Born on November 10, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia, Brittany Murphy is an actress and recording artist best known for her role first in Clueless with Alicia Silverstone, then in Just Married, Girl Interrupted, Sin City, and 8 Mile. Of primarily Irish and Italian descent, Murphy’s parents were divorced shortly after she was born. Her mother took custody of her and raised her first in Edison, New Jersey, then in Burbank, California. At the time, she had little contact with her father. She attended a Lutheran school and is now a non-denominational practicing Christian.
Brittany Murphy started out quite early in the entertainment industry, landing her first singing role at 9 years of age in a musical version of Les Miserables. By the time she turned 13, she already had a manager. Two years later, however, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately, she survived after undergoing a double mastectomy.
Murphy’s first Hollywood role would come when she was 14, as Brenda Drexell in a television series called Drexell’s Class, then eventually in the short-lived Almost Home. She also appeared in an episode of Frasier and Boy Meets World. In 1995, she was cast as Alicia Silverstone’s friend in Clueless, which was followed by a string of films, both big-budget and independently produced, low-key ones. Her better known movies include Girl Interrupted, 8 Mile, Uptown Girls, Sin City, and Happy Feet. She has also appeared in the television series Sister, Sister and King of the Hill. In 2004, she starred in Little Black Book, which failed massively in the box office and wasn’t critically acclaimed as well. She bounced back with Sin City the next year, while also appearing in a promo video for Tears for Fears’ comeback single.
Murphy has also dabbled in music, releasing a song with Paul Oakenfield called “Faster Kill Pussycat” in the spring of 2006. The single became a club hit and even peaked at number on Billboard magazine’s Hot Dance Club Play chart in the same month it was released. Meanwhile, she covered a Queen classic in the soundtrack of the animated movie Happy Feet.