Riley Keough led the tributes to The Shining star Shelley Duvall following her shock death from diabetes complications aged 75 on Thursday.
The iconic actress, who played Wendy Torrance in the legendary 1980 Stanley Kubrick horror film alongside Jack Nicholson, died in her sleep in her Blanco, Texas home.
‘My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley,’ Dan Gilroy, her life partner since 1989, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Actress Keough, 35, posted a poignant photo of the star in her acting heyday with the caption: ‘Legend.’
West Side Story star Rachel Zegler, 23, also shared a photo of Duvall with a broken heart emoji.
Riley Keough led the tributes to The Shining star Shelley Duvall following her shock death from diabetes complications aged 75 on Thursday
Actress Keough, 35, posted a poignant photo of the star in her acting heyday with the caption: ‘Legend’
The official X account for late The Shining Director Stanley Kubrick wrote: ‘Shelley Duvall, legendary character actor, and The Shining’s extraordinary Wendy Torrance has died at the age of 75.
‘Shelley’s career was varied and long. Despite being dogged with exaggerations of her treatment on set, Shelley was always vocal about her experience filming The Shining saying she “wouldn’t trade it for anything” because “working with loveable Stanley was a fascinating learning experience.”
‘Our thoughts are with Shelley’s friends and family. 07.07.1949 – 11.07.2024.’
Duvall began her career by appearing in the 1970 black comedy feature Brewster McCloud.
She went on to appear in features such as Annie Hall, McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Popeye, among numerous others.
Her most notable role was as Wendy Torrance in The Shining, and although initial reviews for the feature were mixed, contemporary critics have viewed the film in a much more favorable light.
Duvall’s last acting appearance in a film was in Manna From Heaven, which was released in 2002.
Following the movie’s release, the actress retreated from public life and retired until last year.
She made her return to the big screen in the 2023 film The Forest Hills about a man who begins experiencing disturbing visions after enduring a head injury during a camping trip in the Catskill Mountains.
In an interview with The New York Times, she said that she left showbusiness in 2002 because people in Hollywood ‘hurt’ her.
‘I was a star; I had leading roles,’ she told the paper. ‘People think it’s just aging, but it’s not. It’s violence.’
Duvall is pictured in 1977 Robert Altman film, Three Women
West Side Story star Rachel Zegler, 23, also shared a photo of Duvall with a broken heart emoji
Duvall said that she left showbusiness in 2002 because people in Hollywood ‘hurt’ her
She eventually made an appearance on an episode of Dr. Phil in 2016, where she spoke about dealing with mental illness during her time on the show.
The show’s host was subsequently criticized for what many saw as his exploitation of the performer.
Gilroy also chimed in the Times interview saying that her 2016 interview with Dr. Phil was support to help her career, but it ended up being damning and made her appear ‘odd.’
But then he added that he does worry about her, especially when she sleeps in her car.
Gilroy also explained that when her Los Angeles home was destroyed in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, they moved to Texas hoping for a happier life.
That is when things went ‘downhill’ and she ‘started becoming afraid of things, maybe didn’t want to work.’
She made her return to the big screen in the 2023 film The Forest Hills about a man who begins experiencing disturbing visions after enduring a head injury during a camping trip in the Catskill Mountains.
‘Shelley leaves behind an amazing legacy and will be missed by so many people, myself included. I am proud of her for overcoming adversity to act again and will always be forever grateful for her friendship and kindness,’ The Forest Hills director Scott Goldberg told People.
