Brittany Murphy, November 2006.

As part of my Photojournalism course at university, our tutor would send us out on some fairly tough, real-life assignments.  We were thrown into all sorts of situations as really they were the kind of assignments you’d need accreditation for; or a big mouth, big lens, another ten years and a stepladder.

We were expected to do at least one premiere and battle it out with the line-shooters and paps, and I ended up doing the Happy Feet one.  Many of the red (well… technically blue) carpet stars didn’t want to be held up posing for photos but Elijah Wood and Robin Williams joked around while the latest Big Brother winner pretended they were too cool to smile.

However it was Brittany Murphy who really caught our attention.  Quite obviously ignoring instructions from her PR to move swiftly from interview to interview, she stopped to chat to people along the way and wave to fans, whilst looking absolutely stunning in a glamorous yet understated way.  When she arrived in front of the wall of photographers she posed on her own for ages, laughing and smiling, without any trace of bitterness or ‘let’s get this over with’.  Giant Happy Feet penguins waddled up and she kissed them and stole all our hearts.

It’s so sad that she’s gone, I hope she’s at peace and kissing penguins somewhere.