Perhaps it was being born in Atlanta, Georgia and raised in Edison, New Jersey that bestowed Brittany Murphy with the adaptability that has allowed her to conquer a fairly prodigious amount of projects for her 25 years. Brittany first honed her acting skills in regional theater at the age of 9. By age 13, she had signed on with a manager and began appearing in television commercials. In 1991, at the age of 13, Brittany and her mother moved to Burbank, California, where she landed her first television role on the show Blossom. This lead to a starring role on Drexell's Class, a series that proved to be short lived. Brittany's major breakthrough film appearance was in Clueless, the Emma meets Beverly Hills, 90210 comedy, in which she starred opposite of Alicia Silverstone. She has gone on to demonstrate her versatility and talent for not only comedy but drama; Brittany was nominated for best leading female performance in the Young Artist Awards for her role in the television film David and Lisa. Aside from the 25 screen appearances since her Clueless breakthrough, Brittany has lean her vocal talents, established in the early 1990s as a lead singer of her band "Blessed Soul", to the cartoon King of the Hill as the voice of Luanne. She now resides in Los Angeles, where she lives with her mother.
Little Black Book (2004): $4,000,000
Uptown Girls (2003): $1,000,000
In February 2000, she appeared [with Girl, Interrupted costar Winona Ryder] in "The Vagina Monologues," reading a chilling story of a Bosnian woman's rape camp experiences. During the filming of Girl, Interrupted, the filmakers had to reshoot the scene in which Winona Ryder finds her after she commits suicide, because Winona was too good and Brittany couldn't help crying. Was set to star in a biopic of Janis Joplin, but the film was grounded over battles for the rights to Joplin's songs. She had won the role over Courtney Love and Emily Watson. Her favorite music is Jazz, especially Cole Porter. She also likes TLC, Björk, Beck and The Rolling Stones. Made the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine in 2003. That cover shot shows how much her look has changed since becoming an actress. She began her acting career as a slightly rotund brunette and has transformed into a svelte blonde cover girl. She has constantly denied rumors that she has had plastic surgery. Ranked 32nd on the Maxim Hot 100 in 2003. In the early '90s, she was the lead singer in her band, called "Blessed Soul". Her mom, Sharon, is a survivor of breast cancer. Her date to the high school prom was Jonathan Brandis of SeaQuest 2032 fame. Engaged to talent manager Jeff Kwatinetz. (August 2004) broke engagement but the two remain friends [January 9, 2004] Presenter for the 61st Golden Globes. Eric Balfour was a member of her band, "Blessed SOul", in the '90s. Attended the following schools: Verne Fowler School of Dance, Colonia, New Jersey Herbert Hoover School, Edison, New Jersey Valley Professional School, Los Angeles, California John Burroughs High School, Los Angeles, California One of her first jobs was for a commercial for Skittles. Sang in the opening act at the 2002 MTV Movie awards. Wore her own dress and red lipstick to the premiere of Clueless because she didn't know about stylists. Is half Italian (from her paternal side), a quarter Irish, and a quarter Eastern European (both from her maternal side). Former girlfriend of Ashton Kutcher She's a huge fan of Tears for Fears and stars in their new video "Closest Thing to Heaven". Named #8 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list. Engaged to Joe Macaluso over Christmas, 2005. Sings on Paul Oakenfold's hit single "Faster Kill Pussycat" [Highest UK chart position no. 7, June 2006]. In May of 2006, her single "Faster Kill Pussycat" with Paul Oakenfold reached Number 7 in the UK singles chart. Brittany and Joe Macaluso broke off their engagement [August 22, 2006]. Born Brittany Bertolotti to Irish-American and Eastern European Sharon Murphy and Italian-American mobster Angelo Bertolotti. When her parents split, Brittany changed her name from her father's "Bertolotti" to her mother's "Murphy.", and added as middle name "Anne". Despite appearing in all three of the major stories in Sin City, all of her scenes were filmed in one day. Married screenwriter Simon Monjack in a private Jewish ceremony (May 2007).