American singer-songwriter Rebekah Del Rio, best known for her transfixing performance in David Lynch‘s Mulholland Drive, has passed away. She was 57.
Del Rio was discovered deceased in her Los Angeles apartment June 23, according to the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office. A cause of death has not been confirmed.
Del Rio gained fame with her performance of “Llorando,” a Spanish-language cover of Roy Orbison’s “Crying,” in the 2001 drama. She performed as a singer in the emotional Club Silencio scene who is later discovered to be lip-syncing during her performance. But she revealed that she performed the song live, take after take, while the film’s stars Naomi Watts and Laura Harring watched on.
“There were many takes. And with every take, I sang along, because I felt I had to produce that same feeling with the vibrato in my throat so the audience could see it,” Del Rio told IndieWire in 2022. “I also wanted the beautiful girls in the balcony, Laura Harring and Naomi Watts, to experience it live. They were present while I was doing my scene, so I sang to them.”
Per Variety, Del Rio was cast in the movie after she and Lynch connected through their mutual agent, Brian Loucks. Lynch famously asked Del Rio to perform “Llorando” for him during the meeting and proceeding to covertly record her.
Del Rio later reunited with Lynch in the 2017 revival Twin Peaks: The Return. She also appeared in Southland Tales, in which she performed “The Star-Spangled Banner,” as well as 2307: Winter’s Dream and This Teacher.
Her vocals can also be heard in the soundtracks for Sin City and Mia Sarah.
The San Diego-born singer’s passing comes six months after Lynch passed away in early 2025.
Del Rio is being remembered by Lynch fans everywhere. “We lose a wonderful artist, a beautiful voice, a great woman. Forever in our memory. Forever in our hearts. Rest in peace. Llorando por ti, Rebekah,” one fan wrote on X.
“A tremendous voice and devastatingly beautiful performance that has haunted me ever since I saw ‘Mulholland Drive,’ and floored me all over again in ‘The Return.’ I take solace that she is with David now. There truly are no more stars,” another wrote.
Del Rio had one son, Phillip C. DeMars, who died at the age of 23 in 2009.
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