Darlene Cates (born Rita Darlene Guthrie; December 13, 1947 – March 26, 2017) was an American actress. She became known for her role in the 1993 film ''

What's Eating Gilbert Grape ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis and Darlene Cates. It follows 25-year-old Gilbert (Depp), a grocery store cle ...

'', in which she played the title character's housebound mother.

Career

Author and screenwriter

Peter Hedges Peter Simpson Hedges (born July 6, 1962) is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, film director and film producer. Early life Hedges was born in West Des Moines, Iowa, where he was raised, the son of Carole (Simpson), a psychotherapis ...

saw a tape of Cates on a 1992 episode of ''

Sally Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military * Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, the Allied reporting na ...

'' entitled "Too Heavy to Leave Their House". On the show, she discussed her battle with obesity and how it had affected her life. In 1986, pelvic infections caused by her excess weight kept her bedridden for two years, during which she gained an additional . Hedges offered her the role of a morbidly obese mother in the 1993 film ''

'', which she accepted. Television roles followed on the shows ''

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'' in 1994 and ''

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'' in 1996. She had a small role in the 2001 film '' Wolf Girl''. Producer J. Miles Dale flew a small crew and the film's stars from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

to shoot their scenes with Cates. Her performance in ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'', her first attempt at acting in any form, received critical acclaim and was lauded by her costars Leonardo DiCaprio and

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Awa ...

Personal life

Cates married Robert Cates, a U.S. Marine, on January 11, 1963. She had one daughter, Sheri Ann, and two sons, Mark and Chris. She had four grandchildren and lived in

Forney, Texas Forney is a city in Kaufman County, Texas, United States, and has been named by the Texas Legislature as the "Antique Capital of Texas". It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 14,661 at the 2010 census, up from 5,58 ...

. In 1992, she received her high school diploma via correspondence courses. In 2012, Cates had lost 240 pounds after a series of health issues in 2010 kept her hospitalized for nearly a year, and she expressed a desire to resume her acting career.

Death

Cates died in her sleep at age 69 on March 26, 2017. Her daughter, Sheri Cates Morgan, announced her passing on a Facebook post.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * *Burial https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/177845483/darlene-cates {{DEFAULTSORT:Cates, Darlene 1947 births 2017 deaths American film actresses American television actresses People from Borger, Texas 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Dallas People from Dumas, Texas People from Forney, Texas