Who Is Shelley Duvall's Partner? All About Musician Dan Gilroy and Their 35-Year Relationship

Shelley Duvall and her partner Dan Gilroy had been together for 35 years before her death in July 2024

Shelley Duvall spent the last 35 years of her life with her partner, musician Dan Gilroy.

The Shining actress died on July 11, 2024, just four days after her 75th birthday, from complications from diabetes.

Gilroy announced the news, telling The Hollywood Reporter that his “dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley."

Duvall died in her home in Blanco, Texas, where she lived with Gilroy. The two first met on the set of the 1990 movie Mother Goose Rock ‘n’ Rhyme and had been together since, living in their home in Texas for over a decade before her death.

So who is Shelley Duvall’s partner? Here’s everything to know about Dan Gilroy and his relationship with the late actress.

Gilroy was the lead singer of the band Breakfast Club

Gilroy started his band, Breakfast Club, alongside Madonna and his brother, Ed Gilroy, in the early 1980s. However, Madonna left the band within a year to start her own group, Emmy and the Emmys.

Breakfast Club continued to make music throughout the ’80s, consisting of Gilroy singing, Ed on guitar, Gary Burke on bass, Paul Kauk on keyboards and Stephen Bray on drums.

In 1987, the band released their first self-titled album, with one of their songs debuting at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 list.

He briefly dated Madonna

Madonna and Gilroy met in 1979 at a party and quickly struck up a relationship. She stayed with him in the New York City synagogue in which he and Ed were living in, while also using the space as a recording studio.

Gilroy taught her how to play the guitar, and while he and Ed were waiting tables, Madonna used the time to practice the drums and write songs in the synagogue.

“It was one of the happiest times of my life,” Madonna told New York magazine in 1991. “I really felt loved. Sometimes I’d write sad songs and he’d [Dan] sit there and cry. Very sweet.”

Gilroy and Duvall met on the set of their 1990 movie Mother Goose Rock ‘n’ Rhyme

In 1989, Duvall produced the Disney Channel movie Mother Goose Rock ‘n’ Rhyme, in which she also starred as the lead, Little Bo Peep. She told the Los Angeles Times in December 1991 that Gilroy caught her attention first when she thought about casting him in the movie for the lead role of Gordon Goose.

“He’s the most wonderful artist,” Duvall told the outlet at the time.

He and Duvall lived in Los Angeles together with many pets

In the 1990s, Gilroy and Duvall shared a three-acre home in Los Angeles’ Studio City together, complete with 36 birds, 8 dogs, 2 cats and 2 goldfish. The actress told the L.A. Times that a typical evening for the two of them consisted of watching TV in the living room while painting on their individual canvases.

However, in 1994, the couple moved to Texas, where they resided until Duvall's death. The reason behind their move seemed to be from a combination of factors — her brother was diagnosed with spinal cancer, she was tired of L.A. and a large earthquake caused extensive damage to her home.

“It was great, all those years in L.A., really terrific,” Gilroy told The New York Times in April 2024. “And when we moved, after the earthquake, it was terrific in Texas.”

He supported her as she struggled with her mental health

Duvall’s mental health took a turn for the worse after she officially retired from Hollywood in 2002.

“Things went downhill when she started becoming afraid of things, maybe didn’t want to work,” Gilroy told The New York Times. “It’s really hard to pin it on any one thing.”

In 2016, Duvall made an appearance in an episode of Dr. Phil, which was later criticized for exploiting her while she was severely mentally ill. “I’m very sick. I need help,” Duvall told Dr. Phil in one clip, going on to share a number of bizarre statements, including hallucinations she was experiencing.

Gilroy said he was unaware that she had joined the show, telling The New York Times that he found out days later from “people in town.”

“It did nothing for her,” Gilroy said of the episode. “It just put her on the map as an oddity.”

Gilroy was by her side when she died in July 2024

A year after making her return to acting in the indie horror film, The Forest Hills, Duvall died in her and Gilroy’s home in Blanco, Texas. The singer announced her death in a statement to THR and Variety, sharing that she suffered from diabetes which led to her death.

"Shelley leaves behind an amazing legacy and will be missed by so many people, myself included,” director Scott Goldberg, who directed The Forest Hills, told PEOPLE. “I am proud of her for overcoming adversity to act again and will always be forever grateful for her friendship and kindness."

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