Dakota Fanning Remembers Her Late ‘Uptown Girls’ Co-Star Brittany Murphy: “I Loved Brittany So Much And I Still Miss Her”

Nearly 15 years after Brittany Murphy‘s death, her Uptown Girls co-star Dakota Fanning keeps her in her thoughts.

The 2003 rom-com, which currently ranks at No. 19 in Decider’s 45 Best Rom-Coms Of All Time, follows Murphy’s Molly Gunn, who after learning that her inheritance has been embezzled by her family’s accountant, becomes a nanny to Ray (Fanning).

At the premiere of her new horror film The Watchers in New York on Sunday (June 2), Fanning spoke to Brit + Co at the premiere , and was asked to share her thoughts on the viral TikToks of the film, per People.

With respect to the TikToks — which Fanning has seen — “making such an impact” and continuing to “reach new people,” she told the outlet she “love[s] it,” explaining that she thinks “it’s nostalgic for people who are kind of around [her] age who grew up watching that movie.”

“I think it’s like a comfort movie for people, so I love that people are still revisiting it and loving it and now that everyone is older, understanding different things about it, so I love that,” she said. “And I loved Brittany so much and I still miss her, so any time that she has sort of a moment where people think about her is also nice.”

Murphy collapsed in her home in Hollywood Hills, California, and died on Dec. 20, 2009, per CNN. According to the outlet, the Los Angeles County coroner had ruled her passing an accident, citing the causes a pneumonia, iron deficiency, and “multiple drug intoxication.”

@britandco

#DakotaFanning talks #UptownGirls and #BrittanyMurphy 💓 #TheWatchers #y2k #nostalgia

♬ original sound – Brit + Co

Simon Monjack, Murphy’s husband, died on May 23, 2010, also in their home and from acute pneumonia and severe anemia, per ABC News. The 2021 documentary What Happened, Brittany Murphy? revisited Murphy’s untimely death and speculation surrounding her passing, but was ultimately panned by critics.

Uptown Girls is streaming on Max.