Darlene Cates

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Darlene Cates (born Rita Darlene Guthrie, December 13, 1947, Borger, Texas) is an actress who made her feature film debut in Lasse Hallstrom's What's Eating Gilbert Grape, alongside Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. Darlene was chosen for the part of Bonnie Grape after a casting director contacted the Sally Jessy Raphael (1985) show and was sent a tape of her appearance as a guest a few months earlier.

Television roles followed on the hit shows Picket Fences and Touched by an Angel, and a cameo in Wolf Girl, a Halloween Special for USA Network. Producer J. Miles Dale flew a small crew and the film's two young stars Dov Tiefenbach and Victoria Sanchez from Romania to Texas to shoot their scenes with Darlene.

[edit] Personal life

In addition to her size (5'9", 500 pounds), Cates is known for her warmth and maternal generosity onscreen. She has one daughter, Sheri Ann (b. January 1966), and two sons: Mark (b. October 1967) and Chris (b. 1971).