Brittany Murphy: Did anorexia play a part in actress's tragic death?

By Sara Nathan, Chris Johnson, Dan Newling and Kate Loveys

Speculation is mounting that anorexia may have played a role in actress Brittany Murphy's tragic death.

The U.S. star, who is thought to have suffered a heart attack, was pictured looking painfully thin just two-and-a-half weeks ago at a fashion event in Los Angeles.
The 32-year-old even admitted at the time that she was a little concerned about her weight.

She reportedly told FOX News: 'I am a bit thinner now than I would like to be'.
Some guests at the Tt Collection Pop-Up Party claimed she also appeared 'unsteady on her feet'.

Yesterday a LA chief coroner Ed Winter, who investigated Michael Jackson's death, insisted that Murphy's death was not caused by drugs as her autopsy was concluded.

But the results of the test were deferred pending toxicology and neurological results, which could take up to six weeks.

She was found unconscious at 8am on Sunday in the shower by her mother at the home she shares with her husband, the British screenwriter Simon Monjack.

Police called to her Los Angeles home found numerous prescriptions for drugs including, it is alleged, Vicodin - the same drug Michael Jackson was hooked on.

One report claimed Miss Murphy was struggling to kick her addiction, which started after she underwent a series of plastic surgery operations.

Yesterday, a coroner's spokesman confirmed that prescription medication had been discovered at Miss Murphy's home.

He insisted foul play was not suspected and that the actress's death at 8am on Sunday 'appears to be natural'.

However, one police source told the celebrity website TMZ: 'There were a lot - a lot - of prescriptions in the house.'

Mr Monjack also broke his silence on the horrific day his wife died yesterday, saying his life has been 'destroyed'.

He confirmed his wife had been ill in the days before her collapse with laryngitis and been to see a doctor.
He told Access Hollywood - a celebrity TV show and website - that the day she collapsed had been just a ‘regular day'.

‘Sharon (her mother) went into the bathroom because she had been in there a long time. Her mom screamed for me and I ran. Then called 911.

'My world was destroyed yesterday,’ he said.

A friend of Miss Murphy - best known for her roles in 8 Mile with rapper Eminem and Girl, Interrupted - said last night: 'Brittany has been living life on the edge. She definitely had a drug problem and we have all begged her to get help.

'A lot of Brittany's problems were due to poor self image. She wore extraordinary amounts of makeup, tons of fake eyelashes, got her teeth capped, dyed her hair blonde, lost weight - she wanted to be a beauty.'


Brittany Murphy's neighbour, Clare Staples, tells how paramedics performed CPR on the actress in the street before taking her to hospital

Actress Kathy Najimy, who worked with her on the cartoon series King Of The Hill, paid tribute to her co-star yesterday as 'the sweetest, most talented angel' but added 'she got hooked up with wrong people'.

In recent years, Miss Murphy has earned a reputation as being notoriously difficult to work with.

She was reportedly fired from the thriller The Caller, which she had been shooting in Puerto Rico until late last month, and was also recently replaced on Disney's animated Tinkerbell film.

A source told People magazine how, on the set of one unnamed film a few years ago, Miss Murphy appeared 'unfocused and never knew her lines'.

'She wouldn't do the same take, the same way, twice,' the source said. 'There were accusations of drug use. She said they weren't true. Brittany said, "Everyone was saying I'm doing drugs and I'm not".'


An aerial view of Murphy's home in the hills of West Hollywood

An insider on her recent indie thriller Something Wicked said she 'was barely there. She'd go in and out of consciousness in the middle of takes'.

Last night, it was also reported police are to question Miss Murphy's husband over her death. Mr Monjack, 39, had opposed a post-mortem examination on his wife's body, but the coroner insisted and one was carried out yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Mail can reveal that Miss Murphy's friends had concerns over her husband - whom she married after a whirlwind four-month courtship in 2007 - and how he is entangled in a series of debts.

The Hollywood Reporter newspaper claimed that a 2006 court judgment for £293,000 was made against Mr Monjack, who was formerly married to GMTV therapist Simone Bienne, by Coutts bank.

Murphy with her husband Simon Monjack and their pet dog as they got ready to fly out of Los Angeles in November


It alleged that a year before the court ruling Mr Monjack was evicted from his New York flat for failure to pay £5,000 in rent. The paper said there was a similar incident in 1997 in Los Angeles.

Other American media have claimed that Mr Monjack was arrested by customs agents in April 2007 after overstaying his U.S. work visa.

They speculated his marriage - a month later - was a way of overcoming his visa problems.

U.S. website Gawker has also claimed that Mr Monjack has two outstanding warrants for his arrest in Virginia for alleged credit card theft and fraud.

Mr Monjack said: 'Like all businessmen, I have faced many lawsuits. It is a real tragedy that success, greed, envy and celebrity are the motivation for attacking my family and character.'

source: dailymail