Brittany Murphy And Her Husband Simon Monjack Died Under Similar Circumstances
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Brittany Murphy’s sudden and tragic death in 2009 is shrouded in mystery—and it's been the much-discussed topic of tabloid discussion and conspiracy theories for more than a decade.
Tonight, a two-part documentary aptly titled What Happened, Brittany Murphy? will begin to air on HBO Max. And it promises to focus a lens on the Clueless star’s death while painting an intimate portrait of her life.
Brittany died at age 32 after she collapsed in the shower of Hollywood Hills home, which she purchased from Britney Spears. According to the coroner's report at the time, her death was ruled an accident that was caused by a combination of pneumonia, iron deficiency, and "multiple drug intoxication."
The documentary will also explore the past of Brittany’s husband Simon Monjack, who mysteriously died just five months after the actress' death, under the eerily similar circumstances of severe anemia and acute pneumonia—adding more confusion to the story of the star’s passing.
Simon Monjack was a screenwriter and director.
Simon Monjack was an English screenwriter and director who grew up in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire. He started out directing commercials before moving on to make Two Days, Nine Lives in 2000. He also contributed to the Andy Warhol biographical film Factory Girl.
He got in trouble with the law—a lot.
Simon experienced substantial legal trouble in his lifetime, The New York Post reported. In 2005, authorities in Virginia issued two warrants for Simon’s arrest, accusing him of credit card fraud. The charges were eventually dropped. In 2006, Coutts and Co, a firm that provides private banking and wealth management services, sued Simon, who had to pay more than $470,000 following the settlement.
Simon was also jailed in February 2007—just before he married Brittany—for overstaying his work visa.
The couple married in their Los Angeles home in 2007. “The easiest decision I ever made in my life was getting married," Brittany told OK Magazine. "He's flown around the world to make sure we spend every single night together."
The couple was working on a film when they got married called The White Hotel, which Simon adapted from D.M. Thomas’s 1981 novel about Sigmund Freud and an opera singer he treated—but it was never released. Murphy was set to star in the project.
Simon was married before he met Brittany.
Simon was previously married to UK television personality Simone Bienne. The couple was married in Las Vegas in 2001 and divorced in 2006. She sued him and was awarded the $63,000 he hadn’t paid in their divorce. In the documentary, Simon’s former fiancée, Elizabeth Ragsdale, says he abandoned her in New York while she was pregnant, according to People.
Simon has been called a "disturbed individual" by the documentary's director.
People reports that Cynthia Hill, the director of What Happened, Brittany Murphy? had this to say about Simon: "He was a disturbed individual who was used to conning people and Brittany was one of his last victims. There was a pattern of behavior that became very obvious the more research that we did."
Trista Jordan, who was Brittany's makeup artist on the set of Something Wicked, describes the actress's final days as sad. "Her eyes were so sunken, and she just seemed so sad," Trista said, according to People. "She wasn't herself. She was in so much pain. She had Bambi legs and couldn't stand up."
It's not clear if (or how) Simon conned Brittany, but we can definitely expect to find out in the documentary, set to air tonight.
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