Singer and actress Shonka Dukureh has been found dead just a month after her big screen debut. The gospel singer played blues legend Big Mama Thornton alongside Tom Hanks and Austin Butler in director Baz Luhrmann's big budget Elvis film which was released in June.
The 44-year-old was found dead by one of her young children on Thursday morning, according to showbiz website TMZ. According to Nashville police, she was found dead in the bedroom of her Antioch apartment that she shared with her kids in Nashville, Tennessee.
They added that no foul play is suspected in her death, though investigators will be awaiting autopsy reports before determining a cause of death. According to the Star, her child raised the alarm after running to a neighbour's house for help.