What Was Shelley Duvall's Net Worth? The 'Shining' Icon Died at 75
"Acting again — it's so much fun. It enriches your life," Shelley said in 2023.
Published Jul. 11 2024, 1:29 p.m. ET
You may have first seen her in The Shining, where she played the tormented wife to Jack Nicholson's deranged, ax-wielding writer. Or perhaps you remember her from the live-action Popeye, where she managed to bring the gangly iconic cartoon character Oliv Oyl to life. But either way, you know actress Shelley Duvall, whose enormous talents — including her award-winning work as a producer of children's television in the '80s — made her a household name.
Sadly, Shelley passed away at age 75 on July 11, 2024. While the world continues to celebrate her life and career, some have wondered how the actress — who largely stepped away from acting in the 2000s — was faring financially.
Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance in 1980's 'The Shining'
What was Shelley Duvall's net worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Shelley had a net worth of $500K when she died.
Around the time she left L.A. for Texas in the mid-'90s, she had been facing some financial trouble, as she later told The Hollywood Reporter in a 2023 interview. "It’s not just owning something that makes money,” she explained to the outlet without going into too much detail. "You have to also control it. You have to make sure it’s a good deal."
Shelley stayed in Texas, where she says she'd gone "because my mother said she might be able to help me," and she remained out of the public eye for decades until she made headlines again in 2016 for her concerning Dr. Phil interview. The public believed that, based on her talk show appearance, Shelley appeared to be having mental health issues.
Shelley Duvall
Actress, Producer
Net worth: $500,000
Shelley Duvall was an award-winning actress best known from films like The Shining, Popeye, 3 Women, and McCabe & Mrs. Miller.
Birthdate: July 7, 1949
Birthplace: Fort Worth, Texas
Birth name: Shelley Alexis Duvall
Father: Robert Richardson "Bobby" Duvall
Mother: Bobbie Ruth Crawford (née Massengale)
Marriages: Bernard Sampson (m. 1970–1974)
After the interview aired, a director named Lee Unkrich, who was working on a book about the making of The Shining, found Shelley and was happy to learn that there was more to the story than what folks saw on Dr. Phil.
Geraldine Chaplin, Lauren Hutton, and Shelley Duvall at a party honoring director Robert Altman in 1977
As The Hollywood Reporter described what they learned from Lee: "Yes, she could be gripped by anxiety attacks or meander into unsettling descriptions of alien-surveillance programs. But she also could converse for long, coherent stretches and conjure up the slightest details about her life and of her career, of which she remains very proud."
Shelley's last film role was 2023's The Forest Hills, her first since 2002's Manna From Heaven. "Acting again — it's so much fun," she told People in 2023. "It enriches your life."
