Rotund character player, who made her feature acting debut as the 500 pound couch-bound mother of a dysfunctional family in Lasse Hallstrom's "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" (1993). Cates came to acting after screenwriter Peter Hedges (who also wrote the novel on which the film is based), saw her appearance on an episode of "Sally Jessy Raphael" on extremely overweight people. Cates brought a…
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