No, Shelley Duvall was not traumatized by Stanley Kubrick on The Shining
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Soon after The Shining came out in 1980, gossip started spreading about how Shelley Duvall was supposedly treated badly by director Stanley Kubrick while they were filming.
Kubrick, a well-known stickler for detail, made sure to capture multiple shots of each scene, putting Duvall in a state of intense distress as she portrayed the troubled wife of Nicholson's character in the hotel.
In reality, Duvall consistently supported Kubrick and his methods for many years until her passing on July 11th at 75 years old.
Filming The Shining was extremely tough for Duvall. She had to cry for 12 hours a day, five or six days a week, for nine long months. In an interview with Roger Ebert in 1980, Duvall described the experience as grueling and almost unbearable. Despite the challenges, she also mentioned that there were some positive aspects to the role.
There were many news stories about how the director upset the actor while they were making the movie to get a better performance from her. The director and actor would often disagree while filming. Duvall mentioned to Kubrick's assistant in 1979 that the arguments and sharing of ideas were necessary for the final result to be as good as it was.
By the close of the day, we understood that it was meant to improve performance. There were no lingering resentments.
During a 2021 talk with The Hollywood Reporter, Duvall was questioned about whether she believed Kubrick had treated her harshly or abusively, as some have said. She confessed, "He has a bit of that side to him. He certainly does. But I believe it's mostly because others have treated him that way in the past."
"He was extremely kind and welcoming towards me," she said. "He dedicated a significant amount of time to Jack and myself. He simply wanted to have long conversations while the crew patiently waited. The crew would remind him, 'Stanley, we have around 60 people waiting.' But the work was crucial."
Duvall didn't have trouble finding or avoiding work right after The Shining. During the time she was shooting the scary movie in London, Robert Altman chose her to play Olive Oyl in his movie Popeye, starring alongside Robin Williams.
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From 1982 to 1987, Duvall led, presented, and oversaw the popular children's TV show Faerie Tale Theatre. Every episode featured a stellar lineup of actors, including Williams, Christopher Reeve, Carol Kane, Bud Cort, Bernadette Peters, and Mick Jagger.
Rumors and misunderstandings about The Shining grew because Duvall withdrew from the spotlight and her career in acting, which led to speculation about her mental well-being.
In the years leading up to her passing, the actor Shelley Duvall was frequently searched on Google with questions like: What happened to Shelley Duvall? and Why did Shelley Duvall vanish?
Between 2002 and 2022, Duvall was absent from the acting scene. She made her comeback in an indie horror movie, The Forest Hills, which follows a man haunted by terrifying nightmares following a head injury in the Catskill Mountains.
In a recent article about the actress, The New York Times explained that Duvall's absence from the spotlight was due to various reasons. These included the destruction of her home in Los Angeles during the 1994 Northridge earthquake, her decision to care for a sick brother in Texas, where she is originally from, and the challenges that come with being a famous figure.
"It's everywhere online: People saying 'Look how she's changed' and 'You won't even recognize her now.' Every famous person goes through that," said Dan Gilroy, who has been with her since 1989, in an interview with The Times.
Last year, a young female fan who became friends with Shelley later in her life tweeted that people often mistakenly believe her struggles with mental illness and the natural aging process are somehow related to the movie Shining. These false perceptions are fueled by rumors spread on the internet.
Many believe that Shelley's life was permanently affected after appearing in The Shining, but it's unfair and patronizing to reduce her entire life to just one film. It frustrates me that people overlook her work beyond The Shining and fail to appreciate her later career.
Kubrick's team honored their lead actor from the movie X by posting on social media. They mentioned that Shelley had a diverse and lengthy career.
Although there were many exaggerations about how she was treated on set, Shelley always spoke openly about her time filming The Shining. She expressed that she wouldn't change it for anything because working with the great Stanley Kubrick was an amazing opportunity for growth and learning.
We are keeping Shelley's friends and family in our thoughts.
