Adrienne Shelly

Adrienne Levine (June 24, 1966 – November 1, 2006), usually known by the stage name Adrienne Shelly (sometimes credited as Adrienne Shelley), was an American actress, film director, and screenwriter. She became known from acting in independent films such as Hal Hartley’s The Unbelievable Truth (1989) and Trust (1990). She wrote, directed, and co-starred in the 2007 Waitress, a posthumous film that later became a Broadway show.
Police initially said Shelly’s death in 2006 was a suicide. Her husband, Andy Ostroy, insisted on a re-evaluation, which resulted in a conviction of a construction worker. The man had been working in her office apartment building; he was convicted of first-degree manslaughter.
Shelly’s husband established the Adrienne Shelly Foundation, which awards scholarships, production grants, finishing funds, and living stipends to artists. The Women Film Critics Circle gives an annual Adrienne Shelly Award in her honor to the film that it finds “most passionately opposes violence against women.”