‘Elvis’ actor and singer Shonka Dukureh found dead in her Nashville apartment

'Elvis,' the biopic about Elvis Presley's career and subsequent stardom, features Shonka Dukureh as Big Mama Thornton.

American actor Shonka Dukureh, best known for her performance as Big Mama Thornton in Elvis, was found dead in her Nashville apartment on Thursday, police said.

Dukureh was 44 years old.

One of Dukureh’s two young children found her unresponsive in the bedroom of the apartment the family shared and ran to alert a neighbour, the Metro Nashville Police Department wrote in a statement.

The neighbour called police at 9:27 a.m., according to authorities.

Foul play is not suspected.

Currently, the cause of Dukureh’s death is “unclassified.” Police are awaiting autopsy results from the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Elvis, the biopic about Elvis Presley’s career and subsequent stardom, was Dukureh’s first major motion picture. She was also included on the movie’s soundtrack, with her blues-style vocals featured on Doja Cat’s Vegas.

Elvis director Mark Anthony “Baz” Luhrmann shared three photos of Dukureh to Instagram.