Shelley Duvall, whose lithesome features and quirky screen personality made her one of the biggest film stars of the 1970s, appearing in a string of movies by Director Robert Altman and, perhaps most memorably, opposite Jack Nicholson in “The Shining,” died on Thursday, 11 July 2024, at the age of 75 at her home in Blanco, Texas.

A family spokesman said the cause was complications of diabetes. Ms. Duvall had no intention of pursuing a career in film when she met Mr. Altman while filming “Brewster McCloud” (1970); she had hosted a party to sell her husband’s artwork, and members of his film crew were present. They took her with them and introduced her to Mr. Altman, a Director known for his oddball films and unconventional casting. He immediately asked her to join the cast, despite her lack of training.

She answered yes, and went on to appear in five additional films directed by Mr. Altman: “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” (1971), “Thieves Like Us” (1974), “Nashville” (1975), “Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson” (1976), and “Three Women” (1977). She also played Olive Oyl opposite Robin Williams in the film “Popeye” (1980). “I thought, if it’s this simple, why doesn’t everyone act?” she told The New York Times in April.

Her work with Mr. Altman solidified Ms. Duvall’s career; with her gossamer frame and toothy smile, she was the go-to actress for any job that required an out-of-the-box performance. She dated both Paul Simon and Ringo Starr. She presented “Saturday Night Live” in 1977. Photos of Ms. Duvall, frequently dressed in a flowing, sheer garment and carrying a cigarette almost as long and thin as she was, became an iconic image of 1970s celebrity culture.

Her most notable part, however, is Wendy Torrance in “The Shining” (1980), which many people still remember. In the film, she and her husband, Jack (Mr. Nicholson), and their son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), take over as caretakers of a hillside hotel while it is closed for the winter.

Wendy gets increasingly frightened for her own and her son’s safety as Jack begins to demonstrate signs of insanity, even though she appears to be unconscious of the underlying supernatural forces working on her spouse.

Though critics initially found her performance overpowering, particularly her shrieks as an ax-wielding Mr. Nicholson pursues them through the hotel halls, it has been re-evaluated over time, particularly as critics have come to understand the psychological strain of the film and of working under the sometimes difficult treatment of the film’s director, Stanley Kubrick.

“While Nicholson dials up his familiar manic mode as much as required, Shelley Duvall amplifies her neurotic quality to the extreme,” Seongyong Cho wrote for RogerEbert.com in 2023. “Her strenuous efforts here in this film deserve more appreciation, especially considering how Kubrick harshly treated her during the shooting.”

It had long been speculated that working with Mr. Kubrick pushed Ms. Duvall over the edge and out of Hollywood. In reality, she told The Times last year that she had grown to admire him, and she continued to act throughout the 1980s, including as half of the star-crossed couple Vincent and Pansy, opposite Michael Palin in Terry Gilliam’s “Time Bandits” (1981), and alongside Steve Martin in “Roxanne” (1987).

But, in addition to performing, she discovered other avenues in the film industry. She started Platypus Productions in 1982, which converted famous children’s stories into hour-long television performances titled “Faerie Tale Theater.” She used her wide contacts to populate the casts, which included previous co-stars Robin Williams, Bud Cort, and Eric Idle. And, of course, she got Mr. Altman to direct an episode.

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