Brittany Murphy

Versatile actress Brittany Murphy easily segued from mainstream comedies to gritty indie dramas, but unfortunately audiences were never able to see the full range of her talents, due to her untimely death at age 32. Murphy shot to stardom in the classic high school comedy "Clueless" (1995), where she elicited laughs and sympathy as the ugly-duckling-turned-swan buddy of "it" girl Alicia Silverstone. The raspy voiced starlet, who spent over a decade as ditsy beautician Luanne on the animated Fox series "King of the Hill" (Fox, 1997-2009), worked her way up from supporting roles in films like "Riding in Cars with Boys" (2001) to leading lady status in the light comedies "Uptown Girls" (2003) and "Little Black Book" (2004), where she imbued her characters with a bit of a wild-child edge. But it was Murphy's darker roles that earned her the most critical attention, including her streetwise turn opposite rapper Eminem in "8 Mile" (2002) and her mad, unhinged characters in "Girl, Interrupted" (1999) and "Don't Say a Word" (2001). The underrated actress always brought a spark to the screen, and upon news of her early death, her peers came forward in droves to express disappointment at the loss of such a talented, vibrant personality.