Brittany Murphy is getting the biopic treatment in a Lifetime film, almost five years after she passed away at the age of 32. Amanda Fuller, the star of ABC sitcom Last Man Standing, has been cast as Murphy (below). 

The Brittany Murphy Story is set to air on September 6. It marks the first feature film about the late actress, although Lifetime is no stranger to biopics – the production company is also behind the Aaliyah movie Aaliyah: Princess of R&B, which has been blighted by production difficulties. 

Murphy starred in countless hit Hollywood films, including Clueless, Sin City, Girl Interrupted and 8 Mile. The actress was a cult fan favourite, with the legendary Roger Ebert praising her "ineffable mischievous innocence".

While the coroner ruled Murphy's official cause of death as pneumonia and anemia, controversy continues to surround her passing – her mother, Sharon, once speculated that toxic mould killed the actress. Her estranged father maintains that she was deliberately poisoned.

The Lifetime biopic is said to concentrate on the close relationship between Murphy and Sharon, played by Sherilyn Fenn of Twin Peaks fame. Murphy and her mother moved to California in 1991 so that a young Murphy could focus on her acting career – a decision that paid off four years later when she landed a part in Clueless. Murphy often credited her mother as the main inspiration in her life, citing her as the person responsible for her success.

In a statement about the film, Lifetime said: "Her desperation for approval and insecurity about her looks makes her personal life a disaster. Unlike other stage mums, Sharon was always her daughter's support system, but that enduring love wasn't enough to save her sensitive Brittany from the vicissitudes of Hollywood life.”

A spokesperson for Sharon Murphy told Hollywood Reporter that she was not consulted for the movie and has not cooperated with the production.