The Los Angeles coroner was performing an autopsy on actress Brittany Murphy Monday as reports said she was ill with flu-like symptoms in the days before her death Sunday, dpa reported.
People magazine reported on its website that the 32-year-old star of films such as Clueless and 8 Mile had appeared emaciated in recent appearances and quoted friends as saying she had been battling "inner demons" connected to her body image, despite her persistent denials of drug use.
Celebrity website TMZ.com quoted Los Angeles police as saying there was no evidence of criminality in the cause of her death from a massive cardiac arrest. But police investigating the incident removed large quantities of prescription drugs from the home that she shared with her husband Simon Monjack, the report said. However no illegal drugs were found in the home.
"The sudden loss of our beloved Brittany is a terrible tragedy," Murphy's husband and family wrote in a statement. "She was our daughter, our wife, our love, and a shining star. We ask you to respect our privacy at this difficult time."
Murphy, who also starred in Sin City, Girl Interrupted, and Just Married, died early Sunday after going into cardiac arrest, according to media reports.
Murphy, who had been acting since age 2, was apparently found unconscious at her home, in her shower, Sunday morning by her mother.
The actress was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she was pronounced dead.
Actor Aston Kutcher, with whom she starred in the 2003 film Just Married, sent condolences to her family via the internet social network site Twitter and said: "The world lost a little piece of sunshine."
Murphy drew attention with her portrayal of the street-smart Tai in the 1995 teenage classic Clueless. In 1999, she starred with Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder in Girl Interrupted.
Murphy's husband, Monjack, made news in November when he was rushed to hospital after a flight that landed in Los Angeles, when he had unspecified medical problems.