
Died at 48
female
Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack (née Bertolotti; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009) was an American actress and singer. Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and pursued a career in acting. Her breakthrough role was as Tai Frasier in Clueless (1995), followed by supporting roles in independent films such as Freeway (1996) and Bongwater (1998). She made her stage debut in a Broadway production of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge in 1997 before appearing as Daisy Randone in Girl, Interrupted (1999) and as Lisa Swenson in Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999). In the 2000s, Murphy appeared in Don't Say a Word (2001) alongside Michael Douglas, and alongside Eminem in 8 Mile (2002), for which she gained critical recognition. Her later roles included Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), Spun (2002), Just Married (2003), Uptown Girls (2003), Sin City (2005), and Happy Feet (2006). Murphy also voiced Luanne Platter on the animated television series King of the Hill (1997–2010). Her final film, Something Wicked, was released in April 2014. On December 20, 2009, Murphy died under disputed circumstances at the age of 32. The coroner's verdict was pneumonia, exacerbated by anemia and addiction to various prescription medicines.

Katie, well-rounded “Prom Princess” and perpetual insomniac, celebrates her final night in Middlemarch by hosting a farewell Christmas party with her friends — a night she has secretly been dreading and doesn’t want to end. However, the group’s mall-camping plans halt when a mysterious “sleep virus” cuts them off from the rest of the town and threatens to realise Katie’s fears of the future.
