We're saddened to report that another well loved celebrity has died this past weekend.
Actress Darlene Cates, best known for her role in the film 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape', died in her sleep on Sunday morning at the age of 69.
Her daughter, Sheri Cates Morgan, shared the unexpected news on Facebook Monday evening. She wrote that Darlene passed away peacefully and the family is comforted in "knowing that she is no longer in pain and is in the arms of our Heavenly Father, breaking away only to dance with our Savior, Jesus. (Dancing was something she talked about loving to do "back in the day"!)"
It is with a bitter-sweet heart that we share that our precious wife, mother, and Gaga, Darlene Guthrie Cates, was...
Posted by Sheri Cates Morgan on Monday, March 27, 2017
Darlene played the role of Johnny Depp and Leonardo Dicaprio's overweight mother in the critically acclaimed 1993 film after screenwriter Peter Hedges saw her on a 1985 episode of 'Too Heavy to Leave Their House.'
She went on to appear on some popular TV shows including 'Touched By An Angel', 'Picket Fences' and 'Wolf Girl'. She was filming a movie titled 'Billboard' prior to her sudden passing.
On Tuesday, Leonardo Di Caprio remembered the actress as the "best acting mom" in a heartfelt tribute on Facebook.
Darlene is survived by her husband Robert Cates and their 3 children.
