Brittany Murphy

September 8, 3:54 PMCelebrity Profile ExaminerAndy Williamson

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BRITTANY MURPHY

A petite actress with soulful eyes, a big smile, an infectious laugh, and a propensity for playing troubled characters (though she has since moved beyond that), actress and singer Brittany Murphy is finally coming into her own.

Brittany Anne Murphy was born Brittany Bertolotti on November 10th, 1977 in Atlanta. Georgia.  When she was 2-years-old, Brittany’s parents divorced and she was raised by her working-class mother, Sharon Murphy, a woman of Irish and Eastern European descent.  (Brittany’s father, Angelo Bertolotti, is an Italian-American -- they have had little contact since this separation.)  Growing up in New Jersey, and later Los Angeles, Brittany attended a Baptist Church with her mom, was enrolled at a Lutheran school, and now refers to herself as a non-denominational Christian.  Brittany and her mom had great financial struggles during this time, and often subsisted on spaghetti as they could afford nothing else.  Even buying clothes at K-Mart was a luxury.  Years later, these lean times would inspire Brittany to devote much time and money to homeless causes.

As a precocious child with a flair for the dramatic, Brittany used to put on her own variety shows for the amusement of her mother.  By age nine, Brittany was cast in a singing role in a musical production of Les Misérable.  By thirteen, she had herself a manager and was getting commercial work.  In 1991, when she was fourteen, Brittany began finding Hollywood jobs, with small roles on Murphy Brown and Kids Incorporated.  That same year, she was cast as Brenda Drexell in the short-lived FOX-TV series, Drexell’s Class, starring Dabney Coleman.  More TV work followed, with appearances on Parker Lewis Can’t Lose (1992), Blossom (1993), Frasier (1994), and Party of Five (1994).

BRITTANY MURPHY -- JORDACHE AD

In 1995, Brittany got her biggest role to date when she was cast as Tia, the “tragically unhip new girl at school,” in director Amy Heckerling’s update of Jane Austen’s Emma, entitled Clueless, starring Alicia Silverstone.  Though the film was a worldwide hit, and Brittany’s performance as an ugly duckling turned into a lovely swan won good critical notices, it did not ignite her career.  Returning to television fare, Brittany made appearances on such shows as Boy Meets World (1995), SeaQuest DSV (1995), Nash Bridges (1996), and also provided the voice of Luanne Platter on Mike Judge’s animated King of the Hill (1997 - 2009).

Her films during this period include Bongwater (1997), Drive (1997), Falling Sky (1998), The Prophecy II (1998), and a television version of the classic David and Lisa (1998 - produced by Oprah Winfrey), where Brittany played the titular female character, a girl with dissociative identity disorder.  Brittany won critical raves for this role, and it also began a period where she would specialize in playing troubled teenagers or otherwise mentally disturbed girls.  Included among her notable films after this are Girl, Interrupted (1999 - costarring Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie), Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), Don’t Say a Word (2001 - with Michael Douglas), Riding in Cars With Boys (2001 - with Drew Barrymore), and Curtis Hanson’s 8 Mile (2002 - starring Eminem).

Around this time, wanting to prove that she could play more than just mental cases, Brittany tried her hand as romantic leading lady in the rom-coms Just Married (2003 - opposite Ashton Kutcher), Uptown Girls (2003 - with Dakota Fanning), and Little Black Book (2004).  Though these were passable fare, none would do much to further her career.  In 2005, director Robert Rodriguez cast Brittany as Shellie the barmaid in his stylish film adaptation of Frank MIller’s graphic novel series Sin City.  Brittany didn’t have a lot of screentime (her scenes were shot in one day), but was quite memorable nonetheless.  The film made over $150 million worldwide, and reminded many that Brittany was a little spitfire to be reckoned with.  She is scheduled to reprise her role in the forthcoming sequel.

BRITTANY MURPHY

Brittany followed up Sin City with roles in Neverwas (2005), The Groomsman (2006), Love and Other Disasters (2006), The Dead Girl (2006), Happy Feet (2006), The Ramen Girl (2008), and as Cilla, the main character in the USA Network’s production of Nora Roberts’ Tribute (2009).

In 2005, Brittany was signed as a spokesmodel by Jordache Jeans.

In 2006, Brittany was asked by musician Paul Oakenfold to sing lead on his song Faster Kill Pussycat, from his album A Lively Mind.  The song became a club smash and hit number one on Billboard Magazine’s Hot Dance Club play chart.  Brittany tried her hand at singing again in 2006’s animated Happy Feet, where she sang Queen’s Somebody to Love and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Boogie Wonderland.  As of 2009, Brittany is working on her debut album, featuring a synth/pop sound concocted by Paul Oakenfold, Chris Cox, Max Martin, and Timbaland.

Personally, Brittany has been involved with actors Jonathan Brandis (the late actor was her prom date) and Ashton Kutcher (in his pre-Demi days), and was briefly engaged to talent manager Jeff Kwatinetz, and production assistant Joe Macaluso.  In March 2007, she married screenwriter Simon Monjack.

Whatever lies ahead for the lovely and talented actress, she is sure to continue to charm, enchant, and beguile us.

Up next for Brittany: Abandoned (2009), Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables (2010), Something Wicked (2010), Striking Charlotte (2010), and Poor Things (2010).

Brittany Murphy Quotes:

"I think they should take everyone who works for The National Enquirer and the Star, and everyone who works for Us Weekly, and put them all to work looking for terrorists.  I think they would find the terrorists.  All of them.  It would be genius!"

BRITTANY MURPHY

"I've always seen myself as one of those 'show people.'  My earliest memories are wanting and needing to entertain people, like a gypsy traveler who goes from place to place, city to city, performing for audiences and reaching people."

Regarding seeing her Girl, Interrupted character on screen: "I always envisioned her looking like a spindly blonde, but she looked like me.”

“I'd love to be a man for a day, just to see what it's like.”

“Everybody has difficult years, but a lot of times the difficult years end up being the greatest years of your whole entire life ... if you survive them.”

“It's hard for me to believe it's been 10 years since that movie [Clueless].  I really was a virgin who couldn't drive.  I was living in an apartment in the Valley with my mom, and I remember starting to see these huge billboards of us all over town.  It was amazing!”

“I'm not someone who's generally kept the same hair color.  I like to be able to change it.  You know, if you can't change your surroundings, change your hair color!”

“I ask a lot because I'm very curious -- especially about ex-girlfriends.  I'm pretty good at getting the answers, too.”

“I've made a conscious choice to do more romantic comedies.   I want to show people I can play normal characters you'd meet on the street, not in an institution.”

BRITTANY MURPHY

“People ask me about the weight thing.  And I say, 'Yeah, I lost 10 pounds of eyebrows!'  Those things were so huge!”

“I have a tendency to be a little bit excessive.  Like the past couple of days, I've been obsessed with hot sauce.  I actually contemplated carrying it around with me in my backpack.”

“I don't even take myself seriously, so how could I possibly take Hollywood seriously?”

“Sticking to your values, listening to your instincts, making your own choices is so important.”

“The older I get, the more I embrace my own idiosyncrasies.”

“If I could be a third of the woman that my mom is and have a third of the strength that she has, then I will have done good by this life.”

"Home is where my mom is."

 UPDATE - 12/20/09 Brittany Murphy died today of a massive heart attack.  As of this writing, the cause is unknown.  More details to come as this heartbreaking story unfolds ...