Adrienne Shelly Biography

Date of Birth
24 June 1966, Queens, New York, USA

Date of Death
1 November 2006, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (homicide)

Birth Name
Adrienne Levine
Height
5' 2" (1.57 m)

Spouse
Andy Ostroy (? - 1 November 2006) (her death) 1 child

Trivia

Studied at Boston University, but dropped out after her junior year; then moved to Manhattan in New York, New York, USA.

Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1991" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 43.

Has a daughter, Sophie, who was born in 2003 with her husband, Andy Ostroy.

Grew up on Long Island, New York, USA.

Used a Greenwich Village fourth-floor apartment as her office, located at 15 Abingdon Square, New York, New York, USA.

In order to honor the memory of his wife, Andy Ostroy decided to create www.adrienneshellyfoundation.org, a nonprofit foundation that will benefit female filmmakers. Ostroy announced his intention to create this foundation 13 days after Shelly's murder.

Of Russian Jewish descent, she made her professional debut in the stage production of "Annie" while a student at Jericho High School (New York).

Was working on the film Waitress (2007), starring Keri Russell, at the time of her death. Shelly was the film's writer and director.

Best known for her association with independent filmmaker Hal Hartley.

Shelly's death was first considered a suicide. Days later, a 19-year-old Ecuadorian illegal immigrant and construction worker confessed to slaying the actress, whom he left hanging by a bedsheet from a shower rod in the bathroom of her Manhattan office/apartment. She was found by her husband.

Shelly's husband, Andrew Ostroy, is the chairman and CEO of Belardi/Ostroy ALC LLC, a list-services firm.

Her professional surname was the first name of her father, who died when she was only 12.

Wrote the script to Waitress (2007) while expecting her daughter Sophie Ostroy, who also appears in the movie.

Adrienne's killer pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Diego Pillco, an illegal immigrant, admitted strangling her after she caught him trying to rob her apartment. He also confessed to hanging her and stage it as a suicide. At the time he was helping to renovate an apartment in the same West Village building where she had an office. He said he panicked when Shelly discovered him stealing from her purse and threatened to call the police.

Source: imdb.com