Shelley Duvall, the acclaimed actor best known for her chilling portrayal of Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s iconic horror film “The Shining,” has passed away at 75 due to complications from diabetes. Her death has not only saddened the film community but also revived discussions about the alleged psychological abuse she endured during the making of the 1980 masterpiece.

Duvall’s career, marked by both vulnerability and strength, peaked with her role as the terrified wife of Jack Nicholson’s increasingly unstable character in “The Shining.” Her performance remains a haunting memory for horror fans worldwide. However, the film’s creation was marred by allegations of Kubrick’s abusive behavior toward Duvall.

“I got the feeling, certainly through what Jack was saying at the time, that Shelley was having a hard time just dealing with the emotional content of the piece. And they didn’t seem to be all that sympathetic. It seemed to be a little bit like the boys were ganging up,” actress Anjelica Huston, who dated Nicholson at the time of filming, told the Hollywood Reporter in 2021.

The documentary “Making The Shining,” filmed by Kubrick’s daughter Vivian, who has faced her own controversy for anti-semetic tweets and promoting QAnon conspiracy theories, offers a disturbing glimpse into the director’s treatment of Duvall. It shows him verbally abusing her, demanding excessive retakes, and isolating her from the cast and crew. Rumors have swarmed the film for years, including one stating that Duvall was reportedly forced to repeat the infamous baseball bat scene 127 times, leaving her hands bloodied and raw. Director Lee Unkrich, who wrote a book on the filming of “The Shining,” told Indiewire in 2023 that his research found that this claim was false. Still, the stress and exhaustion the horror performance led to physical illness, including hair loss.

Despite the trauma, Duvall’s career continued, but the experience on “The Shining” left a lasting impact. In a 2001 interview, she expressed conflicting feelings about the film, acknowledging its artistic merit while admitting the personal cost.

“For a person so charming and so likeable indeed, lovable, he can do some pretty cruel things when you’re filming because it seemed to me at times that the end justified the means,” she said.

“I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. Why? Because of Stanley. And it was a fascinating learning experience. It was such intense work that I think it makes you smarter,” Duvall said. 

In a later interview with Dr. Phil, she described the experience as “hell,” though these comments were later questioned due to Duvall’s mental health struggles.

“I mean, there was a great cast — Jack, Scatman [Crothers], Danny [Lloyd]. They were all wonderfully hilarious people, but then there was Stanley Kubrick, the director of this iconic masterpiece. All I’ll really say for now is that if he hadn’t directed the way he did, if he hadn’t done everything with force and cruelty, then I guess it wouldn’t have turned out to be as it was,” Duvall said.

The debate surrounding Kubrick’s treatment of Duvall remains polarizing. Some defend his methods as necessary for achieving artistic brilliance, while others condemn them as cruel and unnecessary.

“#RIP Shelley Duvall. She was robbed of an Oscar for “Popeye” in a role she was born to play, tortured and abused by Kubrick and exploited by Dr. Phil. She deserved a better ending,” filmmaker Harrison Smith tweeted.

Others pin the conversation as a Hollywood myth.

“The story about Kubrick terrorizing Shelley Duvall on the set of The Shining is an urban legend that imo undermines her tremendous ability as a performer. Reserve your outrage for Dr Phil, who actually did exploit her,” comedian Jake Flores tweeted yesterday.

Regardless, Duvall’s performance in “The Shining” was undeniably born out of immense suffering.

The toll of Kubrick’s alleged abusive behavior on Duvall extended far beyond the film set. Reports indicate that she struggled with mental health issues in the years following “The Shining,” eventually withdrawing from the public eye and appearing in few productions. Her infrequent public appearances often revealed a fragile emotional state, sparking concern among fans and colleagues alike. While the extent to which the filming experience directly contributed to these struggles is unclear, it is undeniable that Duvall’s ordeal on set left a lasting impact on her life and career.

Exploitation, unfair treatment remains a key component of Hollywood’s legacy

Duvall’s experience is not unique in the history of Hollywood. The industry has a long, documented history of exploitation and abuse towards women, both on and off set.

From the early days of Hollywood, the “casting couch” era saw aspiring actresses coerced into sexual acts in exchange for roles. In more recent times, the #MeToo movement has brought to light countless stories of harassment, discrimination, and assault perpetrated by powerful figures within the industry.

“This was never overnight work,” Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of National Women’s Law Center and co-founder of Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, told Forbes in 2023. “The work to end sexual violence and to address the structures that allow it to thrive has been work happening for generations. But this moment [when #MeToo went viral] was a critical acceleration moment, and we will not be the same.”

Some deem Hollywood;s efforts to address gender inequality as performative, resulting in little progress for women in the industry. Duvall’s passing serves as a stark reminder that the industry still has a long way to go. Issues like underrepresentation of women in key creative roles, pay disparity between male and female actors, and the persistent objectification of women on screen remain significant challenges.

According to a 2017 report by Lancaster University professors, women in Hollywood earn about $1.1 million less than their male co-stars.

“It doesn’t matter how much I do,” she said. “I’m still not going to get paid as much as that guy, because of my vagina?” actress Jennifer Lawerence said in a 2017 Vogue interview.

Duvall’s case also raises broader ethical questions about the limits of artistic expression. While the pursuit of creative vision is essential, it should never come at the cost of an actor’s well-being. Advocates say it is imperative to find a balance that protects artists from harm while still allowing for artistic exploration, and making room for women in all areas of the creative process.

“We need big awards ceremonies like the Oscars to acknowledge more female directors and cinematographers to encourage young women entering the industry. But we also need the culture to be more welcoming of those who already exist – while there are open-minded men in the industry I’ve also heard anecdotal stories of male crew who’ve talked back to and undermined female directors and cinematographers, and that’s not on,” critic Anna Smith told the BBC in 2018.

These concerns have been highlighted by recent productions. One recent example is the controversy surrounding the film “Blonde” (2022), a fictionalized account of Marilyn Monroe’s life. Critics argued that the film exploited Monroe’s trauma and suffering for artistic purposes, particularly through its graphic depictions of sexual assault and emotional distress.

“Blonde clearly wants us to feel for Norma Jeane, but it dwells on her pain so obsessively — never more so than when she’s shown being sexually assaulted by President Kennedy — that the movie’s empathy feels like another form of exploitation,” film critic Justin Chang wrote in a review of the film for NPR.

Another example is the HBO series “Euphoria” (2019-present), which has been criticized for its gratuitous nudity and sexualization of teenage girls. While the show’s creators argue that it is a realistic portrayal of adolescent struggles, some viewers believe it exploits young women for shock value and entertainment.

“All of Euphoria’s characters have difficult lives, but the storylines established in the pilot episode alone include most of the girls being sexually exploited, whether it’s through revenge porn, statutory rape, or slut-shaming,” features writer Claudia Picado write in a 2023 Collinder article. “Obviously, these are very real issues that teenage girls face today, but the show’s heavy-handed commentary and graphic depiction of characters who are canonically underage (though the actors are all adults) is one of the show’s most glaring problems.”

Duvall remembered for her talents and tribulations

Shelley Duvall leaves behind a complex legacy. Very few argue that she was a talented actress who delivered a haunting performance in a classic film, but she also endured trauma that left lasting scars. As fans mourn her loss, many are acknowledging both the light and the darkness, the triumphs and the tragedies, that shaped her life and career.