This week saw the 15th anniversary of the death of Brittany Murphy, and one of her co-stars took the occasion to remember her fondly.
Murphy died on December 20, 2009, and Katie O’Grady, who worked alongside her on her final film Something Wicked, described Murphy as being like “a little bird you wanted to be around and you wanted to help.”
O’Grady told People magazine that Murphy’s cast and crew were all concerned and mindful of Murphy’s physical and mental condition, and tried to be “soft” with her while on set. O’Grady recalled the late actress looking “frail” and noticeably “going through a hard time” while filming the movie.
And O’Grady told the magazine of Murphy: “She made moments and she created moments with everybody that she met to the best of her ability that she could with the energy that she had.”
Murphy died aged 32 in her home, following speculation that she had been suffering from an eating disorder and substance issues, both of which were denied by her husband Simon Monjack. The LA coroner ruled her cause of death to be pneumonia and drug intoxication, as well as iron deficiency anaemia. Monjack died in 2010. No charges were ever brought into either of the couple’s deaths, although Murphy’s supporters have long questioned what really happened to her.
Murphy got her big break with a role in Clueless (1995). She also appeared in Girl, Interrupted and Drop Dead Gorgeous (both 1999), 8 Mile (2002), Sin City (2005) and Happy Feet (2006). She also voiced Luanne Platter on Fox’s King of the Hill for the whole of its run 1997 to 2010. Something Wicked was eventually released in 2014.