“Shahs of Sunset“‘s Mike Shouhed is facing 14 criminal charges stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident involving his fiancée Paulina Ben-Cohen.
22.07.2022 - 20:21 / usmagazine.com
Less than one month after the release of the 2022 Elvis biopic, Shonka Dukureh, who played Big Mama Thornton in the film, was found dead in her Nashville home. She was 44.
“No foul play is evident in today’s death of actress Shonka Dukureh, 44, who portrayed Big Mama Thornton in this year’s Elvis movie,” the official Metro Nashville Police Department account tweeted on Thursday, July 21. “Dukureh, a Fisk [University] graduate, was found dead in the bedroom of her Kothe Way apt that she shared with her 2 young children.” A Davidson County Medical Examiner spokesperson told E! News that the actress’ body is being held for an autopsy.
Dukureh made her film debut with Elvis, portraying R&B singer Thornton — the artist who originally recorded “Hound Dog,” which would later go on to become one of Presley’s signature songs. Dukureh’s powerful cover of the hit appears on the film’s soundtrack.
Dukureh was a fixture in her Nashville community. In addition to graduating from Music City’s Fisk University, one of the top HBCUs in the country, the mother of two was a gospel singer who used to work as an elementary school teacher.
“I taught second grade for a little while over at Buena Vista Elementary in Metro Schools, and then did a lot of work with inner city youth doing after-school programing, summer programing — those programs that we need during the break so that kids can have a positive place to be,” Dukureh told WPLN in June, laughing about how her former students are stunned that she’s in Elvis. “They’re blown away, like, ‘Wow! Miss Shonka! Really?’ I said, ‘I’m still Ms. Shonka, you know!'”
While the late star may have made her big break in Elvis, her career was already on the rise earlier this year, providing her vocals for the
“Shahs of Sunset“‘s Mike Shouhed is facing 14 criminal charges stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident involving his fiancée Paulina Ben-Cohen.
Related: Hollywood bids farewell to three greats united by mafia films and friendship “Our hearts are broken, there will never be another Paul Sorvino, he was the love of my life and one of the greatest performers to ever grace the screen and stage,” she said in a statement published by the Hollywood Reporter. The Brooklyn native’s career spanned over a half century, with memorable roles as James Caan’s bookie in The Gambler, secretary of state Henry Kissinger in Oliver Stone’s Nixon, Claire Danes’s father in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet, and a heroin-addicted lounge singer alongside Alec Baldwin in The Cooler.
Naked and Afraid alum Melanie Rauscher died earlier this month at age 35 while dog-sitting in Arizona.
Originally premiering at the Venice Film Festival in 2021, “True Things” starring Ruth Wilson (“Luther,” “The Affair”) and Tom Burke (“The Souvenir,” “Mank”) is finally coming out in the U.S. this fall.
Celebrities are expressing their heartbreak over the sudden death of Shonka Dukureh.
Doja Cat and Baz Luhrmann have paid tribute to Elvis actress Shonka Dukureh following her death. Dukureh, who made her movie debut as blues singer Big Mama Thornton in Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic, was found dead at her home in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday at the age of 44. The actress made a notable appearance in the film singing Thornton's biggest hit Hound Dog - which Presley later recorded - and her rendition of the song was sampled on Doja's single Vegas, taken from the Elvis soundtrack.
found dead in her apartment on Thursday. “A special light went out today and all of the Elvis movie family are heartbroken by the loss of Shonka Dukureh,” Luhrmann wrote on his Instagram. “From the moment she came into our world, Shonka brought joy, spirit and of course her voice and her music.
Director Baz Luhrmann said he felt “truly blessed” to have had time with Shonka Dukureh, who starred in his Elvis biopic, before her sudden death at age 44.
Baz Luhrmann says he and the cast of 'Elvis' are devastated by the sudden death of cast member Shonka Dukureh. The recently acclaimed actress, who had just drawn plaudits for her role as blues singer Big Mama Thornton in the Elvis Presley biopic, was tragically found dead in her apartment by one of her young children on Thursday (21. 07.
Baz Luhrmann has said he felt “truly blessed” to have had time with Shonka Dukureh, who starred in his Elvis biopic, before her death aged 44. The actress, who played Big Mama Thornton in the film about superstar Elvis Presley, was found dead in a bedroom at her home in Nashville. It was one of her children who found her unresponsive and went to the apartment of a neighbour, who called emergency services.
Manic Street Preachers have today (July 22) unveiled details of an anniversary release of ‘Know Your Enemy’.The expanded and remastered version of ‘Know Your Enemy’ will be released on September 9 and can be pre-ordered here.The album will be divided into two albums across two disks, ‘Solidarity’ and ‘Door To The River’. The three CD format of the release, also includes a disk of unreleased demos.The album is described as a “radically reimagined” version of their sixth record and has been entirely remixed and reconstructed to form two separate albums as the band originally planned.‘Know Your Enemy’ will be available digitally and as a 3CD boxset, double CD and double album.This deluxe release includes two previously unheard ‘forgotten’ tracks: ‘Studies in Paralysis’ and ‘Rosebud’.
Actress and singer Shonka Dukureh, who starred in the biopic Elvis, has died at the age of 44. She played Big Mama Thornton in the film about superstar Elvis Presley and was found dead in a bedroom at her home in Nashville.
Actress Shonka Dukereh, who stars in the new Elvis Presley film, has died aged 44.TMZ reported that she was first discovered by one of her young children in her Nashville apartment on Thursday morning (22 July). In her latest project Shonka played blues singer Big Mama Thornton in the new Elvis biopic. On discovering her body her child is said to have alerted a neighbour who then called 911 for help.
Elvis biopic, has died at the age of 44.Dukureh was found dead by police on Thursday (July 21) in her home in Nashville, after one of her two young children found her unresponsive and sought help from a neighbour, who called 911. According to police, there is no evidence of foul play.
Shonka Dukureh, one of the stars of the new Elvis film, has died aged 44. The recently acclaimed actress was found dead in her apartment by one of her young children, just after recently drawing plaudits for her role as blues singer Big Mama Thornton in the Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic. TMZ reported she was found dead in the bedroom of her apartment in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday.
“Elvis” actress and blues singer Shonka Dukureh was found dead in her Nashville apartment Thursday, ET can confirm. She was 44.
From the thrill of a lifetime to its untimely end, all in less than six months…
A shocking loss. Elvis star Shonka Dukureh was found dead in her Nashville, Tennesse, home on Thursday, July 21. She was 44.
"Elvis" actress Shonka Dukureh, who played Big Mama Thorton, was found dead Thursday in a bedroom at her apartment in Nashville, police confirmed. She was 44. The Metro Nashville Police Department said there were no signs of foul play.