Brittany Murphy Biography

Brittany Murphy
Actor


Born: 10 November 1977
Died: 20 December 2009 (heart failure)
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia
Best known as: Eminem's girlfriend in the 2002 film 8 Mile
Actress Brittany Murphy made a Hollywood specialty of playing rough-around-the-edges chums and lovers. After guest starring roles in TV series like Blossom and Party of Five, she made her feature film debut in Clueless (1995) as Tai, the low-rent ugly duckling befriended by Alicia Silverstone's sleek Cher. Murphy won good reviews as Daisy, Winona Ryder's suicidal fellow mental patient in Girl, Interrupted (1999). She followed that with supporting roles in a string of "chick flicks" including Sidewalks of New York (2001) and Riding In Cars With Boys (2002, with Drew Barrymore). Murphy gradually remade herself from dowdy brunette to slim and sultry blonde: she played Eminem's fame-hungry girlfriend in 8 Mile, the 2002 film inspired by the rapper's life, the waitress Shellie in the violent comic book drama Sin City (2005, with Bruce Willis) and the noodle-master-in-training of The Ramen Girl (2008). Murphy also provided the voice of Luanne in the long-running animated series King of the Hill.
Extra credit: Murphy married screenwriter Simon Monjack in May 2007. She had been engaged to film crew electrician Joe Macaluso in December of 2005; they had split in August of 2006. She had previously been engaged to Jeff Kwatinetz, CEO of the talent management company The Firm... She provided vocals on Paul Oakenfold's single Faster Kill Pussycat, a dance club hit in 2006.