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.
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0001167
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q235478
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Filmography (Movies)
Dreams in the Attic
Character:Aunt Nellie
Release Date:07/07/2025
The Forest Hills
Character:Rico's Mother
Release Date:04/10/2024
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Dan Aykroyd
Character:Bad Ballet Dancer (archive footage)
Release Date:06/09/2005
Manna from Heaven
Character:Detective Dubrinski
Release Date:14/09/2002
Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures
Character:Self
Release Date:02/05/2001
The 4th Floor
Character:Martha Stewart
Release Date:31/07/1999
Home Fries
Character:Mrs. Jackson
Release Date:25/11/1998
Casper Meets Wendy
Character:Gabby
Release Date:10/09/1998
Tale of the Mummy
Character:Edith Butros
Release Date:03/08/1998
Big Monster on Campus
Character:Mrs. Stein
Release Date:01/01/1998
Alone
Character:Estelle
Release Date:21/12/1997
RocketMan
Character:Mrs. Randall (uncredited)
Release Date:10/10/1997
Twilight of the Ice Nymphs
Character:Amelia Glahn
Release Date:09/09/1997
Guy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight
Character:Self
Release Date:07/09/1997
Changing Habits
Character:Sister Agatha
Release Date:20/05/1997
Shadow Zone: My Teacher Ate My Homework
Character:Mrs. Fink
Release Date:01/01/1997
The Portrait of a Lady
Character:Countess Gemini
Release Date:17/10/1996
Robert Altman: Giggle And Give In
Character:Self
Release Date:17/07/1996
The Underneath
Character:Nurse
Release Date:28/04/1995
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories: The Christmas Witch
Character:Host
Release Date:11/12/1994
Aliens for Breakfast
Character:Teacher
Release Date:02/04/1994
Suburban Commando
Character:Jenny Wilcox
Release Date:04/10/1991
Frogs!
Character:Annie
Release Date:01/01/1991
The Chipmunks Rockin' Through The Decades
Character:Self
Release Date:09/12/1990
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme
Character:Little Bo Peep
Release Date:19/05/1990
Earthquake Survival
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1988
The Dancing Princesses
Character:Self - Host
Release Date:14/11/1987
Roxanne
Character:Dixie
Release Date:19/06/1987
The Little Mermaid
Character:Self - Host
Release Date:06/04/1987
Faerie Tale Theatre: Rip Van Winkle
Character:Self - Host (uncredited)
Release Date:23/03/1987
Frog
Character:Mrs. Anderson
Release Date:23/01/1987
Davy Crockett
Character:Self / Host
Release Date:18/12/1986
John Henry
Character:Self / Host
Release Date:01/12/1986
Ponce de Leon
Character:Self / Host
Release Date:16/11/1986
Johnny Appleseed
Character:Self / Host
Release Date:31/10/1986
Mr. Bill's Real Life Adventures
Character:Self
Release Date:11/09/1986
The Princess Who Had Never Laughed
Character:Self - Host
Release Date:11/08/1986
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
Character:Self - Host
Release Date:14/07/1986
Lily
Character:Lily Miniver
Release Date:14/06/1986
Darlin' Clementine
Character:Self / Host / Clementine
Release Date:08/02/1986
Casey at the Bat
Character:Host
Release Date:20/01/1986
Pecos Bill
Character:Self / Host
Release Date:01/01/1986
Annie Oakley
Character:The Host
Release Date:24/12/1985
The Emperor's New Clothes
Character:Self - Host
Release Date:05/10/1985
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Character:Self / Host
Release Date:25/09/1985
Puss in Boots
Character:Self - Host / Narrator
Release Date:09/09/1985
Cinderella
Character:Self - Host
Release Date:14/08/1985
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Character:Self - Host
Release Date:05/04/1985
The Snow Queen
