Shelley Duval is best known for starring in The Shining (Picture: CBS)
Hollywood actress Shelley Duvall hasn’t been on the big screen for over 20 years – and there’s a reason why.
The Shining actress, 74, was last seen on the silver screen in 2002’s Manna From Heaven, after which she retired.
She then resurfaced in 2016 for an episode of Dr Phil’s TV show titled A Hollywood Star’s Descent Into Mental Illness: Saving The Shining’s Shelley Duvall, which led to her being subjected to a flood of trolling about her health and looks.
Shelley has now given a rare interview about why she stepped away from the spotlight.
‘I was a star; I had leading roles. People think (being away from the limelight) is just ageing, but it’s not. It’s violence,’ she confessed to The New York Times.
‘How would you feel if people were really nice, and then, suddenly, on a dime they turn on you?
She made her movie debut in the 1970s (Picture: Snap/REX/Shutterstock)
The Shining (1980) was her most famous role (Picture: Warner Bros/Hawk Films/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
‘You would never believe it unless it happens to you. That’s why you get hurt, because you can’t really believe it’s true.’
The star did not elaborate on what kind of violence she suffered.
Shelley was seen wide-eyed on the Dr Phil episode, making claims including that she was receiving messages from a ‘shapeshifting’ Robin Williams, who had died two years before, and talking about evil forces she feared were out to do her harm.
She has since been suffering from health issues including diabetes and an injured left foot which means she uses a wheelchair when she is not driving around in her beloved white Toyota 4Runner.
Along with her article, the actress was photographed in her white SUV while in Austin, Texas.
The New York Times profile said she often sleeps in her vehicle as it has open space that helps her stretch out her hurt foot.
It added she is set to make a return to movies this spring in The Forest Hills, a film in which Shelley plays Mama, the mum of a man who is billed by the movie’s makers as ‘tormented by nightmarish visions after enduring head trauma’.
She played Wendy Torrance in the psychological horror, alongside Jack Nicholson (Picture: Warner Bros/Hawk Films/Kobal/Shutterstock)
The actress retired from Hollywood two decades ago (Picture: Walt Disney/Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
The film will also feature Terminator 2 actor Edward Furlong, 46.
On three occasions, the crew travelled to Shelley’s home in Texas from their New York base so she could perform her scenes from home, with her wheelchair being made part of the story.
Movie star Shelley began her career in 1970 when she appeared in the black comedy feature Brewster McCloud.
Over the years, she became widely known for her portrayal of distinctive and eccentric characters and was rewarded for such, having received a Cannes Film Festival Award and a Peabody Award, plus nominations for a British Academy Film Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
Shelley’s other notable roles include Annie Hall, McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Popeye, among many others.
The reclusive actress can next be seen this spring in The Forest Hills (Picture: Dresnick Goldberg Productions/Backgrid)
Of course, her most famous role came in 1980 when played Wendy Torrance in The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick.
The psychological horror was based on Stephen King’s 1977 novel of the same name and starred Jack Nicholson.
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