'Clueless' Star Reveals Alarming Encounter 4 Years Before Brittany Murphy's Death: 'Something Is Not Okay'

Brittany Murphy tragically died at the age of 32 in 2009, precluding a potentially illustrious career.

Indeed, prior to her untimely death, Murphy left a fairly impressive legacy, demonstrating considerable range in films like Girl, Interrupted to being part of the voice cast of the long-running King of The Hill.

If there is one role that most of her fans will remember her for, however, it was as the quirky Tai Frasier in the iconic '90s romcom Clueless.

While Murphy's death, a result of combination of severe pneumonia and multiple over-the-counter drugs in her system, came as a devastating shock to her fans, her Clueless co-star Elisa Donovan recently shared that "surprise" was not her overriding emotion upon learning this news.

During a recent appearance on the Still Here Hollywood Podcast, Donovan revealed that an encounter she had with her former costar four years prior to her death lead her to believe that all might not have been well:

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When asked by host Steve Kmetko about a "behind the scenes story" from the iconic Jane Austen update, in which Donovan played the glamorous, if vain, Amber, Donovan shared a funny and touching anecdote where Murphy tried to touch up her hair herself, to semi-disastrous results.

Prior to sharing the memory, Donovan disclosed that what used to be a funny recollection was now "so upsetting."

When asked where she was when she heard the news of Murphy's passing, Donovan revealed that she was en route to the airport to catch a flight to Mexico, when someone called her asking if she had "heard about Brittany."

Donovan admitted that she didn't initially register which "Brittany" she was being told about, but when she learned the tragic fate of her former costar, she said she "wasn't surprised."

The actress went on to say that a hairdresser she shared with the late Murphy confided to Donovan that she was "worried" about Murphy.

While Donovan admitted to sharing those concerns, she also felt that she wasn't a close enough friend to her former colleague to intervene.

The last time Donovan ever saw Murphy in person was at the 2005 GLAAD Awards, where Murphy was presenting a special prize to Liza Minelli

Upon seeing Murphy on the press line, Donovan felt that she was still her usual, ebullient self, but also felt that something was off:

"She always makes you feel like she's ecstatic to see you."

"Her knees were buckling, her legs were shaking."

"And I was like, what, are you ok?"

"And she was like 'Yeah, yeah, like, what do you mean, like yeah'."

"And I went, something is not ok with this person."

When the two reconnected later in the evening, Donovan's concerns about Murphy's health and well-being remained, also increasing her confusion over the lack of help Murphy seemed to be receiving.

Having suffered from eating disorders herself, Donovan felt that she could fairly clearly pinpoint that Murphy was sharing that struggle, and was likely abusing drugs.

Even so, Donovan once again cited that she felt she would be overstepping by saying anything to her.

Donovan also felt that the relative decline in Murphy's career at the time was a telling indication that she wasn't taking care of herself, and might have been in trouble:

"This business will let you fail, and they will hold you up as long as they can, as long as you're still delivering what they need."

"And so she was doing that for a very long time, until, probably, she couldn't any more."

Despite her lack of surprise at Murphy's passing, Donovan made it clear that she was no less devastated than anyone else, while also growing tired of the various conspiracy theories that emerged surrounding Murphy's death, reminding everyone that Murphy simply "wasn't healthy."

Viewers were touched by her honest account, as well as her sweet words about her late costar, even if some wished Donovan hadn't been so afraid to speak up:

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Some things in life are simply out of our control.

That being said, if someone you know is struggling, never be afraid to speak up.