Character:Host / Narrator (voice)
Release Date:11/03/1985
Frankenweenie
Character:Susan Frankenstein
Release Date:14/12/1984
Booker
Character:Laura
Release Date:01/10/1984
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
Character:Self - Host (uncredited)
Release Date:17/09/1984
Beauty and the Beast
Character:Self - Host (uncredited)
Release Date:13/08/1984
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Character:Snow White's Mother / Self - Host
Release Date:16/07/1984
Thumbelina
Character:Self - Host (uncredited)
Release Date:11/06/1984
Pinocchio
Character:Self - Host (uncredited)
Release Date:14/05/1984
The Princess and the Pea
Character:Self - Host (uncredited)
Release Date:16/04/1984
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Character:Self - Host (uncredited)
Release Date:09/01/1984
Hansel and Gretel
Character:Self - Host (uncredited)
Release Date:05/12/1983
Little Red Riding Hood
Character:Self - Host (uncredited)
Release Date:10/11/1983
Jack and the Beanstalk
Character:Self - Host (uncredited)
Release Date:08/09/1983
Sleeping Beauty
Character:Self - Host (uncredited)
Release Date:07/07/1983
The Fairest of Them All
Character:Self
Release Date:28/05/1983
The Nightingale
Character:Nightingale (voice) / Narrator (voice) / Self - Host
Release Date:10/05/1983
Rapunzel
Character:Rapunzel / Marie, Rapunzel's Mother / Self - Host
Release Date:05/02/1983
Rumpelstiltskin
Character:The Miller's Daughter / Self - Host
Release Date:16/10/1982
The Tale of the Frog Prince
Character:Self - Host (uncredited)
Release Date:11/09/1982
Twilight Theatre
Character:
Release Date:13/02/1982
Time Bandits
Character:Dame Pansy / Pansy
Release Date:13/07/1981
Popeye
Character:Olive Oyl
Release Date:12/12/1980
Making 'The Shining'
Character:Self
Release Date:04/10/1980
The Shining
Character:Wendy Torrance
Release Date:23/05/1980
The Paul Simon Special
Character:Joan of Arc
Release Date:08/12/1977
3 Women
Character:Mildred "Millie" Lammoreaux
Release Date:29/04/1977
Annie Hall
Character:Pam
Release Date:19/04/1977
Bernice Bobs Her Hair
Character:Bernice
Release Date:06/10/1976
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson
Character:The First Lady (Mrs. Cleveland)
Release Date:24/06/1976
Nashville
Character:L.A. Joan
Release Date:11/06/1975
Thieves Like Us
Character:Keechie
Release Date:11/02/1974
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Character:Ida Coyle
Release Date:24/06/1971
Brewster McCloud
Character:Suzanne
Release Date:05/12/1970
Television Appearances
Maggie Winters
Character:Muriel
The Hughleys
Character:Mrs. Crump
The Adventures of Shirley Holmes
Character:Alice Flitt
Wishbone
Character:Renee Lassiter
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
Character:Ocka (voice)
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Character:Potsi
Frasier
Character:Caroline (voice)
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
Character:Shelley Duvall
L.A. Law
Character:Margo Stanton
The Twilight Zone
Character:Margaret (segment "A Saucer of Loneliness")
Tall Tales & Legends
Character:Self - Host
Tall Tales & Legends
Character:Clementine
The Ray Bradbury Theater
Character:Leota Bean
WonderWorks
Character:Laura Burroughs
Faerie Tale Theatre
Character:The Miller's Daughter
Faerie Tale Theatre
Character:Marie / Rapunzel
Faerie Tale Theatre
Character:Narrator / Nightingale (voice)
Faerie Tale Theatre
Character:Snow White's Mother
Faerie Tale Theatre
Character:Narrator (voice)
Faerie Tale Theatre
Character:Self - Host
Fridays
Character:Self
Saturday Night Live
Character:Self - Host
Saturday Night Live
Character:Patron (uncredited)
Saturday Night Live
Character:Self (uncredited)
Spécial cinéma
Character:Self
Cannon
Character:Liz Christie
Images
