Brittany Murphy

1.1. Birth and Family Background

Brittany Anne Bertolotti was born on November 10, 1977, at Georgia Baptist Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Her parents were Sharon Kathleen Murphy and Angelo Joseph Bertolotti. They divorced when Brittany was three years old, after which she was raised by her mother in Edison, New Jersey. Sharon Murphy is of Irish and Slovakian descent, while Angelo Joseph Bertolotti was of Italian descent. Angelo Bertolotti's life included a twelve-year prison sentence on drug possession charges and reported dealings with the Italian mafia, where he allegedly operated as an entrepreneur and diplomat for organized crime families. Murphy later recounted that her mother's financial difficulties during her childhood often forced them to eat spaghetti every night and, on occasion, required her to beg her mother to purchase clothes from Kmart. These early experiences reportedly contributed to Murphy's later deep social investment in causes supporting the homeless, a commitment highlighted in a February 2003 article in Glamour. Raised as a Baptist, she later identified as a non-denominational Christian. She had two older half-brothers and a younger half-sister.

1.2. Childhood and Early Education

From the tender age of four, Murphy received training in singing, dancing, and acting at the Verne Fowler School of Dance and Theater Arts in Colonia, New Jersey, a regimen she continued until she relocated to California at thirteen. Her theatrical debut came at age ten in 1987, starring in Really Rosie, a performance that garnered praise from her teachers. She also showcased her vocal talents in a production of Les Misérables. Murphy was noted for her energetic presence as a performer, famously stating that her earliest memories were of "wanting... to entertain people."

1.3. Move to Los Angeles and Early Aspirations

In 1991, at the age of thirteen and before starting high school, Murphy and her mother relocated to Los Angeles to allow Brittany to actively pursue an acting career. Murphy revealed that her mother was a pivotal influence on her aspirations and subsequent success, noting, "When I asked my mom to move to California, she sold everything and moved out here for me. She always believed in me." Her mother, Sharon, never stifled Murphy's creative inclinations, fostering an environment that encouraged her artistic ambitions.

2.1. Acting Career

Brittany Murphy's acting journey began with early television appearances in the 1990s, evolving into breakthrough roles that established her as a prominent figure in Hollywood, followed by continued success in major films and voice acting throughout the 2000s, and concluding with a series of independent and posthumously released projects.

2.1.2. 2000s: Major Film Roles and Voice Acting Success

Murphy's career in the 2000s began with notable roles such as Jody Marken in the 2000 thriller Cherry Falls. In 2001, she took on the lead role of Elisabeth Burrows opposite Michael Douglas in Don't Say a Word. Despite the film receiving negative critical reception, Murphy's performance was widely praised. In 2002, she portrayed Alex Latourno in 8 Mile, a film based on the life of American rapper Eminem. This role garnered her critical acclaim and contributed to the film's success at the box office.

In 2003, Murphy starred alongside Dakota Fanning in Uptown Girls, playing Molly Gunn, a twenty-two-year-old whose deceased father was a musician. Filming for Uptown Girls took place from July to September 2002 at Silvercup Studios in New York. After production, Murphy purchased all the jewelry she had worn in the film. That same year, she starred in the romantic comedy Just Married, which performed well at the box office, grossing over 100.00 M USD against a budget of 18.00 M USD. However, the film received negative reviews from both the press and film critics, leading to Razzie Award nominations for Murphy and her co-star, Ashton Kutcher, including nominations for worst actor, worst supporting actress, and worst on-screen couple. During this period, her mother's breast cancer recurred, requiring Murphy to once again provide care. A year later, she took on the role of Stacy Holt in Little Black Book (2004), another film that faced critical failure, with reviewers often highlighting Murphy's perceived poor performance. The film opened at number five at the North American box office, earning 7.08 M USD in its opening weekend, and concluded its theatrical run with a worldwide total of 22.03 M USD. In 2005, she appeared as Shellie in Sin City, a film co-directed by Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, and Quentin Tarantino. Film critic Roger Ebert frequently lauded Murphy's acting talent and comic timing, giving positive reviews to several of her films and drawing comparisons to Lucille Ball. Ebert notably recounted an incident at the 2003 Independent Spirit Awards where Murphy, tasked with presenting an award, engaged in screwball improvisational comedy by feigning an inability to follow simple instructions, much to the audience's bewilderment but to Ebert's admiration for her "brilliance."

