Shonka Duquereh, the singer and actor who played Big Mama Thornton in Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis,” was found dead in her Nashville, Tennessee apartment on Thursday, police confirmed. She was 44.
According to a tweet from the Metro Nashville Police Department, Ducouret’s death was not apparent. “Ducure, a graduate of Fisk Univ, was found dead in the bedroom of her Kothe Way apartment she shared with her 2 young children,” the tweet said.
RELATED: No apparent foul play in today’s death of actress Shonka Doucure, 44, who played Big Mama Thornton in this year’s Elvis movie. Dukureh, a graduate of Fisk Univ, was found dead in the bedroom of her Kothe Way apartment she shared with her 2 young children.
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) July 21, 2022
As reported by The Tennessean, Dukureh was found unresponsive Thursday morning by one of her children who went to a neighbor for help. The cause of death is not yet known and will be determined by medical examiners.
Dukureh got his breakthrough role that year in “Elvis” as Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, the iconic R&B singer-songwriter who first recorded Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller’s “Hound Dog” in 1952, which later will be even more famous than Elvis Presley. “Elvis” was Ducouret’s first major film role, and her voice is featured on the film’s soundtrack in her version of “Hound Dog.”
According to The Tennessean, Dukureh is from Charlotte, North Carolina, but later became a resident of Nashville. She received her BA in Theater from Fisk University and her MA in Education from Treveka Nazarian University. According to her website, Dukureh plans to release her first full-length album soon. “The project is a tribute to the blues music genre in celebration of these fierce unsung pioneers and musicians who paved the way for the rock and roll music revolution,” Dukureh wrote on his website.
Throughout her career, Dukureh has performed and recorded with artists such as Jamie Lidell and the Royal Pharaohs, Nick Cave, Mike Farris, Pete Rock, Smoke Dza and Bahamas, according to her website.
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