set to return to act in an upcoming horror film titled, The Forest Hills. Early life Shelley Alexis Duvall was born on July 7, 1949, in Fort Worth, Texas, the first child of Bobbie Ruth Crawford (née Massengale, 1929–2020), a real estate broker, and Robert Richardson "Bobby" Duvall (1919–1994), a cattle auctioneer-turned-lawyer (not to be confused with actor Robert Duvall, to whom Shelley is not closely related). Duvall has three younger brothers: Scott, Shane, and Stewart. Duvall spent her first years living in various locations throughout Texas due to her father's work, before the family settled in Houston when she was five years old. Duvall was an artistic and energetic young child, eventually earning the nickname "Manic Mouse" from her mother. She also became interested in science at a young age, and as a teenager aspired to become a scientist. After graduating from Waltrip High School in 1967, Duvall sold cosmetics at Foley's and attended South Texas Junior College, where she majored in nutrition and diet therapy. Career 1970–1976: Early roles Around 1970, she met Robert Altman at a party while he was shooting Brewster McCloud (1970) on location in Texas. Several crew members on the film were fascinated by Duvall's upbeat presence and unique physical appearance, and asked her to be part of the feature. Duvall reflected on committing to the project: "I got tired of arguing, and thought maybe I am an actress. They told me to come. I simply got on a plane and did it. I was swept away." Duvall had never left Texas before Altman offered her a role. She flew to Hollywood and subsequently appeared in the film as the free-spirited love interest to Bud Cort's reclusive Brewster. Altman subsequently chose Duvall for roles as an unsatisfied mail-order bride in McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), and the daughter of a convict and mistress to Keith Carradine's character in Thieves Like Us (1974). Duvall appeared as a spaced-out groupie in Altman's ensemble comedy Nashville (1975), which was a critical and commercial success, and a sympathetic Wild West woman in Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976). The same year, Duvall left Altman to star as Bernice, a wealthy girl from Wisconsin in PBS's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story Bernice Bobs Her Hair (1976). She also hosted an evening of Saturday Night Live and appeared in five sketches: "Programming Change",