Background

Rita Darlene Guthrie was born in Borger, Texas

Borger, Texas

Borger is the largest city in Hutchinson County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,302 at the 2000 census. Borger is named for businessman Asa Philip "Ace" Borger, who also established the Hutchinson County seat of Stinnett and several other small towns in Texas and Oklahoma.- History...

 to Dorothy Ann (née Pfrimmer) and Truman Madison Guthrie. She made her feature film debut in Lasse Hallström

Lasse Hallström

Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström is a Swedish film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for My Life as a Dog and later for The Cider House Rules .-Life and career:...

's What's Eating Gilbert Grape

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a 1993 film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. Peter Hedges wrote the screenplay adapted from his 1991 novel of the same name...

, alongside Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp

John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...

, Juliette Lewis

Juliette Lewis

Juliette Lewis is an American actress and musician. She gained international fame for her role in the 1991 thriller Cape Fear for which she was nominated for both an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress...

 and Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...

, in which she played the title character's housebound mother. Cates was chosen for the part of Bonnie Grape after a casting director saw her on an episode of the Sally Jessy Raphael

Sally Jessy Raphaël

Sally Lowenthal , better known as Sally Jessy Raphael, is an American talk show host, known for the eponymous Sally talk show she hosted for two decades.-Early years:...

show in which she discussed her weight. She described her weight as around 550 pounds.

Television roles followed on the hit shows Picket Fences

Picket Fences

Picket Fences is a 60-minute American television drama about the residents of the fictional town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS television network in the United States...

and Touched by an Angel

Touched by an Angel

Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...

, and a cameo

Cameo appearance

A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...

 in Wolf Girl

Wolf Girl

Wolf Girl is a 2001 Canadian/American horror thriller about a girl who travels with a freak show because of her rare genetic disorder, hypertrichosis.-Plot:...

, a Halloween Special for USA Network

USA Network

USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...

. Producer

Television producer

The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...

 J. Miles Dale flew a small crew and the film's two young stars Dov Tiefenbach

Dov Tiefenbach

Dov Yosef Tiefenbach is a Canadian actor and musician.Tiefenbach was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He began his acting career at the age of 12, first starting off in commercials before playing the role of 'Josh Avery' in the television series RoboCop , and landed his first starring role as...

 and Victoria Sanchez

Victoria Sanchez

Victoria Sanchez is a Canadian actress. She is well known for her role as Grace Vasquez on the Canadian series Student Bodies, which aired from 1997 to 1999. She left the cast in the second season...

 from Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

 to Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 to shoot their scenes with Cates.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1993	What's Eating Gilbert Grape What's Eating Gilbert Grape What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a 1993 film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. Peter Hedges wrote the screenplay adapted from his 1991 novel of the same name...	Bonnie Grape
1994	Picket Fences Picket Fences Picket Fences is a 60-minute American television drama about the residents of the fictional town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS television network in the United States...	Sophie Wallace	"Squatter's Rights"
1996	Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...	Claudia Bell	"Statute of Limitations"
2001	Wolf Girl Wolf Girl Wolf Girl is a 2001 Canadian/American horror thriller about a girl who travels with a freak show because of her rare genetic disorder, hypertrichosis.-Plot:...	Athena	TV film

External links