Shelley Duvall is a name that might not ring a bell to many. The actress was known for playing unique and eccentric characters in the 1970s and 80s Hollywood. One of her most popular roles has to be Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror film ‘The Shining.’
With a successful career going forward, Duvall suddenly took a step back from acting in 2001. Her disappearance from showbiz lasted for nearly 20 years during which she maintained a low profile. So let’s find out why the ‘Annie Hall‘ actress took such a long break.
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Shelley Duvall Vanished From Limelight For 20 Years
In the 1970s and 80s, Shelley Duvall was a popular actress in Hollywood. She was a part of several acclaimed films like ‘Annie Hall’, ‘The Shining‘, and ‘3 Women‘ among others.
However, the actress left her career and disappeared from Hollywood for 20 years. In an interview with People magazine, the 73-year-old actress revealed the reason behind such a big move.
In 2002, she moved to Texas after her brother was diagnosed with spinal cancer. Around that time, she was not receiving a lot of acting offers. “It’s the longest sabbatical I ever took but it was for really important reasons — to get in touch with my family again,” she said.
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Duvall’s Brother Had Cancer
In 2016, Duvall made a brief comeback on the show ‘Dr. Phil‘ where she talked about her ‘Popeye‘ co-star Robin Williams who had died of suicide in 2014. She said that Williams was alive and was “a shapeshifter.”
The show was criticized for mocking and exploiting Duvall’s mental state which was quite fragile at that time. Later on, she slammed the show and said: “I found out the kind of person he is the hard way.”
Before taking a long sabbatical because of her brother’s cancer, Duvall had won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and a BAFTA Award for her role in the 1977 film ‘3 Woman.’ She will be acting after 20 years in the horror film ‘The Forest Hills.’
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