Shonka Dukureh from the movie ‘Elvis’ is found dead

Shonka Dukureh, who played Big Mama Thornton in the recently released Elvis Presley film, died Thursday at her Nashville residence, police said. She was 44 years old.

Nashville police said there were no signs of any criminal action. The medical examiner’s office has not yet released the results of the autopsy.

Dukureh, who attended Fisk University and sang in Nashville, lived in her apartment with two young children, police said. One of the children found her unconscious and went to a neighbor, who called 911 shortly before 9:30 a.m., police said.

The actress, who was also on stage at the Coachella festival this year with Doja Cat, studied theater at Fisk and graduated from Trevecca Nazarene with a degree in education, radio station WPLN-FM reported.

In an interview with the station last month, Dukureh said she taught second grade for a time and then worked with disadvantaged youth through after-school programs.

She said those students contacted her after seeing her on “Elvis.”

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Shonka Dukureh, singer and actress of the movie ‘Elvis’, dies at 44

Shonka Dukureh, a singer and actress who played Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton in Baz Luhrmann’s recently released film “Elvis,” died Thursday, according to Nashville police.

Shonka Dukureh was found dead in her Nashville apartment that she shared with her two young children. There was no evidence of a criminal act, police said.

Shonka Dukureh’s role as Thornton, an R&B singer who was the first artist to record the song “Hound Dog”, later made famous by Elvis Presley, was her first major film appearance.

She appears on the “Elvis” soundtrack and in the music video for the song “Vegas” by Doja Cat, also from the movie’s soundtrack. Additionally, Shonka Dukureh performed with Doja Cat during the Coachella music festival in April.

Shonka Dukureh reflected on her role in “Elvis” in an interview she shared on Instagram last week, writing, “Gratitude is where I live because my great-grandma, my grandmother, my mom, my family modeled and instilled in me. It’s not a stance of doing less than or scraping the crumbs, but recognizes that good things are not a guarantee and when we find them, thank you, thank you is the least we can express.