Elvis actress Shonka Dukureh passes away at 44, one month after big screen debut

Shonka Dukureh, a blues musician and artist, was discovered dead in her Nashville residence on Thursday. According to the police, Dukureh, 44, was discovered in the room of the house where she and her two children resided.

The singer and actress was best known for her new film, 'Elvis'. In the film, the actress played Big Mama Thornton.

Dukureh was found motionless by one of her children. One of Dukureh's children reportedly noticed that she was still and went to a neighbour's house for help. Investigators claim that the witness dialed 911 at 9:27 a.m.


According to police, there seems to be no fraud involved in her death. The medical team is still trying to determine the reason for the death.

Dukureh, born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and currently residing in Nashville, earned a graduation degree in theatre from Fisk University. She also completed her post-graduation in education at Trevecca Nazarene University.

The singer took part as Big Mama Thornton in her first movie Elvis. Big Mama Thornton was really open and sincere in everything she performed, which made her music for Dukureh quite raw and true to how she felt.

Elvis was released on June 24.

John Cooper, the mayor of Nashville, tweeted his sympathies to Dukureh's family.

Dukureh's career - from teaching to singing
According to her website, the Hollywood celebrity, who had a passion for teaching, was planning to release her debut album this summer.

In one of her interviews, Dukureh said she had previously worked as a class teacher with inner-city youngsters through after-school and summer programmes. Her pupils, whom she had taught earlier, contacted her when they saw her as Elvis.

After the movie was made, Dukureh's rendition of the track Hound Dog, which Thornton released in 1952, became popular online. In addition to her time as Big Mama Thornton in the singer's Vegas video, Dukureh was well-known to many Doja Cat fans. According to her website, Dukureh is also well renowned for her musical abilities and has collaborated with performers, such as Smoke Dza, Pete Rock, Nick Cave, Bahamas and Mike Farris.