Fans across the world were saddened to learn that actress Shelley Duvall died on July 11 – just four days after her 75th birthday. Known for off-kilter roles like Wendy Torrance in The Shining (1980), Olive Oyl in Popeye (1980), and Millie Lammoreaux in 3 Women (1977), the actress cemented herself as a symbol of the bizarre and macabre throughout her career. But behind the scenes things were often even more dramatic than the movies in which she starred.
Tragically, the story of Duvall’s life is one of a deeply creative person who was all too often taken advantage of by a brutal industry. In a 2024 interview with The New York Times , Duvall drew a correlation between the mental health issues she struggled with for years and the unfeeling nature of Hollywood: ‘I was a star; I had leading roles,’ she said. ‘People think it’s just ageing, but it’s not.
It’s violence.’ How would you feel if people were really nice, and then, suddenly, on a dime they turn on you?’ Born to upper middle class parents in Texas in 1949, Duvall came of age in a difficult time and place to be a distinctive looking woman. In one interview, she recalled how kids used to taunt her about her gangly body, chanting: ‘Nahhh, Olive Oyl! Olive Oyl!’ a part she eventually played in 1980’s Popeye.
She then reflected on what it meant to her to reclaim a character that had once been a source of pain for her, telling People : ‘Children grab me around the legs in the grocery store and say, �.
