Williams on Sailin' in Popeye. Just one of the most tender things ever committed to film. RIP."
And a fourth echoed: "Farewell to the one & only Shelley Duvall, a girlishly bug-eyed, wise, neurotic, sylph-like presence in motion pictures.
"Her work with Robert Altman, particularly Three Women, is some of the defining stuff of that weird & glorious era where women like her got to be Movie Stars." (sic)]
Duvall's career first began to veer into stardom during the 1970s when director Robert Altman discovered her as a budding actress in Houston, Texas.
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Shelley Duvall, an iconic actress best known for her roles in The Shining, Nashville, 3 Women, and Popeye, has sadly passed away.
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) July 11, 2024
Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/eR3qlTBxm0
Several collaborations followed with the pair joining forces on seven of Altman's big-screen flicks.
It's arguably her stint in The Shining, however, for which Duvall will be best known, starring as the wife of Nicholson's deranged axe-wielding author.
An iconic entry to the history of the horror genre, the experience of shooting the film was famously tortuous, taking 13 months to complete.
Duvall famously opened up on the hardships that came with filming, admitting she would cry "12 hours a day for weeks on end".
She added to People in 1981: "I will never give that much again. If you want to get into pain and call it art, go ahead, but not with me."