"She just had so much vibrance" - Elisa Donovan recounts her favourite memory of her late co-star Brittany Murphy

Elisa Donovan, who starred in the 90s teen comedy hit Clueless, nostalgically shared her memories about her time filming the movie.

Donovan spoke to People Magazine while she was attending a film event in Los Angeles, California. During her conversation with the publication, Donovan particularly reminisced about working with her co-star, Brittany Murphy. While opening up to People Magazine about her dearest memory with Murphy while the film was being shot, Donovan shared,

“She would come into hair and makeup like this whirlwind of all this energy, and they would always be worried like, ‘No, no, no, don't mess up your hair!’…She just had so much vibrance.”

Brittany Murphy, who is fondly remembered by her co-star for her "vibrance” and ‘energy,’ passed away in 2009, at the young age of 32.

As per the coroner’s report after her sudden passing, Murphy had succumbed to pneumonia. An earlier report by People Magazine mentioned that Murphy had developed ‘flu-like symptoms’ a few weeks prior to her death. However, the untreated symptoms eventually appeared to be early signs of respiratory complications, to which Murphy succumbed after a few weeks. The report by the news publication also noted that Murphy’s husband died from similar causes a few months after Murphy’s death.

Elisa Donovan remembers her Clueless co-star Brittany Murphy.

Clueless, the coming-of-age teenage comedy film, was released in 1995. The film, which was an instant hit, raked in more than 4 times the budget with which it was made, as per The Numbers.

While Elisa Donovan and Brittany Murphy, as per Donovan’s media interviews, shared a cordial relationship outside of the film's narrative, the two played characters who were antagonistic towards each other. Clueless chronicled Murphy’s character, Tai Fraser, becoming the center of attraction of the girl gang, while Donovan’s character, Amber Mariens, played the film's antagonist.

The hostility between the characters on-screen did not stop Murphy from rubbing off her ever-infectious energy onto Donovan. Elisa Donovan, while speaking to Hollywood Life in 2020, had also recalled Murphy's energetic antics and said,

“She was such a sweetheart. She was like a hummingbird, kind of always operating at this very high, speedy sort of level. She was so sweet, nd so talented.”

Continuing, she recalled,

“I had spent a lot of time in hair and makeup, so I remember her coming in once in between shots and just saying, ‘Oh I,’m just going to fix my owir. I’m going to do it,’ and taking a curling iron a,nd the hairdresser being like, ‘No, no, no! Wait, wait!’ And her curling it and burning her forehead and then it became this whole thing where she would be like, ‘I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to!’ It was kind of this fumbling funny moment because she went, ‘I can do it myself,’ because she didn’t want to bug them.”

Elisa Donovan's on her health struggles

Elisa Donovan, who has spoken on numerous occasions about the positive energy that her co-star Brittany Murphy brought to Clueless’s set, has also been candid with the media about her own health struggles while shooting the film.

As per The Independent, Donovan, during her appearance on the podcast Celebrity Catch Up: Life After That Thing I Did in 2021, shared

“I was suffering greatly from anorexia and I had been in denial about it…The doctor started talking to me about eating disorders and I said: ‘Well you’re crazy’, because I thought I was too fat to be anorexic…Initially, the only reason I started to really get help was because I was worried I’d not be able to continue, but then ultimately, that isn’t what helps you to recover. It has to come from a more pure place of wanting to be better.”

It was only during the filming of Clueless that Donovan began taking her health seriously, reported The Independent.

The 1995 hit comedy film also ended up playing a huge role in Donovan’s professional career. Elisa Donavan went on to star in a spin-off sitcom of the film. In the spin-off TV series, Donovan’s character had a more prominent arc than in the film. The TV series ran for three seasons on ABC, as per IMDb.

Elisa Donovan’s co-star from the film, Murphy, had also played a cameo in one of the series' episodes.