Brittany Murphy's former co-star recalls that the late actress looked “frail” while filming her last film, Something Wicked, and was noticeably “going through a hard time” before she died in 2009.
“She was just a little bird that you wanted to be with and help,” Katie O'Grady told People on Friday, the 15th anniversary of the “Clueless” star's untimely death at age 32.
She also described Murphy as so “delicate” that she could be “picked up with little effort.”
According to O'Grady, the cast and crew were actually aware of the “Girl, Interrupted” star's physical and health condition and tried to be “gentle” with her on set in Eugene, Ore.
However, the actress recalled that Murphy was still “so present and so loving,” pointing out when the late star told her, “I'm so glad to meet you,” before they parted ways for the final time .
“It was such a kind and loving farewell,” O’Grady said. “She created moments and created moments with everyone she met as best she could and with the energy she had.”
The Rid of Me star suspected that Murphy didn't have the right support system around him.
“I just feel like she could have used someone in her life who was maybe strong,” O'Grady said of Brittany, who was then married to Simon Monjack and living with her mother, Sharon Murphy.
The “Management” star added of her pal's spouse: “We know when we meet someone who is not well, we immediately feel that this woman needs to be protected, that this woman needs strength, energy and support .”
In the lead-up to Brittany's death, there was speculation that she suffered from an eating disorder and drug problems, which Monjack has denied.
On December 20, 2009, Brittany was found collapsed on her bathroom floor, surrounded by medications, including over-the-counter medications like cough syrup and some that had been prescribed to her for cramps.
Two months later, the Los Angeles coroner ruled that the “8 Mile” star's cause of death was pneumonia and drug intoxication. He also mentioned “iron deficiency anemia” as a contribution.
However, after Monjack was found dead from the same cause of death as his movie star wife, questions arose as to whether there had been nefarious reasons behind her death.
In 2013, Brittany's now-deceased father, Angelo Bertolotti, requested an independent toxicology report which concluded that the actress may have been poisoned as “ten of the heavy metals tested were found to be at levels higher than those found by the WHO.” [The World Health Organization] high values.”
“My daughter was neither anorexic nor a drug junkie, as has been repeatedly suggested,” he said in a statement at the time. “I will not rest until the truth about these tragic events comes to light. There will be justice for Brittany.”
In 2019, Brittany's half-brother Tony Bertollotti said he also believed his sister was killed.
“If you look at it from a distance, it looks like here's this young lady – a pretty healthy girl – she's at home with her supposed husband and her mother, and she's died,” he previously told the Daily Mail .
“How absurd is that? Only in Hollywood is it seen as just another day at the zoo. No one is taking her to a hospital just four miles away.”
No charges have been filed in connection with Brittany or Monjack's deaths.