Murphy continued to explore voice acting, notably in the critically acclaimed 2006 animated feature Happy Feet, where she voiced Gloria Penguin. For this role, she covered Queen's "Somebody to Love" and Earth, Wind & Fire's "Boogie Wonderland". Murphy remarked that, "Oddly enough, of all the characters I've played, Gloria is the most like me. And she's a penguin! George Miller always wanted one person to do both [the speaking and the singing]. I said, 'I can sing,' and I asked him to give me a shot. I don't think he took me very seriously, because most actors say they can do most things."

2.2. Music Career

Beyond her acting, Brittany Murphy also pursued a career as a singer, demonstrating a natural musical talent from a young age. She reportedly possessed the ability to learn to play an instrument within just twenty minutes of practice, mastering both the piano and trumpet early in her life. Murphy commented on her distinct singing voice, stating, "My singing voice isn't like my speaking voice... I've just always kept it a secret and never taken credit because I wanted to learn how to work behind the microphone in a recording studio, and some of the singers don't even know it was me recording on their albums." In an interview, she identified American singer Madonna as her primary musical influence, recalling Madonna's quote, "I'm going to change the world," as a "huge inspiration" that led her to decide she would be her "own version of Madonna when I grew up." She stated her childhood dreams were always to be an entertainer, beginning with dance classes and singing, then musical theater in New Jersey at age nine, and eventually auditioning for commercials as the quickest way to reach a wider audience.

Despite her musical aspirations, plans to release a solo studio album never materialized. She recorded several unreleased demos, including the song "Boomlay," which was leaked online but remained incomplete, with part of the recording lost. In the early 1990s, she was a member of a band called Blessed Soul with fellow actor Eric Balfour. On June 6, 2006, Murphy collaborated with Paul Oakenfold to release the single "Faster Kill Pussycat" from his album A Lively Mind. The song became a significant club hit, reaching number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart. It also achieved success in Oakenfold's native United Kingdom, peaking at number seven on the UK charts in June 2006.

Murphy further integrated her musical talents with her acting career through her role in the film Happy Feet, where she covered Queen's "Somebody to Love" and Earth, Wind & Fire's "Boogie Wonderland".

3.1. Relationships

Brittany Murphy's romantic life saw several significant relationships before her marriage to Simon Monjack.

In late 2002, Murphy began dating actor Ashton Kutcher, whom she met while they were co-starring in the film Just Married. The film's director, Shawn Levy, observed their relationship, noting, "From the minute they met, they were together, they laughed all the time, they made jokes and they looked happy." While both Kutcher and Murphy were seen wearing rings, fueling speculation of an engagement, it was never officially confirmed. Following her relationship with Kutcher, Murphy was engaged to talent manager Jeff Kwatinetz, though their relationship lasted only four months. She later became engaged to Joe Macaluso in December 2005, a production assistant she had met on the set of Little Black Book. However, their engagement ended in April 2006, four months after filming concluded for The Ramen Girl.

Months after her breakup with Macaluso, Murphy met Simon Monjack, a British screenwriter. They initially connected during the production of The White Hotel, an unreleased film where Murphy was set to act and Monjack was to direct, though its production was halted.

3.2. Friendships

Brittany Murphy maintained notable friendships within the entertainment industry, including close bonds with fellow actors Winona Ryder and Eminem.

In the early 2000s, Murphy was close friends with American actress Winona Ryder, her co-star in the 1999 drama film Girl, Interrupted. In a 2001 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Murphy openly described Ryder as her "definitive mentor." Reflecting on her earlier career, Murphy admitted, "Before, I didn't know how actors managed to look so pretty. They have stylists, hair and makeup. I look at old photos of the premiere of Clueless and I look like a meatball on top of another meatball." A notable incident involving Murphy and Ryder occurred during a television interview when they playfully kissed mouth-to-mouth inside a Mercedes car. This led to tabloid speculation and theories that Murphy was a lesbian, a claim she denied. She later recounted for People that the incident resulted in her appearing on the cover of the National Enquirer, stating, "We just kissed as a joke. I didn't know what to do because [the photographers] were in front of the car and it was either run them over or just stay there. Then I started making faces and suddenly I became Winona Ryder's lesbian lover." Following Murphy's death, Ryder shared with Total Film her difficulty in watching Girl, Interrupted due to the film's plot, in which Murphy's character commits suicide, remarking, "I was very close to Brittany, even in the moments before her death."

