Actress Brittany Murphy died 20 December 2009 of an apparent heart attack, although the Los Angeles Times reports that the Los Angeles Police Department has opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death. “Police sources emphasized that their inquiry was preliminary, adding they could not say whether it would point to any criminal conduct.” Variety notes that Murphy “was found unconscious in the shower by her mother Sunday morning. Her husband, writer-producer Simon Monjack, called paramedics, and she was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.”
Murphy was born 10 November 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia, grew up in Edison, New Jersey, and convinced her mother to move the family to Los Angeles when she was 13, to allow her to take a shot at stardom. Her first appearance came that year, in an episode of Murphy Brown. She followed it up by co-starring in Drexell’s Class (1991-92). Her breakout roles came as Tai in Clueless (1995), which starred Alicia Silverstone, and later as Alex (Eminem’s love interest) in 8 Mile (2002).
Murphy has had a long-standing role as Luanna Platter in more than 230 episodes of King of the Hill (1997-2009), for which she won an Annie Award in 2005 (she was also nominated for the same award in 1997 and 2000). Her genre roles include: MegaFault (2009), Deadline (2009), Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008), Happy Feet (2006), Neverwas (2005), Good Boy! (2003), Cherry Falls (2000), The Prophecy II (1998), Drive (1997), and SeaQuest DSV (1995).