Dukureh was found unresponsive in her Nashville home on Thursday.
One of her children found her unresponsive and ran to a neighbor’s apartment to call 911.
Further information has not been released.
Shonka Dukureh as Big Mama Thornton in ‘Elvis’.Kane Skennar/Warner Bros.
According to her website, Dukureh hailed from Nashville, Tennessee by way of Charlotte, North Carolina.
She attended Fisk University, where she received a Bachelors degree in Theatre.
Per her website, prior to her death she had plans to release her first full-length album.
EW has reached out to Warner Bros. for additional comment.
