Iconic Roles: The Best Shelley Duvall Movies and TV Shows of All-Time

In the wake of Shelley Duvall’s passing, we wanted to highlight some of her best roles. She had a unique ability to bring earnestness, sweetness, and melancholy to the screen that few other actresses have approached. Her performances continue to captivate audiences, and our selection below is only a small example of the breadth of her talent.

List of the best Shelley Duvall movies and TV shows

We’ve selected five of Shelley Duvall’s works below, which give a sample of the breadth of her range and her development as an actress. However, this list is far from definitive, and she played many other excellent roles throughout her career.

3 Women (1977)

3 Women stars Shelley Duvall as Mildred “Millie” Lammoreaux, an utterly boring health spa worker who pushes away her co-workers with her incessant talking. Her only real friend is Mildred “Pinky” Rose, who hangs on her every word. The two end up living together, but their relationship starts to deteriorate. When Millie suggests Pinky move out, Pinky attempts to kill herself by throwing herself over a balcony and falls into a coma. When she awakens, she doesn’t remember her past life and instead starts slowly adopting Millie’s identity.

Duvall is excellent in this film, as are her co-stars, Sissy Spacek and Janice Rule. One of the most impressive things about the movie is that most of the dialog is improvised, which gives it a unique and authentic feel.

The Shining (1980)

Duvall’s most famous role is of the long-suffering Wendy Torrance in The Shining. She makes the movie as the audience’s proxy, and it’s hard not to be terrified with her as the Overlook Hotel becomes a more and more hostile place. For years, rumors persisted that director Stanley Kubrick basically tortured Duvall during production, which is why her performance is so spot on. However, that’s not the case, and those who claimed it to be didn’t give Duvall the credit she deserved. On the contrary, Duvall stated in a recent interview that she has nothing but admiration for Kubrick. No, it was Duvall’s strength, perseverance, and talent that brought Wendy’s vulnerability to the silver screen with a performance that’ll forever be cemented into the annals of movie history.

Popeye (1980)

While Popeye was a box office flop on release, it’s become a cult classic since. Critics said Olive Oyl was the role Duvall was born to play, and her gangly frame and bright eyes channeled the character perfectly. Her comedic chops make this film a delight, and it’s remarkable how well she made the transition to the genre, considering Popeye was released the same year as The Shining.

Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories (1992)

In the late 1980s through the early 1990s, Duvall concentrated on children’s programming via her production company, Think Entertainment. One of the most memorable shows to come from Think was Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories. Each episode showcased an animated adaptation of a children’s book read by a celebrity narrator. The high production value and illustrious guest narrators like Ringo Starr, James Earl Jones, John Candy, Rich Moranis, and others made this a standout among its contemporaries.

Shelley Duvall’s It’s a Bird’s Life (1993)

Shelly was one of the first major stars to embrace interactive fiction by writing, narrating, and acting in Shelly Duvall’s It’s a Bird’s Life. This educational title tells the story of a group of parrots who end up in the Amazon Rainforest after their LA home burns down. While this title might seem primitive now, it was ahead of its time and showed how forward-thinking Duvall was regarding educational media.