In Memoriam: Brittany Murphy 1977 - 2009

Brittany Murphy was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 10, 1977. Her parents, Sharon Murphy and Angelo Bertolotti, divorced when she was two years old, and Murphy was raised by her mother in Edison, New Jersey, and later in Los Angeles, where they moved so Murphy could pursue an acting career. Murphy said her mother never tried to stifle her creativity, and she considered her mother a crucial factor in her later success: "When I asked my mom to move to California, she sold everything and moved out here for me. ... She always believed in me." Murphy's mother is of Irish and Eastern European descent and her father is Italian American. Murphy's father, a suspected mobster, has had numerous federal indictments and convictions stemming from the possession and distribution of narcotics. She was raised a Baptist and later became a non-denominational Christian.
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Murphy landed her first job in Hollywood when she was age 14, starring as Brenda Drexell in the series Drexell's Class. She then went on to play Molly Morgan in the short-lived The Torkelsons spinoff Almost Home. Murphy also guest-starred on several television series, including Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Blossom and Frasier. She also had recurring roles on Sister, Sister; Party of Five and Boy Meets World. In 1997, she began voicing the character of Luanne Platter (as well as the younger version of Joseph Gribble) on the long-running animated series King of the Hill.
Murphy starred in several films, including Clueless (1995); Girl, Interrupted (1999); Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999); Don't Say a Word (2001); the TV adaption of the novel The Devil's Arithmetic (2001); 8 Mile (2002) and Uptown Girls (2003) as well as many lesser-known films, such as Spun (2003). In 2004, she starred in the romantic comedy Little Black Book, and the critically acclaimed Sin City (2005). She starred in two Edward Burns films: Sidewalks of New York (2001) and The Groomsmen (2006). In 2009, she was cast in the Lifetime TV movie, Tribute, as the main character, Cilla. She was set to appear in the Sylvester Stallone film, The Expendables, which will be released in 2010.
Murphy was also a voice actor. She voiced the character Luanne Platter on the FOX animated sitcom King of the Hill for the entirety of the show's run. She also provided the voice for Gloria the penguin in the 2006 feature Happy Feet. She was nominated for an Annie Award for voice acting in the King of the Hill episode "Movin' On Up".
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She was in a band called Blessed Soul with fellow actor Eric Balfour in the early 1990s. On June 6, 2006, Murphy and Paul Oakenfold released the single "Faster Kill Pussycat", from the album A Lively Mind. The song became a club hit, and hit number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart. It also hit number seven in the UK singles chart in June 2006.
She dabbled in music again with the release of the film Happy Feet, in which she covered Queen's "Somebody to Love" and Earth, Wind & Fire's "Boogie Wonderland".
Murphy starred in Wheatus' video "A Little Respect" alongside actor Shawn Hatosy. She has also appeared in the music video for Luscious Jackson's "Here" and Tears for Fears' "Closest Thing to Heaven".
In 2005, Murphy signed as the spokesmodel for Jordache jeans.
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In late 2002, Murphy began dating Ashton Kutcher, her co-star in Just Married. Once engaged to talent manager Jeff Kwatinetz, Murphy became engaged to Joe Macaluso in December 2005, a production assistant she met while working on the film Little Black Book. In August 2006, they ended their engagement. In May 2007, Murphy married British screenwriter Simon Monjack in a private Jewish ceremony.
Murphy was a Type-2 diabetic, and suffered from a thyroid condition.
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At 8:00 a.m., on December 20, 2009, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to "a medical request" at the Los Angeles home Murphy and Monjack shared. She had collapsed in a bathroom. Firefighters attempted to resuscitate Murphy on the scene and she was subsequently transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 10:04 a.m. after going into cardiac arrest. According to the coroners report, the Clueless star died accidentally as a result of multiple drug intoxication, pneumonia, and iron deficiency anemia.
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The first photo used in this video is not Brittany Murphy. It is Marissa Jaret Winoku. I copied it from an article about Brittany's makeover. I hope anyone who knew Brittany was not offended by this error.

Category:

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• Brittany Murphy
• actress
• singer
• Clueless
• obituary

[steverox87]

the first picture where it is split is not her on the left. its Marissa Jaret Winokur. but the redhead pic on the right is Brittany.

[Maureen712]

Thank you for pointing that out to me. I copied the pictures from an article about Brittany's transformation. Apparently, the author of that article got it wrong. I'm going to make a note of the error in the description for this video.

Thanks again!

Maureen

[jellybeanpeace]

This is a nice video of her nd thanx to de person who made it. She will be remembered.! I LOVED HER IN UPTOWN GIRL ND IN 8 MILE!!!!! I just Love Brittany Murphy!!!!

[Maureen712]

ME, TOO!

[mamamialove]

She is such a sweetheart. may their family be comforted at this hour of grief.

I pray this wasn't another doctors mistake because of over prescribing..or giving meds that are a contraindication for any condition she may have had. Thanks for posting this in her honor.

mama

[Maureen712]

Thank you for commenting, Mama. Brittany's brother was on TV yesterday. He said Brittany had a neurological condition that runs in their family and that could have been the cause of her death.

So sad! God bless her! She was a very sweet woman and I will miss her.

Hugs,

<3 Maureen

[MrPbrownd]

all i can say is rollin with tha homies

[MrCristianoalexander]

always in love with you what ever you are we will be together i believe r.i.p

[littlemissangel211]

her husband died 5 months after her....thats just too sad! :'(

[AD4Audio]

lol they show her in just married but not 8 mile??

[littlemissangel211]

I miss Brittany Murphy sooo much! :'( she was an amazing actress i still can't believe that she's gone! she is still alive in our hearts and minds,i just wish she could be proper alive right now! RIP brittany you are still loved by all of your fans and family and friends,hope you are having a better life in heaven! xxxxxx

[lukas09171]

todavia no puedo creer que haya muerto, ella formo parte de mi niñes/adolescencia, siempre miraba todo lo que ella hacia.....i love you brittany

[silkyhair14]

whats sad is that she died 5 days before christmas, and her husband died shortly afterr her like a couple of days or weeks after

[bidlakbks]

Brittany had such talent and ( she was so sexy and beautiful ). I will never forget her in "8 Mile" and she definitely could have been huge in the music scene..."Faster Kill Pussycat" was a great dance song. I considered her to be one of the sexiest women in film.

[pegaso82]

GOD BLESS HER

[MyaChrisify]

so many celebs died in 2009

[littlemissangel211]

Poor Brittany!! I miss her sooo much! she was wayy too young to die,she never deserved it at all! I saw her in clueless 2 days ago and felt distraught ever time i saw her thinking "i can't believe that she's gone now!" RIP Brittany xxxxxxxx