According to IMDb trivia, the actress experienced the end of a high-profile relationship only hours before leaving for England to begin filming Stanley Kubrick’s psychological horror classic. The timing added an unexpected chapter to the story behind one of cinema’s most enduring performances.
The End of a Relationship Before the Beginning of a Classic
By the late 1970s, Shelley Duvall and singer-songwriter Paul Simon had become one of Hollywood’s most recognizable couples. They met during the production of “Annie Hall” and spent roughly two years together, even sharing a home in New York while both enjoyed successful careers. Their relationship also led to professional plans, with Simon writing “One-Trick Pony” as a project intended to star alongside Duvall.
Those plans never came to fruition. Simon ended the relationship at the airport just as Duvall was preparing to board her flight to London, where she was set to begin work on Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” Simon ultimately made “One-Trick Pony” with actress Blair Brown instead.
The timing meant Duvall stepped directly from a deeply personal heartbreak into one of the most demanding productions of her career. She had accepted the role of Wendy Torrance after attending the Cannes Film Festival, where she received the Best Actress award for Robert Altman’s “3 Women,” and soon found herself immersed in Kubrick’s meticulous filmmaking process.
Released in 1980, “The Shining” follows Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer who accepts a job as winter caretaker of the isolated Overlook Hotel, bringing along his wife Wendy and their young son Danny. As the family becomes trapped by heavy snowfall, Jack’s mental state steadily deteriorates while the hotel’s disturbing past begins to reveal itself. The picture, starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers, was filmed primarily at EMI Elstree Studios in England and has since become one of the defining works of the horror genre.
Years later, Simon reflected fondly on Duvall following her passing, describing her as “sweet, talented, eccentric.” While their relationship ended just before one of the biggest challenges of her career, it remains an often overlooked part of the story behind the actress who brought Wendy Torrance to life.