Brittany Murphy came to Hollywood as a teenager but struggled to reach her full potential due to a set of "inner demons", including body image issues, according to friends.
"She was drastically different when she entered the business," a friend tells 'People' magazine.
"Full of life, determined. But over the past few years, she went downhill. There was always something off, something in the way. She had a lot of inner demons."
She looked thinner than normal in her final public appearance two weeks ago in Los Angeles, which led to the return of rumors that she was suffering from drug abuse or an eating disorder.
"Brittany seemed sick for a while," another friend tells 'E!'. "She was very conscious of her weight. But in this town, what actress isn't? Looking back now, it's something I wish I would have paid more attention to. It clearly was an issue for her."
"She made a few lifestyle choices that had her friends concerned. But it doesn't look like many people did anything about it."
The rumors first surfaced in 2002 after Murphy revealed a radically slimmed-down body in 'Spun' that was much different than her look in the 1994 film 'Clueless'. Many speculated that her new body was the result of weight loss with cocaine.
"I have never tried it in my entire life," she insisted to 'Jane' magazine later that year. "I've never even seen it … It couldn't be further from the truth. I'm the same size I was in Clueless; it's just that the weight in your face changes as you grow and get older. This is my body. I'm proud of it. I'm healthy."
Meanwhile, Brittany Murphy's autopsy found no signs of foul play, however, large amounts of prescription medications were found on her nightstand when paramedics arrived.
The exact cause of her sudden cardiac arrest and death on Sunday morning will be known once results of the toxicology and other tests are available in four to six weeks.
Brittany Murphy came to Hollywood as a teenager but struggled to reach her full potential due to a set of "inner demons", including body image issues, according to friends.
