Stephen King pays tribute to Shelley Duvall, calling The Shining star a “wonderful, talented, underused actor”

The Shining author Stephen King has paid tribute to Shelley Duvall following her tragic death. 

Duvall played Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of King’s novel, which also stars Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance and Danny Lloyd as Danny Torrance. 

“Very sorry Shelly Duvall has passed,” King wrote on Twitter. “Wonderful, talented, underused actor.”

News of Duvall’s death broke yesterday (July 11). According to The Hollywood Reporter, Duvall died at her Texas home due to complications from diabetes. “My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley,” Dan Gilroy, Duvall’s partner, told THR.

Duvall mostly retired from acting in 2022, and her illustrious career saw her work with the likes of Terry Gilliam, Jane Campion, Tim Burton, and her frequent collaborator Robert Altman. She returned to movies for the first time in over 20 years in werewolf horror movie The Forest Hills, which is also her final film. 

Scott Goldberg, who directed The Forest Hills, told People: “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.”

Kubrick’s estate has also shared a tribute on Twitter. “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,” reads a tweet posted on the account. 

“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,'” it continues. “Our thoughts are with Shelley’s friends and family.”