LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The B-movie actress allegedly murdered by music producer Phil Spector was "tearful and depressed" in the months before her death, a Los Angeles court heard Wednesday.

Spector's defense team claims that Lana Clarkson killed herself in the foyer of the rock legend's home on February 3, 2003, painting the nightclub hostess as a broken woman struggling to come to terms with a failed acting career.

Giving evidence for the defense at Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, Clarkson's longtime friend Jennifer Hayes-Riedl said the 40-year-old had grown increasingly distraught prior to her death.

"She was crying her eyes out," Hayes-Riedl said. "I told you she was depressed, and she was absolutely out of her mind -- depressed.

"She was crying and said she had it. Those were her exact words. She had had it. She said, 'I've had it.'"

Hayes-Riedl's testimony echoed comments from another witness, John Barons, who told the court on on Tuesday Clarkson was a temperamental diva who once joked about suicide.

"If you don't make it in this business by the time you're 40, you might as well give up," Barons, a writer who worked with Clarkson, quoted her as saying.

Clarkson, best known for roles in 1987's "Amazon Women on the Moon" and 1991's "The Haunting of Morella," also said if her prospects didn't improve she "might as well find a bridge," Barons testified.

"I'm sure she was kidding," Barons added.

Prosecutors have said 67-year-old Spector had a "rich history" of flying into drunken gun-toting rages against women that culminated with Clarkson's killing as she attempted to leave his castle-like mansion four years ago.

Spector, best known for creating the groundbreaking "Wall of Sound" recording technique, is regarded as one of the most influential figures in rock-pop music history.

Famed for his work with The Beatles, Tina Turner, The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes and The Ramones, he faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.