Actress Shonka Duquereh, who recently made her big screen debut as Big Mama Thornton in Baz Luhrmann’s new film Elvis, has died at the age of 44.
Ducurech was found dead Thursday in a bedroom in the Nashville home she shared with her two young children, the Metro Nashville Police Department said.
One of the children found her unresponsive and went to a neighbor’s apartment, who called 911. Police said there were no signs of foul play. Autopsy results are pending from the medical examiner.
Dukureh played blues singer Big Mama Thornton in the Elvis Presley biopic, which was released worldwide in June.
Dukureh’s rendition of the song Hound Dog, which Thornton recorded in 1952, four years before Presley, went viral online after the film’s release.
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The actor and singer, who also shared the Coachella stage this year with Doja Cat, has a theater degree from Fisk University and an education degree from Trevecca Nazarene, radio station WPLN-FM reported.
In an interview with the station last month, Ducure said she previously worked as a second-grade teacher and worked with inner-city youth through after-school and summer programs.
She said those students reached out after seeing her in Elvis.
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