Shelley Duvall last appeared in a movie 22 years ago, after which she suddenly disappeared. She later blamed Hollywood for “hurting” her.
74-year-old American actress Shelley Duvall, best known for her role as Wendy Torran in Stanley Kubrick’s legendary 1980 horror film The Shining, gave a rare interview to The New York Times. In it, she explained how she left show business in 2002 because people in Hollywood “wronged” her.
There’s a movie coming out this spring called “Forest Hills,” her first in 22 years, and that’s why she agreed to talk.
Shelley Duvall today
“You’ll never believe it unless it happens to you. That’s why it hurts, because you can’t really believe it’s true,” Duvall said, referring to her career troubles. The actress, who suffers from diabetes, spent most of the interview jumping between topics and mentioning song lyrics.
Dan Gilroy, Shelley’s partner for more than 30 years, says he worries about Shelley. When the actress’s Los Angeles home was destroyed in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, they moved to Texas in hopes of a happier life, he said. But that’s when things went “downhill” and she “started to be afraid of something, maybe she didn’t want to work.” Duvall became paranoid, having obsessive ideas that she was being followed, and even contacted the FBI for help.
One of the most striking scenes from the film “The Shining”: Shelley Duvall and Jack Nicholson
“It’s very difficult to connect this with one thing,” the man noted.
She became paranoid, “kind of delusional,” thinking she was being attacked and even called the FBI for help, he said.
Shelley last appeared on screen in 2002, starring in the film “Manna from Heaven.” After the premiere, she disappeared from public life and retired.
In one of the magazine shots, she poses in her white SUV in Austin, Texas. Shelley often sleeps in her car, which is filled with used food containers. She keeps photos of her roles in the glove compartment of her car.
Shelley Duvall sleeps in her SUV
Photo: Katherine Squier for The New York Times
Duvall began her career with an appearance in the 1970 black comedy Brewster McCloud. Then there were the films “Annie Hall”, “McCabe and Mrs. Miller”, “Popeye” and many others.
As already mentioned, her first film in a long time, Forest Hills, will soon be released along with Edward Furlong, Chico Mendes and Dee Wallace. The film follows a man who begins to experience disturbing visions after suffering a head injury while hiking in the Catskill Mountains.
Trailer for the film “Forest Hills”
Previously Focus wrote that 90-year-old actress Joan Collins attended an A-list party wearing a see-through blouse.
