Actress Elisa Donovan has revealed she was not surprised by the tragic 2009 death of her Clueless co-star Brittany Murphy.
Speaking on the Still Here Hollywood podcast, the 55-year-old actress claimed she believed Murphy was struggling with an eating disorder and a drug problem long before her passing at age 32.
Donovan recalled learning of Murphy's death after a friend called her to break the news. She admitted that her immediate reaction upon hearing that Murphy had died was that she was not surprised, noting that shared contacts had previously raised concerns about her health.
According to Donovan, the two actresses shared a personal hairdresser in their private lives outside of film sets. She said the hairdresser would visit Murphy's home and confide her worries, telling Donovan in confidence, "I'm worried about her."
Concerns over health and career
Donovan said that while she felt deeply concerned about Murphy's well-being, she felt she was not a close enough friend to step in and intervene. She reflected on the difficulty of reaching out when Murphy was surrounded by a large entourage, asking, "What am I gonna do? This person from her past... come in and save the day or something?"
The last time Donovan saw Murphy in person was at the 2005 GLAAD Media Awards. The annual ceremony, hosted by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, honors media representations of the LGBTQ community. Donovan described witnessing alarming physical symptoms that left her convinced Murphy was severely unwell.
Donovan recalled, "Her knees were buckling. Her legs were shaking. And I was like, 'Are you okay?' And she was like, 'Yeah! What? What do you mean?' and I went, 'Something is not okay with this person'."
She added, "I looked at her and I was like, 'She is not healthy. She is not okay. And why is no one helping her?'" Donovan stated that she believed Murphy was suffering from an eating disorder and a drug problem, saying, "That's what I thought and I knew it."
Tragic events in Hollywood Hills
Donovan noted that her worry continued as she watched Murphy's career trajectory change, observing that the former A-list actress was no longer booking major film roles in the period before her death. When news of her passing arrived, Donovan felt profound sadness but reiterated, "So when I heard about this, I was just so sad for her, but I also, like I said, I wasn't surprised."
On December 20, 2009, Murphy was found unresponsive inside the Hollywood Hills mansion she shared with her husband, screenwriter Simon Monjack, and her mother, Sharon Murphy. Emergency services rushed her to the hospital, where she went into cardiac arrest and died.
Coroner reports later established that Murphy died from accidental causes resulting from untreated pneumonia, severe anemia, and multiple drug intoxication involving prescription and over-the-counter medications. Pneumonia is a serious lung infection that causes inflammation in the air sacs, while anemia is a condition characterized by a deficiency of healthy red blood cells.
Subsequent tragedy and mold investigation
Tragedy struck the household again just five months later when Simon Monjack died in the exact same Hollywood Hills location. His official cause of death was also listed as pneumonia.
Following Monjack's death, his mother, Linda Monjack, voiced concerns that severe environmental mold inside the mansion might have contributed to the couple's deaths. In a 2013 interview with the Daily Mail, Linda Monjack said, "All I know is that before Simon's death, he was having hallucinations that things were crawling out of his skin."
However, the Los Angeles County medical examiner's office had investigated environmental factors and officially ruled out toxic mold as a cause of death in 2010.
Background and rise to stardom
Murphy achieved her major breakthrough alongside Donovan in the 1995 teen comedy Clueless, playing high school transfer student Tai Frasier. Directed by Amy Heckerling, the film was a modern adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma, set in Beverly Hills. It became a box office hit and launched Murphy into mainstream Hollywood stardom.
Following her success in Clueless, Murphy earned critical acclaim for her versatile film performances. She starred alongside Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie in the 1999 psychiatric hospital drama Girl, Interrupted, and later delivered an acclaimed performance opposite Eminem in the Oscar-winning 2002 hip-hop drama 8 Mile.
Donovan, who portrayed the fashion-conscious high school rival Amber Mariens in Clueless, went on to feature in major television series including Beverly Hills, 90210 and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
