Adrienne Shelly

Sunday, February 21, 2010 at 11:38 am

Adrienne Shelly (June 24, 1966 – November 1, 2006), sometimes credited as Adrienne Shelley, was an American actress, director and screenwriter. Making her name in independent films such as 1989′s The Unbelievable Truth and 1990′s Trust, Shelly transitioned to a writing and directing career in subsequent years. She wrote, co-starred in, and directed the 2007 film Waitress, which won five awards, including the Jury Prize at the Sarasota Film Festival for narrative feature, and the Audience and Feature Film awards at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

Shortly before Waitress was picked up by the Sundance Film Festival, Shelly was murdered by 19 year old construction worker Diego Pillco, an illegal immigrant from Ecuador. Pillco’s initial story was that Shelly had argued with him about construction noise and he struck her in the face, knocking her unconscious. Pillco believed the blow was fatal and panicked about being caught, so staged her body to look as though she had committed suicide. Shelly’s husband found her body hanging from the shower curtain rod. Police initially suspected suicide but an unexplained footprint at the crime scene led them to investigate further. Shelly’s family insisted that it could not have been a suicide, stating that she was a devoted mother to her three year old daughter Sophie and would never have left her.

Pillco was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison; after serving his time he will be deported.

Following her death, Shelly’s husband started a foundation in his wife’s name which awards various grants and scholarships, and gives an annual award for films that oppose violence against women.

Adrienne Shelly

From World:

Todays news from Entertainment News

Advertisement

Email Subscription

Advertisement