A huge shock and sorrow for the entire film industry that the famous Bonnie Grape is no more in this world. Yes! Darlene Cates who played Bonnie Grape in the 1993 hit What's Eating Gilbert Grape has passed away recently on 26th of March 2017.
Darlene had a good career in acting where she had done a few number of movies but she was a brilliant actress that she made her good reputation with her character in those movies. Darlene was in a married relation with her husband Robert Cates since 1963 and she remained in it until she died.
Gilbert Grape Star Darlene Died at 69
Actress Darlene found dead in her sleep on March 26, 2017, which her daughter Sheri Cates Morgan announced on a Facebook post. The entertainment world went on shock on hearing about the death of a legend actress while a lot of film stars have given their heartfelt condolence via different mediums.
Late actress Darlene Cates
Source: Tmz.com
Especially, an Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who shared the screen with the actress in the movie What's Eating Gilbert Grape where he played as a son of Darlene showed his great affection and paid a tribute to her as "the best acting mom I ever had".
Leonardo said in a Facebook post on Wednesday 27th March:
Darlene was the best acting mom I ever had the privilege of working alongside. Her endearing personality and incredible talent will live on in the memories of those who knew her, and those who loved her work. My thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time.
Not only Leo but all of her co-workers and fans will remember her forever as she was very vivacious personality throughout her life which inspires we all to be a personality like her.
Darlene Cates' Career in Short
Even though she was a reputed actress of Hollywood, she had not worked in several films. The 1993 hit film What's Eating Gilbert Grape became the only film which gave her the recognition as an actress and it was the only film which she did in the nineties.
Prior to her role in the movie, the author and screenwriter Peter Hedges saw a tape of Darlene on a 1992 episode of Sally entitled too Heavy to Leave Their House." Where on the show she discussed her battle with obesity and how it affected her life.
Later, in 1992, Peter offered her the weighty role of a pathologically obese mother in the 1993 film What's Eating Gilbert Grape which she accepted readily. Her character in the film and her natural acting really attracted other producers and directors from the industry and she later started to get few roles.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Darlene Cates during their film What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Source: nydailynews.com
She had worked in a few number of TV series where Picket Fences was her first TV series where her role was as Sophie Wallace. The series came in 1994 while 2 years later, she worked as Claudia Bell in Touched by an Angel and in 2001 she worked in the TV series Wolf Girl.
In sense of the film, she took over 2 decades to make her appearance on the big screen after her first movie which came in 2014 where she worked in the movie Mother and she played a title character in the movie.
She had also worked in the film Billboard where she has worked as Penny and the film is still to be released. The film is currently in the post-production and is supposed to release by the end of 2017.
Know About Darlene Cates' Personal
The Texas-born actress Darlene didn't get the good environment as other normal child used to get. While her age was 12, her parents got divorced and she grew up with her mother in Dumas. She was more passionate about food or we can say she was a glutton and this habit led her to obesity.
Gilbert Grape actress Darlene Cates
Source: picsofcelebrities.com
Due to Her excessive weight gain, she underwent gastroplasty in 1981, when she weighed 185 Kg. She lost 45 kg by the surgery while later she again gained weight and she became weighty when she weighed 249 Kg which made her life miserable.
Talking about her married life, Darlene was married to Robert Cates, a U.S. Marine with whom she got married on January 11, 1963. She had one daughter, Sheri Ann and two sons, Mark Cates and Chris Cates with her husband Robert.