{"id":21643,"date":"2022-07-21T22:01:01","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T22:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/shonka-dukureh-elvis-actress-and-singer-found-dead-in-nashville\/"},"modified":"2022-07-21T22:01:01","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T22:01:01","slug":"shonka-dukureh-elvis-actress-and-singer-found-dead-in-nashville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/shonka-dukureh-elvis-actress-and-singer-found-dead-in-nashville\/","title":{"rendered":"Shonka Dukureh, &#8216;Elvis&#8217; actress and singer, found dead in Nashville"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/p>\n<ul class=\"gnt_ar_sh\">\n<li class=\"gnt_ar_sh_li\">The actress was found unresponsive by her child, who called a neighbor for help.<\/li>\n<li class=\"gnt_ar_sh_li\">Police said they do not suspect foul play, but the medical examiner is working to determine the cause of death.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Blues singer and actress Shonka Dukureh was found dead in her Nashville apartment Thursday, the Metro Nashville Police Department said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Dukureh, 44, was found in the bedroom of the apartment she shared with her two children, police said.  The actress recently starred as Big Mama Thornton in the movie &#8220;Elvis.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">One of Dukureh&#8217;s children found her unresponsive and went to a neighbor&#8217;s apartment for help, according to police.  The neighbor called 911 at 9:27 am, police said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">Related:<\/strong>How &#8216;Elvis&#8217; movie gave these Nashville artists a &#8216;deep, authentic&#8217; connection to their best work<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">&#8216;Elvis&#8217; movie:<\/strong>Nashville producer Dave Cobb on recreating &#8216;the history of rock and roll&#8217;<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Police said they do not suspect foul play in her death.  The medical examiner is currently working to identify the cause of death, an MNPD spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_h2\">Dukureh shined in breakout Big Mama Thornton performance<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" style=\"height:440px\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/08\/PMCA\/314b0dd9-f124-43d8-9201-d317c2a09ca8-rev-1-210204DAY75KKONSET01_3561_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/08\/PMCA\/314b0dd9-f124-43d8-9201-d317c2a09ca8-rev-1-210204DAY75KKONSET01_3561_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?width=1320&amp;height=880&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Shonka Dukureh as Big Mama Thornton in Warner Bros.  Pictures' drama \u201cElvis.&quot;\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Dukureh \u2014 a Charlotte, North Carolina native and Nashville resident \u2014 graduated from Fisk University with a bachelor&#8217;s degree in theater.  She also held a master&#8217;s degree in education from Trevecca Nazarene University.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The performing artist played her first major film role as Big Mama Thornton, a task she did not take lightly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;[Big Mama Thornton] was really raw with what she did and very honest and truthful and [made] music as she felt it.  And I could totally relate to that,\u201d noted Dukureh. <\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;I was very aware and wanting to really be intentional about making sure I was paying respect, respecting her, respecting her legacy, respecting her spirit, respecting everything about what she brought to music and understanding that I&#8217;m able to do it because she&#8217;s done it and laid that foundation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Originally interested in pursuing education, the teacher turned Hollywood star was set to release her first studio album this summer, according to her website.<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cThe project is a tribute to the blues music genre in celebration of those fierce unsung pioneering artists and musicians who paved the way for the rock and roll music revolution,\u201d Dukureh said. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_h2\">Nashville leaders, &#8216;Elvis&#8217; co-stars react to unexpected death<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Nashville mayor John Cooper shared his condolences to Dukureh&#8217;s family in a tweet. <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;Her powerful voice and artistry will live on through her music, and we honor her memory on this sad day,&#8221; Cooper wrote. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_tw\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadTwitter\" data-v-id=\"1550225355960623106\" aria-label=\"Twitter Embed\" style=\"min-height:225px\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em>This is a developing story.  Check back for updates.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em>Reach reporter Molly Davis at mdavis2@gannett.com or on Twitter @mollym_davis.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The actress was found unresponsive by her child, who called a neighbor for help. Police said they do not suspect foul play, but the medical examiner is working to determine the cause of death. Blues singer and actress Shonka Dukureh was found dead in her Nashville apartment Thursday, the Metro Nashville Police Department said. Dukureh, &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/shonka-dukureh-elvis-actress-and-singer-found-dead-in-nashville\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Shonka Dukureh, &#8216;Elvis&#8217; actress and singer, found dead in Nashville<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21693,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/shonka-dukureh-dead-elvis-actor-and-singer-was-44\/","url_meta":{"origin":21643,"position":0},"title":"Shonka Dukureh Dead: &#8216;Elvis&#8217; Actor and Singer Was 44","date":"July 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Shonka Dukureh, the singer and actor who portrayed Big Mama Thornton in Baz Luhrmann's \u201cElvis,\u201d was found dead in her Nashville, Tenn. apartment on Thursday, police confirmed. She was 44. According to a tweet from the Metro Nashville Police Department, no foul play is evident in Dukureh's death. \u201cDukureh, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22473,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/shonka-dukureh-actress-who-sang-hound-dog-in-elvis-dies-at-44\/","url_meta":{"origin":21643,"position":1},"title":"Shonka Dukureh, Actress Who Sang &#8216;Hound Dog&#8217; in &#8216;Elvis,&#8217; Dies at 44","date":"July 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Shonka Dukureh, who made her Hollywood debut last month as the soulful blues legend Big Mama Thornton in \u201cElvis,\u201d died on Thursday in Nashville. She was 44.The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department confirmed the death but did not provide a cause, saying only that no foul play was evident. One of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":702,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/elvis-highlights-presleys-complicated-history-with-black-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":21643,"position":2},"title":"&#8216;Elvis&#8217; highlights Presley&#8217;s complicated history with Black music","date":"July 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Whenever you hear the name Elvis Presley, \"Black music\" trails closely behind.Baz Luhrmann's new biopic \"Elvis,\" starring Austin Butler as the King of Rock 'n' Roll, doesn't leave the singer's often-uneasy relationship with Black musicians in the shadows.The movie depicts Presley enthusiastically listening to Little Richard (played by Alton Mason)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/02\/17\/USAT\/defd9280-4943-4998-ac3d-33bd86d0ab24-ELVIS-0074r11_002.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/08\/PMCA\/10ae80fb-44b7-45c8-af4a-5d152356956c-rev-1-201112_ONSET_0867r_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?crop=4799,2700,x0,y960&width=660&height=372&format=pjpg&auto=webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21643"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21643\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}