<P> In the small town of Endora , Iowa , Gilbert Grape ( Johnny Depp ) is busy caring for Arnie ( Leonardo DiCaprio ) , his brother with a developmental disability , as they wait for the many tourists ' trailers to pass through town during an annual Airstreamer 's Club gathering at a nearby recreational area . His mother , Bonnie ( Darlene Cates ) , gave up on life after her husband hanged himself in the basement 7 years earlier . She spends almost all of her time on the couch watching TV and eating . With Bonnie unable to care for her children on her own due to her morbid obesity , Gilbert has taken responsibility for repairing the old house and looking after Arnie , who has a habit of climbing the town water tower , while his sisters Amy ( Laura Harrington ) and Ellen ( Mary Kate Schellhardt ) do the rest . The relationship between the brothers is of both care and protection , as Gilbert continually enforces the `` nobody touches Arnie '' policy . A new FoodLand supermarket has opened , threatening the small Lamson 's Grocery where Gilbert works . In addition , Gilbert is having an affair with a married woman , Betty Carver ( Mary Steenburgen ) . </P>
<P> In the small town of Endora , Iowa , Gilbert Grape ( Johnny Depp ) is busy caring for Arnie ( Leonardo DiCaprio ) , his brother with a developmental disability , as they wait for the many tourists ' trailers to pass through town during an annual Airstreamer 's Club gathering at a nearby recreational area . His mother , Bonnie ( Darlene Cates ) , gave up on life after her husband hanged himself in the basement 7 years earlier . She spends almost all of her time on the couch watching TV and eating . With Bonnie unable to care for her children on her own due to her morbid obesity , Gilbert has taken responsibility for repairing the old house and looking after Arnie , who has a habit of climbing the town water tower , while his sisters Amy ( Laura Harrington ) and Ellen ( Mary Kate Schellhardt ) do the rest . The relationship between the brothers is of both care and protection , as Gilbert continually enforces the `` nobody touches Arnie '' policy . A new FoodLand supermarket has opened , threatening the small Lamson 's Grocery where Gilbert works . In addition , Gilbert is having an affair with a married woman , Betty Carver ( Mary Steenburgen ) . </P>
who plays ellen in what 's eating gilbert grape
who plays ellen in what 's eating gilbert grape
Mary Kate Schellhardt
Mary Kate Schellhardt