Shonka Dukureh, singer who played Big Mama Thornton in Elvis , dies at 44
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Shonka Dukureh, a singer and actress best known for playing Big Mama Thornton in last month's Baz Luhrmann film Elvis, has died. She was 44.
According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, Dukureh was found dead Thursday morning in the bedroom of her Kothe Way apartment that she shared with her two young children. One of her children found her unresponsive and ran to a neighbor's apartment to call 911.
Police say no foul play is suspected in her death, which has been marked as unclassified pending autopsy results from the Medical Examiner's Office. Further information has not been released.
Her role in Elvis, as the iconic R&B singer-songwriter who first recorded "Hound Dog," was Dukureh's big screen debut. Earlier this year, she also could be seen in the music video to Doja Cat's "Vegas," from the soundtrack to Elvis.
Kane Skennar/Warner Bros. Shonka Dukureh as Big Mama Thornton in 'Elvis'
According to her website, Dukureh hailed from Nashville, Tennessee by way of Charlotte, North Carolina. She attended Fisk University, where she received a Bachelors degree in Theatre. She also held a Masters degree in Education from Trevecca Nazarene University, which she obtained in the hopes of originally becoming a teacher before she decided to pursue a career in the performing arts.
Per her website, prior to her death she had plans to release her first full-length album. In addition to her credits in Elvis and its soundtrack, Dukureh recorded with and provided background vocals for the likes of Nick Cave, Mike Farris, Jamie Lidell and the Royal Pharaohs, and many more.
EW has reached out to Warner Bros. for additional comment.
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