Rebekah Del Rio Dies: ‘Mulholland Drive’ Singer Of ‘Llorando’ Was 57

Singer-songwriter Rebekah Del Rio, who’s best known for her performance of “Llorando,” a Spanish-language version of a cover of Roy Orbison’s “Crying,” in David Lynch’s 2001 film Mulholland Drive, has died.

According to Variety, Del Rio died in her Los Angeles residence on June 23. She was 57. Read on for more about her life and legacy.

A cause of death has not been confirmed

Several outlets have reported that the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office confirmed Del Rio’s death. However, no further details regarding her passing have been shared publicly.

Her last performance was less than two weeks ago

Del Rio was born on July 10, 1967, in Chula Vista, California. She began performing before moving to Los Angeles to continue to pursue her career. She was introduced to Lynch in the mid-’90s by Brian Loucks, their mutual agent.

During the meeting, Lynch asked the singer to perform her recording of “Llorando.” He secretly recorded her and used the performance as the foundation of the pivotal Club Silencio scene in Mulholland Drive. At the time, the film was a rejected ABC pilot that Lynch was turning into a feature film. Del Rio’s performance in it is hauntingly emotional, and Mulholland Drive lead actors Naomi Watts and Laura Harring are seen moved to tears by the powerful cover.

In a 2022 interview with IndieWire, Del Rio said she sang the song live each take while filming.

“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,” she told the outlet at the time. “I also wanted the beautiful girls in the balcony, [the film’s stars] Laura Harring and Naomi Watts, to experience it live. They were present while I was doing my scene, so I sang to them.”

Mulholland Drive made Del Rio a breakout star and led to the singer’s vocals appearing in films like Southland Tales, in which Del Rio sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the film’s epic conclusion, Sin City, Man on Fire and Streets of Legend. She shared her talents on the small screen as well, performing in Showtime’s Twin Peaks revival series, Twin Peaks: The Return, in 2017.

Del Rio also performed on stage, joining The Red Room Orchestra Plays the Music of Twin Peaks for several performances. Her last performance, a Mulholland Drive screening at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles, was less than two weeks before her death.

Lynch, who died in January at age 78, and Del Rio remained close for the duration of their careers. The singer had a son, Phillip C. DeMars, who died in 2009 at age 23.