Brittany Murphy's Real Name: Brittany Anne Bertolotti

Quick answer: Brittany Murphy was born Brittany Anne Bertolotti on November 10, 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia. Bertolotti was her father's surname. She acted under Murphy, her mother's surname. Her breakout came in Clueless (1995), followed by Girl, Interrupted, 8 Mile, Sin City, and years voicing Luanne on King of the Hill. She died on December 20, 2009, in Los Angeles at 32 (Library of Congress; Biography.com).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress name authority files her as "Murphy, Brittany." It records that she was born "November 10, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA as Brittany Anne Bertolotti." It lists the alternate names Brittany Bertolotti, Brittany Anne Murphy, and Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack, the last from her marriage to screenwriter Simon Monjack.

Biography.com names her parents as Sharon Murphy and Angelo Bertolotti, who split when she was two. She and her mother moved to Edison, New Jersey. At five she started dance and voice lessons at Verne Fowler's School of Dance and Theater in nearby Colonia. By eight she had decided she wanted to be a star. At 12 her mother began taking her to auditions in Manhattan, and she soon booked commercials and small parts on Murphy Brown and Boy Meets World.

Career highlights

In 1991, at 14, Murphy moved to Los Angeles with her mother and became a regular on the sitcom Drexell's Class. She attended John Burroughs High School in Burbank. In 1995 she reached a national audience opposite Alicia Silverstone in Clueless, a modern take on Jane Austen's Emma that opened to more than $11 million. A LOC obituary note calls her a "perpetually perky and slightly quirky actress" who rose from supporting parts to romantic leads after that role.

She went on to Girl, Interrupted (1999) with Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie, 8 Mile (2002) with Eminem, and Sin City (2005). For years she voiced Luanne on King of the Hill. She also voiced a role in Happy Feet (2006) and appeared in The Dead Girl (2006), The Ramen Girl (2008), and Across the Hall (2009). Abandoned (2010) and Something Wicked (2014) were released after her death.

Murphy died on December 20, 2009. Biography.com says her death, first reported as a heart attack, was attributed to pneumonia and severe anemia, worsened by prescription and cold medications. Her husband died five months later. Her death prompted speculation and later a 2020 documentary. This page relies only on the documented findings.

Name notes for searchers

Brittany Anne Bertolotti is her birth name. Murphy is her mother's surname and became her professional name. Murphy-Monjack is her married form in LOC. Credits from Clueless onward use Brittany Murphy.