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Elvis actress found dead in Nashville

NASHVILLE (REUTERS) – The US singer and actress who appeared as blues legend Big Mama Thornton in the film Elvis was found dead on Thursday, police said.

The body of Shonka Dukureh, 44, was found by one of her children, in her Nashville apartment.

One of her two young children found the actress unresponsive and ran to get a neighbour, who called for help, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a statement.

Police said no foul play was suspected and that an autopsy had been scheduled to determine her cause of death.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper tweeted his condolences to Dukureh’s family, saying she had graduated from Fisk University in the city that she had called home for many years.

Dukureh starred alongside Austin Butler as Elvis Presley and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker in the film, which is showing in cinemas now.

Variety reported that the Elvis biopic provided the first major film role for Dukureh, who was born in North Carolina.

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