‘She said it was a fantastic day’: Photos of Shelley Duvall’s 75th birthday just days before her death will leave you in tears

Beloved ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s actress and producer Shelley Duvall passed away Thursday, July 11, at 75, but just four days before, she was spending her birthday with her biggest fan.

Sarah Lukowski has been running the internet’s biggest Shelley Duvall fan account since 2021, but in 2022, thanks to a mutual acquaintance, she began developing a friendship with the late film star. On Sunday, she was with Shelley on the occasion of celebrating her 75th birthday — the second year in a row that she visited the actress on her special day.

Duvall died in her sleep of complications from diabetes at her Blanco, Texas home. Still, when Lukowski spent time with her just a short few days before, the Faerie Tale Theatre creator enjoyed cupcakes, flowers, and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.”

The fan-turned-friend told her social media followers that the actress said it was “a fantastic day because of all the goodies and cards [she] brought.” For years, Lukowski collected fan mail from other admirers to give to Shelley, which “always [brought] a smile to her face,” the younger woman revealed in a recent Texas Monthly interview.

However, the journalist graduate was fully aware of her idol’s decaying health, sharing that “she [was] going through health challenges (…) but she always [enjoyed] some company.” Following the news about Shelley’s passing, Lukowski honored her in a post containing their last selfie together. “I’ll always be grateful for the memories I created with her and that I was able to give her comfort and companionship,” she mourned.

Now, the young fan hopes she can one day write a Shelley Duvall biography that will do justice to the actress’ great career and impact on the film industry. Said career was largely defined by a prosperous collaborative relationship with director Robert Altman, resulting in films like Popeye, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Nashville, and 3 Women, and a memorable, if controversy-plagued, performance in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 classic The Shining. In her later years, however, Duvall attracted attention for all the wrong reasons, especially after a 2016 interview with Dr. Phil where he grossly exploited her mental health and vulnerability.

Duvall quit Hollywood in the mid-1990s and moved back to her native Fort Worth, Texas, where she remained for the rest of her days. She shared a home with her life partner of 34 years Dan Gilroy, a member of the early Madonna band Breakfast Club. He was the first to share the news of her passing, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley.”