Stars from the film Elvis are grieving the death of starlet Shonka Dukureh
” An unique light headed out today and all of the Elvis film household are heartbroken by the loss of Shonka Dukureh,” director Baz Luhrmann composed in a homage published to Instagram July22 “From the moment she came into our world, Shonka brought joy, spirit and of course her voice and her music.”
Luhrmann then shared a few of his memories of Dukureh, who played Big Mama Thornton in the movie.
“Whenever she was on set, on stage or even just in the room, everyone always felt uplifted,” he continued. “Shonka was just starting to find a larger audience for her tremendous talent, and I got to see her uplift whole crowds of people at Coachella and beyond.”
Recalling how “a favorite word of Shonka’s, in daily use, was ‘blessings,'” the filmmaker revealed how he and “the whole Elvis cast, team and musical partners, feel really blessed to have actually had time with her.” He concluded his message by sending out “all our love and support to Shonka’s children at this time.”
