Fact Check: Is Shelley Duvall related to Robert Duvall? Personal life explored as The Shining star dies aged 75

Shelley Duvall, the actress known for The Shining, passed away at the age of 75 on July 11. The Hollywood Reporter was informed of her death by her partner, Dan Gilroy.

Gilroy claimed that Duvall had been experiencing difficulties from her diabetes. He furher said that she passed away peacefully in her sleep as a result of the issues at her Blanco, Texas, home.

He then stated to the publication-

“My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley.”

However, following the tragic news, netizens have been wondering if Shelley Duvall is related to the actor Robert Duvall. The short answer is, no, they are not. They are both esteemed actors and coincidentally, they just share the same surname.

Moreover, Shelley’s father, Robert Richardson Duvall, was a lawyer, not an actor.

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Shelley Duvall and Robert Duvall are not related

People often think the actors are related but they are not (Image via 20th Century Studios / Facebook / Robert Duvall)

Despite not sharing a family tree, actors Robert Duvall and Shelley Duvall have become well-known in the entertainment business due to their own professional accomplishments.

Shelley Alexis Duvall was born in 1949 in Fort Worth, Texas. She is the eldest child of Robert Richardson "Bobby" Duvall, a lawyer and former livestock auctioneer, and Bobbie Ruth Crawford, a real estate broker. Despite sharing a last name, she comes from a different part of America and has a different ancestry than other well-known Duvalls.

Shane, Scott, and Stewart were her three younger brothers. Furthermore, Bobbie passed away in 2020 while Robert passed away in August 1994.

Shelley Duvall's father and actor Robert Duvall are two different people. Robert Earle Duvall and Leah L. Richardson welcomed Shelley's father into the world on December 22, 1919, in Palestine, Anderson, Texas, USA.

In 1942, he became a military recruit. Furthermore, it was stated on websites such as Find a Grave that he is presently buried in Palestine City Cemetery.

Robert Selden Duvall, on the other hand, is an American actor and director. Admiral William Howard Duvall and Mildred Virginia Duvall were his parents, and he was born in San Diego, California, on January 5, 1931. As of right now, he is 93 years old and alive.

For his seven-decade career, he has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, an Academy Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and a BAFTA Award.

In the 1962 movie To Kill a Mockingbird, Duvall played one of his most prominent early roles that helped launch his career as a rising star in Hollywood. He then starred in several highly regarded movies, such as The Godfather, Bullitt, and True Grit.

Duvall's portrayal in The Godfather cemented his reputation as one of Hollywood's most diverse and gifted performers and led to an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Additionally, actor Shelley has lived with eleven dogs, twelve parrots, and fifty-eight finches, budgies, and cockatiels, whereas Robert Duvall has not. Moreover, Robert Duvall is childless despite having been married four times.

In addition, Robert Duvall's current wife's name is Luciana Pedraza, and they have been married since 2005. On the other hand, Bobbie Duvall, Shelley Duvall's mother, married Robert Duvall in 1947 but later filed for divorce.

So, to debunk the viral rumor, actor Shelley Duvall is not related to actor Robert Duvall.