Brittany Murphy 1977 - 2009

Brittany Murphy was one of the rising stars of Hollywood with the likes of Sin City and 8 Mile under her belt before her death this weekend.

Like many actors she kicked off her acting career in television, her first job coming in 1991 on show Drexell’s Class when she was just fourteen.

Her TV career was on the rise with roles in Kids Incorporated, Almost Home, Frasier and Party of Five over the next few years.

But it wasn’t long before the movies came calling as she appeared in Clueless in 1995 and over the years her star began to rise.

During the late nineties she built up her acting CV with roles in Falling Sky, Drop Dead Gorgeous and Girl Interrupted.

But it was the turn of the century and into the noughties that she really began to make a name for herself as she mixed and matched her roles moving from horror like Cherry Falls to drama such as Riding in Cars With Boys.

But it was 2002 where she really began to make a name for herself when she starred alongside Eminem in 8 Mile.

The movie was part autobiography and looked at the early years of Eminem as he grew up in poverty in Detroit, and his early career in rap.

The movie was a critical and commercial success as it went on to gross over $242 million at the global box office, easily making back it’s $41 million budget.

She showed her versatility not long after when she switched to comedy starring alongside Ashton Kutcher in Just Married.

The movie followed a happy young couple; Sarah and Tom marry against the wishes of Sarah's friends and family and go to Europe for their Honeymoon. Unfortunately for them, Sarah's parents send Sarah's ex-boyfriend Peter Prentis to break up the happy marriage.

Once again the movie was a success and stayed top of the U.S. box office for four weeks, taking $271 million worldwide.

Over the next couple of years she has enjoyed further success with Sin City, the adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel, before lending her voice to the animation hit Happy Feet.
 
2009 saw her mix TV and movies as she landed parts in Tribute and Megafault, both films for television, as well as starring in Deadline

The actress died on Sunday (20th December) morning from a cardiac arrest. She is survived by her husband Simon Monjack who she married in 2007.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw