Brittany Murphy (born November 10, 1977) is an American actress and recording artist. She has starred in films such as Just Married, Clueless, Girl, Interrupted, 8 Mile, Sin City, The Dead Girl, Uptown Girls, Riding in Cars with Boys and Spun.
Early life:Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Murphy's parents divorced when she was two. She was raised by her single mother, Sharon Murphy, in Edison, New Jersey, and later Los Angeles (her father, Angelo Bertolotti, is a convicted mobster). Murphy's mother is of Irish and Eastern European descent, and her father is Italian American. She was raised a Baptist and attended a Lutheran school, but is now a non-denominational practicing Christian.
When she was nine years old, Murphy landed a singing role in a musical version of Les Misérables, and had signed on with a manager by the time she turned thirteen. Her mother, Sharon was diagnosed with breast cancer when Murphy was 15. She survived after having a double mastectomy.
Acting:Murphy landed her first job in Hollywood when she was 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 has also guest starred on several television series including Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Blossom, and Frasier. She has 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 has starred in many successful films, including Clueless (1995), Girl, Interrupted (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). In 2009, she was cast in the Lifetime TV movie, Tribute, as the main character, Cilla.
Music:Murphy performs for the crew during for a United Services Organization (USO) show aboard USS Nimitz on June 19, 2003.
On June 6, 2006, Murphy and Paul Oakenfold, released the single "Faster Kill Pussycat", from the album A Lively Mind. The song has become 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".
Personal life:In late 2002, Murphy began dating Ashton Kutcher, who was 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 screenwriter Simon Monjack in a private Jewish ceremony.
In 2005, Murphy signed as the spokesmodel for Jordache jeans.
In 2006, Murphy was voted 36th in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women List, and in May of the same year, Maxim named Murphy #49 on its annual Hot 100 List.
