Brittany Murphy

Brittany Murphy
Brittany Murphy
	Murphy performs at a USO show aboard the USS Nimitz
Born	Brittany Bertolotti

Brittany Anne Murphy (born Brittany Bertolotti on November 10, 1977) is an American actress and singer.

Biography

Early life

Murphy was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Angelo Bertolotti and Sharon Murphy, who is of Irish American and Eastern European descent. Murphy's parents divorced shortly after her birth, and she was raised in Edison, New Jersey and Burbank, California by her single, working-class mother; she has had little contact with her father since the divorce. Murphy was raised a Baptist, but is now non-denominational.[1]

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.

Career

Murphy landed her first job in Hollywood when she was fourteen, starring as Brenda Drexell in the television series Drexell's Class. She then went on to play Molly Morgan in the short lived The Torkelsons spinoff Almost Home. She was also the lead singer of the band Blessed With Soul in the early 1990s, and was at one time signed on to play late singer Janis Joplin in a biography, but the film was not made because of legal disputes over music rights.

Murphy has since starred in many successful films, including Clueless (1995), 8 Mile (2002) and Uptown Girls (2003) as well as many lesser known films, such as Spun (2003). She has also appeared on several television series, including Sister, Sister, Boy Meets World and as the voice of Luanne Platter on the long-running animated series King of the Hill.

She most recently appeared in the films Little Black Book (2004), which was considered a critical and commercial failure, and the critically acclaimed Sin City (2005). Also in 2005, she appeared in the promo video for Tears For Fears' comeback single Closest Thing To Heaven, and in August 2005, Brittany co-presented UK music show CD:UK along side Holly Willoughby.

In the Spring of 2006, Paul Oakenfold along with Brittany Murphy released the single "Faster Kill Pussycat", with the album A Lively Mind which was released on June 6 in the United States. The song has become a club hit, and hit number one on Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Club Play chart. It also hit number seven in the UK singles chart in June 2006. She'll dabble in music again with the release of her movie Happy Feet, in which she covers Queen's classic "Somebody to Love" and Earth, Wind & Fire's "Boogie Wonderland".

In May of 2006, Maxim magazine named Murphy #49 on its annual Hot 100 List. She is also featured in their Girls of Maxim Gallery.

She will be the first actress to provide a voice for the animated character Tinkerbell in an upcoming Disney movie.

Britanny is currently working on her debut album, which is inspired by techno-pop sound. The album will be released in 2007. She is working with a lot of producers and DJs including Paul Oakenfold, Chris Cox, Max Martin and Timbaland.

Personal life

Actor Jonathan Brandis was Murphy's high school prom date. Murphy has dated actor Ashton Kutcher and was engaged to talent manager Jeff Kwatinetz in 2004. In December 2005, Murphy became engaged to Joe Macaluso, a production assistant she met while working on her film, Little Black Book. In August 2006, they ended their engagement.[2]

Murphy's weight loss and transformation over the years caused speculation of an eating disorder or plastic surgery, both of which she has denied [3]. During 2005, Murphy was the spokesmodel for Jordache jeans.

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Sin City 2	Shellie
2007	The Other Side	Max Mackenzie
2007	Tinker Bell	Tinkerbell (voice)	Filming
2006	Love and Other Disasters	Jacks
2006	Happy Feet	Gloria (voice)
2006	The Groomsmen	Sue
2005	Sin City	Shellie
2004	Little Black Book	Stacy
2003	Uptown Girls	Molly Gunn
2003	Spun	Nikki
2003	Just Married	Sarah McNerney
2002	8 Mile	Alex
2001	Sidewalks of New York	Ashley
2001	Don't Say a Word	Elisabeth Burrows
2001	Riding in Cars with Boys	Fay Forrester
2001	Summer Catch	Dede Mulligan
2000	Cherry Falls	Jody Marken
1998	David and Lisa	Lisa
1999	Girl, Interrupted	Daisy Randone
1999	Drop Dead Gorgeous	Lisa Swensen
1999	The Devil's Arithmetic	Rivkah
1998	Falling Sky	Emily Nicholson
1997	Drive	Deliverance Bodine
1996	Freeway	Rhonda
1995	Clueless	Tai Fraiser
1995	Victim of the Night	Julia Newland

External links

Interviews