Dakota Fanning Reveals What Late Co-Star Brittany Murphy Taught Her at a Young Age

Dakota Fanning paid a sweet tribute to her former co-star, the late Brittany Murphy.

In a recent interview on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, the 26-year-old actress opened up about her child star days and what it was like working with the late actress.

“She was such a ray of light”

The Alienist actress was asked to share the advice she had received from Murphy while working together on the 2003 film Uptown Girls. In the movie, Fanning played a strong-willed 8-year-old Ray, with Murphy starring as her hapless yet caring nanny, Molly.

“She just taught me to always have fun,” recalled Fanning. “She was, like, such a ray of light and had such a playful spirit. So I think, just, she made every day special for me. She was so wonderful.”

Brittany Murphy’s unfortunate demise

Murphy, who was an actress and singer, died suddenly on December 20 in 2009, when she was just 32 years old. The young star collapsed in the bathroom of her Hollywood Hills home after battling flu-like symptoms for a few days. In an interview, Murphy’s mother revealed, Just before she passed out in her arms, she cried, “Mommy, I can’t catch my breath. Help me.”

Sadly, Brittany’s husband, Simon Monjack, was also found dead five months later at the age of 40, in the same residence and of the same causes.

Murphy’s Career

Born in Atlanta, Murphy went on to star in a number of major movies throughout her acting career. Some of her hits include Clueless (1995), 8 Mile (2002), Girl, Interrupted (1999) and Just Married (2003). In which she starred alongside her real-life boyfriend at the time, Ashton Kutcher.

Remembering Brittany

Fifteen years after Uptown Girls, Fanning took to Instagram in 2018. The actress paid a tribute to Murphy remembering how her supportive co-star ensured she was enjoying her time making the film.

“#fbf Brittany Murphy was a ray of sunshine that made every day of filming magical for me. #uptowngirls ☀️,” she wrote alongside an on-set photo of the two striking a pose and smiling together.

“She was so incredibly talented”

In March 2019, the original cast of the 1995 iconic film, Clueless, gathered for a reunion at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2). Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Faison and Breckin Meyer remembered Murphy 24 years after making the iconic high school comedy.

“She was so incredibly talented,” said Meyer. “Ridiculously talented. Like, you see [her in Clueless], and then you watch 8 Mile, and you’re like, ‘That’s the same person?”

Faison recalled, “She could sing, she could dance.” And Paul Rudd added, “She was a sweet person too. She was just always so smiley and sweet.”

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