Brittany Murphy-Monjack (born Brittany Anne Bertolotti; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009), known professionally as Brittany Murphy, was an American film and stage actress, singer, and voice artist. Murphy, a native of Atlanta, moved to Los Angeles as a teenager, and pursued a career in acting. Her breakthrough role was in Amy Heckerling's Clueless (1995), followed by supporting roles in independent films such as Freeway (1996) and Bongwater (1998).
She made her stage debut in a Broadway production of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge in 1997, and then appeared in James Mangold's drama Girl, Interrupted (1999), as well as the satire Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999).
The 2000s saw Murphy with roles in Don't Say a Word (2001) alongside Michael Douglas, and alongside Eminem in Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile (2002), for which she gained critical recognition. Her later roles included Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), the dark comedy crime film Spun (2002), Uptown Girls (2003) alongside Dakota Fanning, Sin City (2005), and Happy Feet (2006). Murphy also voiced Luanne Platter on the animated TV series King of the Hill. Her final film, Something Wicked, was released in April 2014.
Brittany Anne Bertolotti was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Sharon Kathleen Murphy and Angelo Joseph Bertolotti, who divorced when she was two years old. Murphy was raised by her mother in Edison, New Jersey. Bertolotti was not named as her father on Brittany's first death certificate.[8] Prior to her enrolling at Edison High School, the family moved to Los Angeles in 1991 so that 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 of Italian ancestry, She was raised a Baptist and later became a non-denominational Christian. She had two older half-brothers and a younger half-sister.
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 of Italian ancestry, She was raised a Baptist and later became a non-denominational Christian. She had two older half-brothers and a younger half-sister.
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