Brittany Murphy will never be forgotten by fans, co-stars or her close friends. The actress, who would have now been 42, tragically passed away on Dec. 20, 2009 and her former Clueless cast mate Breckin Meyer just posted the sweetest tribute in memory. “10 years ago this magical, fantabulous angel left us WAY too early,” Breckin, 45, wrote in his touching post. “She was so crazy talented and the sweetest lil fairy ya ever could meet.” The actor captioned a black-and-white gift to his Instagram page which sweetly showed the him kissing Brittany on the head in a scene from the 1995 classic.
“Full Disclosure: Travis kisses Tai on the head because Brit and I knew each other for years before Clueless and she was always like a lil sister to me,” he added, referencing their characters in the iconic teen film — which was released when Brittany was just 18 years old,. “Missing Brit lots today. #BrittanyMurphy,” he added. The scene is specifically a moment during Mr. Hall and Ms. Geist’s wedding, and while other characters take the loving occasion to couple up, BFFs Brittany and Breckin never shared an on-screen smooch!
News of Brittany’s shocking death devastated the entertainment industry a decade ago. The Uptown Girls star, then 32, was found unconscious in her bathroom shower after police responded to an 8:00 a.m. call at her West Hollywood home with then husband Simon Monjack. She was then taken to the nearby Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she died after experiencing cardiac arrest. An autopsy later revealed that the young star had a cocktail of prescription drugs in her system and had also been suffering from an pneumonia, which is an inflammatory condition of the lung. Simon also met an untimely death in 2010 — only five months after Brittany — after also suffering from an pneumonia at 40 years old.
Fan support immediately began pouring in via Breckin’s comments, with fans remembering Brittany’s talent and beauty. “Beautiful tribute to a beautiful woman. Rip Brittany,” @longlostluv 23 wrote, while @sheena_87 added “I still love her so much I still tear up knowing her beauty, heart and talent are no longer with us. It’s been 10yrs and I will still watch every movie she’s played in over and over. She definitely left us way too soon but she remains on my best list. RIP BM love forever.”
A decade later, speculation was continued to plague Brittany’s tragic death, with the Los Angeles coroner saying he would consider re-opening the investigation. Brittany’s dad, Angelo Bertolotti — who sadly passed in January — continued to search for answers, even hiring a lab to test his daughter’s hair samples. It was reportedly discovered that an “abnormal” amount of metals were present in her body — leading him to believe she was potentially poisoned.