During the filming of 8 Mile in 2002, Murphy met American rapper, singer-songwriter, and actor Eminem. After the film's release, rumors circulated about a possible romantic relationship between the two. When asked on the Late Show with David Letterman if they had dated, Murphy jokingly responded, "Yes, of course," adding, "Well, it went. It came and went." Despite the speculation, it was later confirmed that they did not have a romantic relationship. In another interview with The Morning Call, Murphy expressed her admiration for Eminem, stating, "I'm a fan of him... I think that he's very misunderstood." She continued, "He's brilliant... he's a brilliant guy." When the interviewer inquired if the rapper was nervous during their recordings, she humorously replied, "You'd have to ask him. I don't want to appear in some song or something like that. I'm being careful." On a separate occasion, when pressed about an "off-screen something," she famously replied, "I'll never tell," referencing a line from her 2001 suspense film Don't Say a Word. Eminem later revealed in an interview with Vibe that Murphy's death profoundly affected him, and he confessed to being terrified of dying under similar circumstances. He commented, "It's crazy because for a while we were close and she was a very good person. It's crazy when you see these cases, not just hers, but all the cases that have happened in Hollywood with people in music, in acting. Famous people. Famous people dying of overdoses at alarming rates and this almost sounds like advertising."

3.3. Health Concerns

Brittany Murphy's health and physical appearance became subjects of public and media scrutiny, highlighting the intense pressures faced by actors in Hollywood, particularly concerning body image.

In the early 2000s, Murphy experienced significant weight loss, which led to persistent rumors of cocaine addiction or that she suffered from bulimia or anorexia. In 2005, Murphy publicly refuted these claims in Jane magazine, asserting, "No, just for the record I have never tried it in my entire life." Her physical transformation garnered attention, with a notable anecdote from 2000 where she recounted a significant Hollywood figure telling her she was "huggable" but "not 'fuckable'," which prompted her to get hair extensions, believing it would "make the difference." She discussed this physical change for Interview magazine.

Murphy's smoking habits also drew attention; she appeared to smoke in films and behind-the-scenes footage. A Rolling Stone journalist noted her scent of vanilla and apricots, observed her smoking a cigarette, then reported Murphy claiming it was only her third cigarette of the week and that she did not smoke, before she lit a fourth. Despite her struggles, Murphy was actively against both smoking and drug use. She participated in a fifteen-minute anti-smoking campaign aimed at young people, which was distributed to over 10,000 schools as part of the "Right Decisions, Right Now" educational program. Additionally, Murphy battled type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Actress Melanie Lynskey, a close friend of Murphy's, expressed her concern regarding the industry's impact on Murphy's self-image. In an interview with InStyle, Lynskey stated, "I was friends with Brittany Murphy, and the way she saw herself always broke my heart: the things she felt she had to change to be a successful actress." Lynskey emphasized, "She was perfect as she was, but people tried to present her as 'the fat one,' because when she was a very young teenager, her cheeks were a little round. People tell you that you are a particular thing, and it is very difficult to combat." This pressure led to a severe physical decline for Murphy, with her weight loss making her so frail that she struggled to stand independently. Film director Trista Jordan vividly recalled, "I've been around thousands of actors and I've never seen anyone that thin. Her elbows... And to get up from a chair she looked like Bambi."

3.4. Marriage to Simon Monjack and Related Controversies

Brittany Murphy's marriage to British screenwriter Simon Monjack was a period marred by significant controversy, with numerous accusations suggesting his manipulative influence had a detrimental impact on her health and social life.

Mark Ebner, in the 2023 documentary Gone Before Her Time: Brittany Murphy, described Monjack as "a liar, a cheat, a thief, a sociopath, a con-artist and a narcissist, all wrapped up in one ball of dysfunction."

Murphy and Monjack married in a private Jewish ceremony in Los Angeles in May 2007. Their engagement was not publicly announced beforehand, and they rarely appeared together in public prior to their marriage. For the last three and a half years of her life, Murphy, her mother Sharon, and Monjack all resided together in the same mansion that had previously been occupied by Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, with Murphy retaining much of her old furniture.

