Trivia

At Stanley Kubrick's insistence, she and Jack Nicholson performed 127 takes of the baseball bat scene in The Shining (1980), which broke a world-record for the most retakes of a single movie scene with spoken dialogue. Duvall said she learned more from working with Kubrick on that film than she did on all her previous films.

Played chess with Stanley Kubrick between takes on The Shining (1980).

Julianne Moore reported that she was inspired to become an actress after seeing Duvall and Sissy Spacek act in Robert Altman's 3 Women (1977). (2018)

Was romantically involved with Paul Simon from 1976 to 1979. He was the one to tell her she had won Best Actress at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Robert Altman's 3 Women (1977). She was intended to star opposite Simon in One-Trick Pony (1980), which Simon wrote as a vehicle for the two of them while they were together. He broke up with her at the airport as she was about to board a plane to London to begin filming The Shining (1980). Simon made the film with Blair Brown.

Studied at the renowned Actors Studio in New York during the early 1970 but after only a few classes, found the process too analytical and technical and left to return to her own instinctive and organic approach to acting.

Milos Forman considered her for the role of the prostitute in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). While screening Thieves Like Us (1974) to see if she was right for the role, he became interested in Louise Fletcher, who had a supporting role, and decided to cast her as Nurse Ratched.

Based her characterization of "Olive Oyl" on a combination of Stan Laurel and Mae West.

Learned Italian to play Countess Gemini in The Portrait of a Lady (1996).

Was in France attending the 1977 Cannes Film Festival when offered the role of Wendy Torrence in The Shining (1980).

When she was a teen, she was approached to be in a porn film while out shopping at a drug store. Horrified, she turned the prospect down. The second time she was asked to be in a film, only a few years later, Duvall thought it was another seedy swindle-but it turned out to be a career-making proposal-- Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud (1970).

A fan of Sean Connery, she was lured by Terry Gilliam into making Time Bandits (1981) under the assumption that she would be working with him. Gilliam called Duvall while she was completing work on Popeye (1980) to ask her to appear in the film. When she displayed reluctance, Gilliam, knowing her adoration of Connery, told her "Sean Connery is going to be in it", to which Duvall immediately replied, "I'll do it." As it turned out, they didn't share any scenes together. She later laughed this off, crediting Gilliam's "devilish" sense of humor.

Got hooked on cigarettes after having to smoke for her role in Robert Altman's Thieves Like Us (1974).

No relation to Robert Duvall, despite a popular misconception.

Once lived with 11 dogs, 12 parrots and 58 finches, budgie and cockatiels. (May 1989)

Filmmaker Robert Altman directed her in seven of his films: Brewster McCloud (1970), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), Thieves Like Us (1974), Nashville (1975), Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976), 3 Women (1977), and Popeye (1980).

Reportedly named after Mary Shelley, English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel 'Frankenstein'; or, 'the Modern Prometheus' (1818).

Film critic Pauline Kael once referred to her as "the female Buster Keaton".

She has appeared in four films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant": McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), Nashville (1975), Annie Hall (1977) and The Shining (1980).

Directed by six Oscar winners: Emile Ardolino, Steven Soderbergh, Jane Campion, Dean Parisot, Woody Allen and Stanley Kubrick.

Owned the film rights to Tom Robbins's Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993). Was to write and star in her own film adaptation of the book but the project fell through and she gave up the rights long before Gus Van Sant took over the film rights.

Inducted into the Home Video Hall of Fame with fellow actress Jane Fonda. (December 1985)

Reported that one of her personal heroines is the Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist Marie Sklodowska-Curie. (1980)

Inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame. (2020)

Turned down the role of Tracy Farrell in Robert Altman's A Wedding (1978). The role went to Pam Dawber.

Served as chairman for the Golden ACE committee for the National Cable Television Academy's ACE Awards. (1987)

Guy Maddin's only choice for the role of Amelia Glahn in Twilight of the Ice Nymphs (1997).

Robert Altman's second choice for the role of Sheila Shea in A Perfect Couple (1979). The role had been originally written for Sandy Dennis; however after Dennis left the project, it was offered to Duvall but as she had already begun production on The Shining (1980), she couldn't commit. The role went to Marta Heflin.

Granddaughter of cowboy Bill Hall.

In a 1992 interview with the Houston Chronicle, Shelley said that she had 11 dogs, two cats, one rabbit, four iguanas, three lizards, and about 70 birds.

After dropping out of college she worked as a model and a sales clerk at Foley's department store.

Attended South Texas Junior College planning to study science but dropped out after witnessing a monkey vivisection.

In 1989, Shelley met Dan Gilroy while filming the Disney Channel movie Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme (1990), the two fell in love and since then they have been together.

Mia Goth reported that she is a fan of Duvall's work, particularly in 3 Women (1977), The Shining (1980) and Popeye (1980). (2018)

Shelley Duvall and Ringo Starr share the same birthday - July 7.