Actress Brittany Murphy dies aged 32

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LOS ANGELES - Actress Brittany Murphy, who starred in such films as "Just Married" and "Uptown Girls" but saw her fortunes fade in recent years, died on Sunday, officials said. She was 32.

A spokeswoman at the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office told Reuters that it had been informed of her death by officials at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center but had no other information.

The Los Angeles Times said Murphy was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai after going into cardiac arrest. A spokesman for the Los Angeles City Fire Department said officers responded to an emergency call at her home in West Hollywood at 8 a.m. PST.

Her death was first reported by online gossip site TMZ which said Murphy's mother, Sharon, found her unconscious in her shower.

Murphy had been reduced to starring in low-budget indie movies in recent years, most recently the thriller "Across the Hall," which opened in one theater each in New York and Los Angeles two weeks ago.

Earlier this month, reports circulated that she was fired from the movie "The Caller," which is filming in Puerto Rico. Her publicist said the split was "creative differences." When she and her husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack, returned to Los Angeles, he fell unconscious on the plane and was rushed to hospital.

Murphy had recently been photographed in an emaciated state at public events.

Murphy seemed destined for big things in the 1990s, thanks to roles in such films as the satires Clueless" , as well as in "Girl, Interrupted," for which Angelina Jolie received an Oscar in 2000.

She appeared opposite Michael Douglas in the 2001 thriller "Don't Say A Word," and played Eminem's love interest in the 2002 hit "8 Mile."

The following year, she co-starred with Ashton Kutcher in the romantic comedy "Just Married" and with Dakota Fanning in "Uptown Girls." But the movies failed to generate much commercial or critical heat.

Murphy enjoyed more enduring success on the small screen, providing the voice of the vacuous Texan Luanne Platter in the cartoon series "King of the Hill." She also voiced a penguin in the 2006 box office hit "Happy Feet."