American actor Shonka Dukureh, finest identified for her efficiency as Massive Mama Thornton in Elvis, was discovered useless in her Nashville residence on Thursday, police mentioned.
Dukureh was 44 years outdated.
One in every of Dukureh’s two younger kids discovered her unresponsive within the bed room of the residence the household shared and ran to alert a neighbour, the Metro Nashville Police Division wrote in a press release.
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The neighbour referred to as police at 9:27 a.m., based on authorities.
Foul play is just not suspected.
At the moment, the reason for Dukureh’s demise is “unclassified.” Police are awaiting post-mortem outcomes from the Medical Examiner’s Workplace.
Elvis, the biopic about Elvis Presley’s profession and subsequent stardom, was Dukureh’s first main movement image. She was additionally included on the film’s soundtrack, along with her blues-style vocals featured on Doja Cat’s Vegas.
Elvis director Mark Anthony “Baz” Luhrmann shared three images of Dukureh to Instagram.
“A particular gentle went out at present and all the Elvis film household are heartbroken by the lack of Shonka Dukureh,” Luhrmann wrote within the caption.
“From the second she got here into our world, Shonka introduced pleasure, spirit and naturally her voice and her music,” he continued. “At any time when she was on set, on stage and even simply within the room, everybody all the time felt uplifted.”
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The mayor of Nashville, John Cooper, additionally shared his condolences on Twitter.
“Her highly effective voice and artistry will dwell on by way of her music, and we honor her reminiscence on this unhappy day,” Cooper wrote.
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