Brittany Murphy was born in Atlanta, Georgia in November of 1977. She demonstrated talent and a personal magnetism and charm at an early age. She was also a talented singer. Her mother moved the two of them, her parents had divorced when Murphy was two, to Los Angeles in part so that the young performer could pursue her career there. The world is now aware of Brittany Murphy due to the unseemliness and tragic nature of her death and most people associate her with Los Angeles though residents of Atlanta known she was one of their own. Even the tourists who may have heard about her death in the lounge or lobby of an other wise quiet Atlanta hotel may have been surprised to discover she was from that city.

Murphy stared in several Hollywood films during her short but successful career. She first gained popular attention for her appearance in the film Clueless, though she had appeared on various television series prior to that role. Clueless was a comedy and was released in 1995. It was loosely based on the Jane Austin novel Emma, though the stress on this is loosely. Alicia Silverstone and Stacey Dash were two other stars of this comedy. The film was not a huge commercial or critical success though it did inspire a television spin off as well as a book series.

Girl, Interrupted was the first film in which Murphy was strongly recognized for her skill and performance. It was released in 1999 and starred Winona Rider and was directed by James Mangold. Angelina Jolie also gained enormous attention as the troubled Lisa Rowe who was a resident in the mental institution in which Rider was admitted. Murphy played another girl in the institution, Daisy Randone, who was a pathological liar. The film was based on a memoir by the same name written by Susanna Kaysen. In her book Kaysen tells the stories and experiences she encountered during her time in a psychiatric hospital in the 1960s. Kaysen was diagnosed as having borderline personality disorder.