Darlene Cates, who starred as Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio‘s obese, housebound mother in 1993’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, died in her sleep on Sunday morning. She was 69.
The actress will appear posthumously in the upcoming comedy Billboard, following a lifelong struggle with weight that once saw her balloon to 550 lbs.— a struggle that actually launched her film career in the first place.
Gilbert Grape author and screenwriter Peter Hedges discovered the Texas native after seeing a tape of her on a 1985 episode of Sally Jessy Raphael titled “Too Heavy to Leave Their House.” On the show, Cates...
The actress will appear posthumously in the upcoming comedy Billboard, following a lifelong struggle with weight that once saw her balloon to 550 lbs.— a struggle that actually launched her film career in the first place.
Gilbert Grape author and screenwriter Peter Hedges discovered the Texas native after seeing a tape of her on a 1985 episode of Sally Jessy Raphael titled “Too Heavy to Leave Their House.” On the show, Cates...
- 3/28/2017
- by Stephanie Petit
- PEOPLE.com
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