Los Angeles police have opened an investigation into circumstances surrounding the death of actress Brittany Murphy. Police have been dispatched to Cedars-Sinai and to the Los Angeles home where Murphy, 32, went into cardiac arrest earlier today. Police sources emphasized that their inquiry was preliminary, adding they could not say whether it would point to any criminal conduct. [Note: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said the house was located in West Hollywood.]
L.A. city firefighters responded to a call from the home in the 1800 block of Rising Glen Road. Murphy was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Burbank with her mother at age 13. Her film break came in the movie "Clueless" (1995), in which she starred opposite Alicia Silverstone.
Murphy has made dozens of other film appearances, including in "Girl Interrupted" (1999), "8 Mile" (2002), "The Dead Girl" (2006), and "Across the Hall" (2009). She also was featured as the voice of Luanne in the animated TV series "King of the Hill."
Murphy specialized in playing characters who were troubled teenagers or mentally disturbed, according to a biography on industry website Internet Movie Data Base.
Murphy was married in 2007 to British screenwriter Simon Monjack, the website said.
-- Andrew Blankstein and Ching-Ching Ni
Photo: Brittany Murphy at New York Fashion Week in February 2008. Credit: Peter Kramer / Associated Press
Source: Los Angeles Times
