Shelley Duvall
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Shelley Duvall in a publicity photo from the 1970s. |
Shelley Duvall (born
July 7,
1949) is an award winning
American film and
television actress who began her career in the
1970s playing quirky and waif-like characters in the movies of
Robert Altman, and eventually starred in movies by
Woody Allen,
Stanley Kubrick,
Terry Gilliam and
Tim Burton.
Duvall was born in
Houston,
Texas and graduated from
Waltrip High School. Duvall was working as a
cosmetics saleswoman at a Houston
Foley's when she was discovered at a party by production scouts for Altman's
Brewster McCloud (1970). After a tough interview with Altman, she later won the lead role of Suzanne, the free-spirited love interest to
Bud Cort's reclusive Brewster. Altman was impressed enough with Duvall's work to cast the young actress in his next films, including
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971),
Thieves Like Us (1974), and
Nashville (1975). In 1977, Duvall was named Best Actress by the
Cannes Film Festival and the
Los Angeles Film Critics Association for her portrayal of the delusional Millie Lammoreaux in Altman's
3 Women.
That same year Duvall appeared in
Annie Hall playing
Woody Allen's one-night stand. Her next role would be Wendy opposite
Jack Nicholson in
Kubrick's
The Shining (1980). The actress and director would openly argue on set. A popular story is that the
perfectionist Kubrick once demanded she perform 127
takes for a single scene, however, there isn't any solid confirmation of this story.
From 1982-1987, Duvall produced and acted in a children's television series for
SHOWTIME called
Faerie Tale Theatre. The one hour episodes re-told popular
fairy tales.
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