The 2021 documentary What Happened, Brittany Murphy? presented a critical view of Monjack, with several of his former colleagues and friends accusing him of being responsible for Murphy's noticeable physical changes and for isolating her from her family and friends. His ex-fiancée, Elizabeth Ragsdale, described Monjack as "a disturbed individual who was used to scamming people and Brittany was one of his last victims." Ragsdale recounted how Monjack had fabricated a story about suffering from spinal cancer and requiring shark cartilage treatments for recovery. She only discovered the deception after he abandoned her while she was pregnant, leading her to contact Monjack's mother, Linda Monjack, who denied her son had cancer but believed he developed extreme paranoia after his own father's death from cancer. Filmmaker Allison Burnett also shared an incident where Monjack falsely claimed to be a multimillionaire, to have dated Elle Macpherson and Madonna, to own a collection of Ferraris, and to be dying of brain cancer before being miraculously cured by shark fin treatments. These revelations led the media to suspect that Murphy had been deceived by a con artist.

Actress Kathy Najimy recalled the widespread concern, stating, "[People] were scared. Like, 'Who is this guy and what was happening?'" and "She wanted to marry him, and I said, 'Honey, it hasn't been enough'." Reports indicated that Murphy's friends and family attempted to separate her from Monjack at one point, but their intervention failed. Following this, according to her friend Lisa Rieffel, it was as if Murphy "disappeared" from her social circle. Rieffel elaborated, "Simon took her away. He made sure no one could get to her."

4.1. Circumstances of Death

On December 20, 2009, at 8:00 a.m. local time, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a medical emergency call at the Hollywood Hills residence shared by Brittany Murphy and her husband, Simon Monjack. Murphy had reportedly collapsed in a bathroom. Firefighters attempted to resuscitate her at the scene before she was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She was pronounced dead at 10:05 a.m. after going into cardiac arrest. Murphy's last known public interview was with Access Hollywood on December 3, 2009, just seventeen days before her death, where she stated, "As far as having a New Year's resolution, I'd love to have a child next year." She was buried four days later, on December 24, 2009, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills.

4.2. Official Cause of Death

An autopsy was conducted the day after Murphy's death. In February 2010, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office issued its official report, determining the manner of death to be accidental. The primary cause of death was identified as pneumonia, with secondary contributing factors being severe iron-deficiency anemia and multiple drug intoxication. The coroner's report indicated that Murphy had a range of over-the-counter and prescription medications in her system, most likely taken to treat a cold or respiratory infection. These included "elevated levels" of hydrocodone (a narcotic requiring a prescription), acetaminophen, L-methamphetamine, and chlorpheniramine (which are over-the-counter medications). The report concluded that "the possible adverse physiological effects of elevated levels of these medications cannot be discounted, especially in her weakened state."

4.3. Controversies and Alternative Theories

Following Brittany Murphy's death, various disputes and alternative theories emerged regarding the true cause of her passing, fueled by statements from her family and subsequent events.

In January 2010, Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack, and her mother, Sharon Murphy, publicly asserted that Brittany did not use alcohol or other drugs, and they denied that drugs had caused her death. Instead, they attributed her death to a pre-existing heart condition, mitral valve prolapse. However, on May 23, 2010, just five months after Brittany's death, Simon Monjack was found dead at the same Hollywood Hills residence. The coroner's report for Monjack also attributed his death to acute pneumonia and severe anemia, mirroring the findings for Brittany.

The identical causes of death led the Los Angeles County Department of Health to consider toxic mold in their shared home as a potential factor. However, Los Angeles Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter dismissed this theory, stating there were "no indicators" that mold was a contributing factor. Sharon Murphy initially called the reports of toxic mold "absurd" and stated that the Health Department had never requested an inspection of the home for mold. Nevertheless, in December 2011, Sharon Murphy reversed her stance, announcing that toxic mold was indeed what killed both her daughter and son-in-law. She subsequently filed a lawsuit against the attorneys who had represented her in an earlier suit against the builders of the home.

