‘Clueless’ Director: Brittany Murphy Felt Pressures To Be ‘Skinny, Pretty Girl’

Following the sudden tragic death of Brittany Murphy on Sunday, many of her Hollywood contemporaries are wondering if show business had expedited the young actress’s passing. Amy Heckerling, who directed the actress in her first big break – 1995’s “Clueless” – believes she changed after appearing in the hit teen comedy.

“You know, everybody’s shaking their heads and going ‘drugs,’ of course. I don’t know what was happening on the last movie. I know that, you know, she seemed to go through a change, you know, on ‘Clueless.’ Maybe she felt like she was not the, like, skinny, pretty girl, you know?’” Amy told Scott Feinberg’s AndTheWinnerIs.blog.com in an interview on Sunday.

“And then the next few movies she was, you know, thinner, blonde, you know, at MTV Awards and all sorts of things like that, and going out with Eminem and Ashton Kutcher,” Amy continued. “Suddenly [she] got more into that whole glamorous scene… I think she felt the pressure to become a different sort of commodity to survive in show business, and I think it was awful.”

Amy believes the death of the 32-year-old robbed Hollywood of a great talent that had a bright future a head of her.

“I think she could have done anything… she had ‘acting chops,’ as they say, and, you know, she could have gone on for as long as she wanted,” the director said of Brittany. “She was sweet, and playful, and fun, and a very lovable girl… I’m so sorry for her family, and her mother.”