Darlene Cates

About Darlene Cates

Who is it?: Actress
Birth Day: December 13, 1947
Birth Place:  Borger, Texas, United States
Died On: March 26, 2017(2017-03-26) (aged 69)\nForney, Texas, U.S.
Birth Sign: Capricorn
Occupation: Actress
Years active: 1993–2017
Spouse(s): Robert Cates (m. 1963)

Darlene Cates Net Worth

Darlene Cates was born on December 13, 1947 in  Borger, Texas, United States, is Actress. The lovable, impressionable and immeasurably talented Darlene Cates was born December 13, 1947 in Borger, Texas, to Dorothy Ann (née Pfrimmer) and Truman Madison Guthrie. She grew up in Dumas. Darlene's parents divorced when she was 12 years, which lead to overeating, which manifested itself into obesity. She underwent gastroplasty in 1981. She went from 410 lb to 310 lb but eventually gained the weight back and more with a total weight of 550 lb. While appearing on an episode of Sally Jessy Raphael (1983) entitled: "Too Heavy to Leave Their House", she was discovered by Author and screenwriter Peter Hedges. He proposed that she play the morbidly obese mother in the 1993 film What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993). She accepted. Since, Darlene has made appearances on episodes of Picket Fences (1992), and Touched by an Angel (1994), and played the supporting role of Athena the Fat Lady in the made-for-television film Wolf Girl (2001).
Darlene Cates is a member of Actress

💰Darlene Cates Net worth: $1 Million

Some Darlene Cates images

Biography/Timeline

1963

Darlene married Robert Cates, a U.S. Marine, on January 11, 1963. She had one daughter, Sheri Ann (b. 1966), and two sons, Mark (b. 1967) and Chris (b. 1971). She had four grandchildren and lived in the Dallas suburbs. In 1992, she received her high school diploma via correspondence courses. In 2012, Cates had lost 240 pounds after a series of 2010 health issues kept her hospitalized for nearly a year, and she expressed a Desire to resume her acting career.

1981

Cates was born in Borger, Texas to Truman Madison and Dorothy Ann Guthrie, and grew up in Dumas. Her parents divorced when she was 12 years old. She took solace in food, and her overeating led to obesity. She underwent gastroplasty in 1981, when she weighed 408 lb (29 st 2 lb or 185 kg). She lost 99 lb (7 st 1 lb or 45 kg) but eventually gained the weight back and more, topping out at 548 lb (39 st 2 lb or 249 kg).

1992

Author and Screenwriter Peter Hedges saw a tape of Cates on a 1992 episode of Sally 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 149 pounds. Hedges offered her the role of a morbidly obese mother in the 1993 film What's Eating Gilbert Grape, which she accepted. Television roles followed on the shows Picket Fences in 1994 and Touched by an Angel 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 to Texas to shoot their scenes with Cates.

2017

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