Brittany Anne Murphy (born Sharon Bertolotti^[1] on November 10, 1977) is an American actress.

Early life

Murphy was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Angelo Bertolotti (an Italian American racketeering criminal) 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.

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 was also the lead singer of the band Blessed 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 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).

In the Spring of 2006, Paul Oakenfold along with Brittany Murphy released the single "Faster Kill Pussycat", with the album A Lively Mind to be released 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.

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 Tinkerbell in upcoming Disney movie.

Charts

Private life

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 assisant she met while working on her film, Little Black Book [1].

Murphy's weight loss and transformation over the years caused speculation of an eating disorder or plastic surgery, both of which she has denied [2]. As of 2005, Murphy is the spokesmodel for Jordache jeans.

Selected filmography

Interviews

• interview, 8/03, LatinoReview
• interview, 10/18/01, Mr. Showbiz
• interview, 5/00, Brant Publications
• interview, 3/99, Bikini Magazine

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

External links

• Brittany Murphy at the Internet Movie Database

Notes

1. ^ Real name reference can be found at http://theaion.6te.net/brittanymurphy/brittanymurphy.html
2. ^ Kelly Clarkson: Chart Positions. Retrieved on June 6, 2006.