By Madhuri Dey
Dec. 21, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Brittany Murphy’s death at the premature age of 32 has left her co-stars, friends and acquaintances tongue tied with shock. She was considered to be a talented actress on the rise, with quite a number of good films under her belt. A brief glance at her discography shows the talent that was within her, something that was evident in the powerful portrayal of her characters, more so in the early phase of her career. Sadly, the gifted actress seems to have faced much trouble towards the end of her life, something that comes as somewhat of a shock.

Barely a teenager, Brittany Murphy burst in to the Hollywood scene, in the television sitcoms “Sister, Sister” and “Boy Meets World.” She graduated from television to films with the teenage romantic comedy “Clueless”, playing the gawky, out of place turned foul-mouthed, in and hip Tia. This is one of her best remembered performances till date, closely contested by the role of rapper Eminem’s girlfriend that she essayed in “8 Mile.” It was definitely one of the stellar performances of her career, one that transformed her fumbling teenager image into a sexy star almost overnight.

Her career that spanned almost two decades comprises very diverse characters. From the sexually abused Daisy, battling a number of physical and psychological disorders in “Girl, Interrupted”, to the fun-loving, cute girl next door in “Just Married” with Ashton Kutcher, to the unconventional nanny Molly in “Uptown Girls,” she pulled off all the roles with lan. Unfortunately, some problems seemed to have surfaced toward the end, marked by her being fired from a project by her own husband, screenplay writer Simon Monjack.