In January 2012, Murphy's father, Angelo Bertolotti, filed an application with the Superior Court of California, requesting that the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office release samples of his daughter's hair for independent toxicology testing. This lawsuit was dismissed seven months later due to Bertolotti's failure to attend two separate hearings. In November 2013, Bertolotti publicly claimed that an independent toxicology report he commissioned showed that deliberate poisoning by heavy metals, including antimony and barium, was a possible cause of his daughter's death. Sharon Murphy, however, described her father's claim as "a smear" against her daughter's memory and the official findings.

4.4. Brittany Murphy Foundation

In January 2010, Murphy's mother, Sharon, and her widower, Simon Monjack, established the Brittany Murphy Foundation. This charitable organization was intended to support children's arts education, as well as contribute to the USO and cancer research.

The foundation was officially launched on February 4, 2010, with a fundraising event held at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. However, it was soon revealed that the foundation had not filed for not-for-profit status. Consequently, the foundation was compelled to refund all donations it had received. In an official letter posted on its website, the foundation explained that in their haste to establish the organization, they had initially set it up as a private foundation with intentions to apply for non-profit status later. They stated that they had decided to delay further activities until the foundation's non-profit status was formally approved, in order to truly honor Murphy and the foundation's charitable goals. On November 10, 2013, the Brittany Murphy Foundation was officially relaunched by her father, Angelo Bertolotti, as announced via a press release on the foundation's website. As of September 2018, however, the Brittany Murphy Foundation appeared to be defunct. GuideStar USA, Inc., a service specializing in reporting on U.S. non-profit organizations, indicated that the foundation had not appeared on the IRS Business Master File for months, suggesting that its operations had ceased.

5.1. Impact and Reception

Adam White, writing for Dazed Digital on November 15, 2017, described Brittany Murphy as "small, but magnetic, with the rare ability to seem completely approachable and terrifying." He further characterized her with "a big, bawdy laugh and acted with a manic mood mixed with breathless disbelief that things had turned out so well." White suggested that Murphy's screen presence was "the equivalent of dancing in your room to a Spice Girls song, or crying out loud at the end of a party after too many drinks." However, he also noted that "she died too young to establish an adequate legacy, and quietly for posthumous super stardom," adding that "she was not pretty enough to be a female protagonist in an era in which lithe and ethereal Gwyneth Paltrow and Kirsten Dunst were the It girls of the moment."

After her death, many of Murphy's colleagues and friends shared tributes acknowledging her talent and contributions to the film industry. Dakota Fanning, her co-star in the 2003 film Uptown Girls, with whom she maintained a friendship, expressed her appreciation for their time together on set and at events, stating she was "very grateful to have had the opportunity to work together." Her musical collaboration with British DJ Paul Oakenfold, "Faster Kill Pussycat", re-entered the UK Dance Chart at number seven and the UK Indie Chart at number 13 following her passing, showcasing the enduring appeal of her music. In 2023, Alicia Silverstone, her co-star from Clueless (1995), fondly recalled Murphy's audition for the film: "I always remember when she auditioned for the part. It was the first time I was in a casting room where I was not auditioning. I was just there to help them facilitate chemistry reads. I just remember when she came in and did hers, because when she walked out of the room, I was like, 'You guys! Did you see that?' As if they wouldn't know. They were like, 'Yes, we saw that!' They were excited too, but it was my first time. She was just so good."

5.2. Documentaries and Media Portrayals

The mysterious circumstances surrounding Brittany Murphy's death have been explored in various media, including documentaries. In October 2021, HBO Max released a documentary titled What Happened, Brittany Murphy?, which delved into the unresolved questions surrounding her passing. In the documentary, Taryn Manning, Murphy's co-star from 8 Mile, remembered her as "free-spirited, whimsical and full of laughter."

However, the documentary itself received mixed reviews. Daniel Fienberg, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, characterized the documentary as "20 percent a reminder of Murphy's transcendent talent, 30 percent a dead-ended investigation into the mystery of her death, and 50 percent an unenlightening examination of Murphy's late husband." Fienberg concluded his review by stating that Murphy "deserved better than the treatment she received in the media, which probably contributed to [Monjack's] ability to control her in the way he did." A biographical drama about her life, The Brittany Murphy Story, starring Amanda Fuller in the title role and Sherilyn Fenn as her mother, was also produced.

6.1. Films

6.2. Television

6.3. Video Games

6.4. Music Videos

6.5. Stage Work