Actress Brittany Murphy dead at 32

Brittany Murphy

By Jim Hagerty
Staff Writer

Thirty-two-year-old actress Brittany Murphy, known for a string of film and television roles, has died.

According to a Los Angeles coroner’s report, Murphy was pronounced dead at 11 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 20, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She reportedly collapsed in her shower a few hours before.

A preliminary report said the actress died of cardiac arrest.

It’s been widely rumored drug use had plagued Murphy in recent years. However, it’s not known if drugs played a part in her death. Foul play is not suspected.

Murphy’s break came in 1995 with the teen film Clueless. She had several projects in the works, including a role in Sylvester Stallone’s latest, The Expendables, due out next year.

Murphy had a hit dance single, “Faster Kill Pussycat,” in 2006 and was the voice of the character Luanne Platter on the FOX animated comedy, King of the Hill.

Brittany Murphy was born Nov. 10, 1977, in Atlanta, Ga. She married screenwriter Simon Monjack in 2007.

An autopsy is planned for Tuesday, Dec. 22.