Actress Brittany Murphy has died at the age of 32.

The ‘Clueless’ star died in the early hours of Sunday 20 December after going in to cardiac arrest; Showbiz website TMZ reports that Murphy’s mother found the actress unconscious in the shower. Paramedics arrived at her L.A home and immediatelyadministered CPR.  

Murphy was taken to Cedar’s- Sinai Medical Centre, were she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Unconfirmed reports suggested she had become addicted to pain killers following a cosmetic surgery procedure; this followed on from a TMZ report which claimed large amounts of prescription drugs were found in the house during a police search.

The Actress was best known for her roles in films such as ‘Don’t Say a Word’, ‘Just Married’, ‘Uptown Girls’ and’8 Mile’ to name a few. According to TMZ Murphy was allegedly fired from her last film, ‘The Caller’ after reports she was problematic on set.

The Family has released a statement saying: “The sudden loss of our beloved Brittany is a terrible tragedy. She was our daughter, our wife, our love and a shining star. We ask you to respect our privacy at this time.”