page_title: Shelley Duvall
section_title: 1970–1977: Career beginnings and success
hierarchical_section_title: Shelley Duvall / Life and career / 1970–1977: Career beginnings and success
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of Shelley Duvall in a television presentation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald story "Bernice Bobs Her Hair".
context_page_description: Shelley Alexis Duvall is an American former actress, producer, writer, and singer. Over the duration of her career, Duvall was praised for her portrayals of various eccentric characters. Her accolades include a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, a Peabody Award, two Emmy Award nominations, and a BAFTA Award nomination.
  Duvall began her career in the 1970s appearing in various films by director Robert Altman, including Brewster McCloud, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Thieves Like Us, Nashville, and 3 Women, the latter of which won her the Cannes Award for Best Actress and a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress. She had a supporting role in Annie Hall before starring in lead roles as Olive Oyl in Altman's Popeye, and Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's horror film The Shining. She subsequently appeared in Terry Gilliam's fantasy film Time Bandits, the short comedy-horror film Frankenweenie, and the comedy Roxanne.
  In the 1980s, Duvall ventured into producing television programming aimed at children and youth. Between 1982 and 1987, she created, hosted, and appeared in Faerie Tale Theatre, a live-action anthology series based on popular fairy tales.
context_section_description: Duvall married artist Bernard Sampson in 1970. Around this time, she met Robert Altman at a party while he was shooting Brewster McCloud (1970) on location in Texas. Several crew members for the film were fascinated by Duvall's upbeat presence and unique physical appearance, and asked her to be part of the feature. Duvall reflected on committing to the project: "I got tired of arguing, and thought maybe I am an actress. They told me to come. I simply got on a plane and did it. I was swept away." Duvall had never left Texas before Altman offered her the film role. She flew to Hollywood and subsequently appeared as the free-spirited love interest to Bud Cort's reclusive Brewster in Brewster McCloud.
  Altman subsequently chose Duvall for roles as an unsatisfied mail-order bride in McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), and the daughter of a convict and mistress to Keith Carradine's character in Thieves Like Us (1974). Duvall's marriage to Sampson disintegrated as her acting career accelerated, and they divorced in 1974. Next, Duvall appeared as a spaced-out groupie in Altman's ensemble comedy Nashville (1975), and a sympathetic Wild West woman in Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976).
  The same year, Duvall left Altman to star as Bernice, a wealthy girl from Wisconsin in PBS's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story Bernice Bobs Her Hair (1976). She also hosted an evening of Saturday Night Live and appeared in 5 sketches: "Programming Change", "Video Vixens", "Night of the Moonies", "Van Arguments" and "Goodnights".
  In 1977, Duvall starred as Mildred "Millie" Lammoreaux in Altman's psychological thriller 3 Women, portraying a woman living in a dreary California desert town. Duvall's performance garnered the award for Best Actress at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival and the LAFCA Award for Best Actress, as well as a BAFTA nomination. She next appeared in a minor role in Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977). While she was shooting Annie Hall in New York, Duvall met singer/songwriter Paul Simon. The couple began a relationship and lived together for two years. Their relationship ended when Duvall introduced Simon to her friend, actress Carrie Fisher; Fisher took up with Simon.
caption: Duvall in Bernice Bobs Her Hair (1976)
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