Shelley Duvall dying: Celebrities pay tribute to The Shining star

The Shining author Stephen King led the tributes to 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.

Master of horror King, 77, who penned the iconic 1977 novel, wrote on X: ‘Very sorry Shelley Duvall has passed. Wonderful, talented, underused actor.’

King has famously expressed his disdain for the 1980 film in past interviews.

Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2014, he said: ‘The book is hot, and the movie is cold; the book ends in fire, and the movie in ice. In the book, there’s an actual arc where you see this guy, Jack Torrance, trying to be good, and little by little he moves over to this place where he’s crazy. 

‘And as far as I was concerned, when I saw the movie, Jack was crazy from the first scene. I had to keep my mouth shut at the time. It was a screening, and Nicholson was there. But I’m thinking to myself the minute he’s on the screen, ‘Oh, I know this guy. I’ve seen him in five motorcycle movies, where Jack Nicholson played the same part.’ 

‘And it’s so misogynistic. I mean, Wendy Torrance is just presented as this sort of screaming dishrag. But that’s just me, that’s the way I am.

He also told the BBC in 2013: ‘Shelley Duvall as Wendy is really one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film, she’s basically just there to scream and be stupid and that’s not the woman that I wrote about.’

Reese Witherspoon shared a stunning snap of the late star and wrote: ‘Shelley Duvall was such a unique talent in this world. She will always be treasured for her indelible performances.

‘Sending love and prayers to her family, her friends and all of her fans.’

Actress Riley 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.

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.’

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.