Brittany Murphy was an actress from the late 90s and early 2000s. She is best known for her roles in Clueless (1995), Girl, Interrupted (1999) and 8 Mile (2002). Sadly, the actress died on December 20, 2009, with her cause of death listed as pneumonia, she was 32.
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However, Murphy’s death was surrounded by conspiracy theories, somewhat due to her husband, Simon Monjack, who had been known to be abusive. Just five months after her death, Monjack also died of pneumonia.
In 2021, HBO Max released a documentary about Brittany Murphy’s death entitled What Happened, Brittany Murphy? The documentary first aired on October 14, 2021, and debunked the conspiracy theories around the Clueless actress’s death.
Britanny Murphy and Simon Monjack both died of pneumonia
As mentioned above, Brittany Murphy died on December 20, 2009. Murphy had collapsed on the bathroom floor in her Los Angeles home. The L.A. County coroner declared that she had died of pneumonia combined with anaemia and ‘multiple drug intoxication’ from prescription and over-the-counter medication, as per People.
Coroner Asst. Chief Ed Winter explained:
She was really sick with pneumonia, very anaemic, and she was taking medication and all that combined killed her.
The coroner added that her death was preventable if the actress had sought earlier medical attention.
As reported by People, Murphy’s husband, Simon Monjack died five months later. He had also collapsed in the same bathroom as Murhpy and his cause of death was listed as the same, pneumonia and anaemia, he was 39.
Just months before his passing, Monjack had opened up about the death of his wife, saying he would ‘trade it all for one more day with Brittany’.
I lost my life. She was my best friend, and she was a little girl who wanted her husband right there. What do I have left?
HBO Max released a documentary
In 2021, 12 years after Brittany Murphy’s death, HBO Max released a documentary on her passing, What Happened, Brittany Murphy?
As per Esquire, there were a lot of conspiracy theories surrounding the Clueless actress’s death, mainly due to her relationship with Simon Monjack. Murphy rose to fame in the 90s and 2000s when many women in the industry focused on their looks to get roles.
This culture within the industry allegedly left Murphy ‘vulnerable’ and she fell under the charm of Simon Monjack, who was depicted to be a manipulative con artist by HBO Max’s documentary.
Murphy and Monjack married in 2007 following an intervention by Murhpy’s friends, who showed her evidence of his criminal history. After tying the knot, Monjack began isolating his wife, as per Esquire, he would disconnect her phone lines, block all access to her that didn’t go through him and went on to become her agent, manager and makeup artist.
Following Murphy’s death, Monjack and her mother, Sharon still lived together and made some odd appearances, including saying that an autopsy for Brittany wasn’t needed. Due to their behaviour, various conspiracy theories arose.
As per Esquire, fans and true crime heads questioned Brittany’s death and some suggested that mould growing in her home or poison given to her by her mother or her husband had actually been the cause of her death.
After her death, Monjack stated that he had not kept Murphy from medical attention, he told People:
I had no idea she had pneumonia. I took very good care of my wife, she was on an antibiotic and she was taking cough medicine and doing all the right things.
HBO Max’s documentary debunked the conspiracy theories and Murphy’s father, who had no involvement in her life, called for a toxicology test on Murphy’s hair in 2012. Murphy’s hair contained ‘dangerous amounts of lead’ but it was said it was due to her hairspray or hair dye and that no lead or mould spores were found in her system during the autopsy.
Read more:
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Matthew Perry: The investigation into Friends actor's death now involves federal law enforcement
Sources used:
People: ‘Brittany Murphy: Inside Her Sudden Death at 32 That Still Confounds Hollywood’
Esquire: ‘The True Story of Brittany Murphy's Tragic Death’
