
Brittany Murphy was one of Hollywood’s most dynamic stars in the early-to-mid 2000s. The bubbly and vivacious star was one of Tinseltown’s most bankable comedic actresses and was poised at one time for big, leading lady success.
But controversy, drug problems, and the pressures of the paparazzi cast a pall over her career. Her tragic death at 32 only added to the sad story.
We will look back at Brittany Murphy’s career success and her mysterious death.
Career Success
Murphy’s first break came in the 1995 classic Clueless.
brittany murphy as tai frasier in clueless, 1995. pic.twitter.com/GrD9z7dZiJ
— khalia. | brittany murphy hq (@NINETIESRNB) May 16, 2022
Following Clueless, Murphy was a sought-after actress starred in a wide array of comedy and drama films.
brittany murphy on the set of uptown girls, 2003. pic.twitter.com/sLVQ9KGWgy
— khalia. | brittany murphy hq (@NINETIESRNB) May 17, 2022
If anyone wants to remember #BrittanyMurphy let it be known that she was truly talented and an underrated actress. 8 Mile, Don’t Say a Word, Clueless, Riding in Cars with Boys and Uptown Girls are a few of my favorite films…
— Kiki ?⧗ (@karenkaren82) May 27, 2020
#FilmTwitter I’m #NowWatching Don’t Say a Word starring Brittany Murphy, Sean Bean, and Michael Douglas #thriller pic.twitter.com/RFAmevyg2A
— JanuaryMovie ? (@JanuaryMovie) December 11, 2021
Brittany Murphy battled with an eating disorder, substance abuse, and a hounding press at the height of her career.
The HBO Max doc about Brittany Murphy drops a bunch of bombshells — specifically, about her struggles with body image, drug abuse, and her sociopathic husband. But mostly it’s a scathing indictment of the toxicity of early 2000s celebrity media culture: https://t.co/fALFVM2UVA
— Ej Dickson (@ejdickson) October 11, 2021
Brittany Murphy’s death could have been prevented by stopping paparazzi intrusion: http://t.co/I5vpuz4dja pic.twitter.com/hf8oMYCBOV
— Indy People (@TheIndyPeople) August 6, 2014
Brittany Murphy’s Death
At 8:00 a.m. on December 20, 2009, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call at Murphy’s Los Angeles home Murphy and Monjack shared. Murphy was found collapsed in a bathroom, and paramedics attempted to resuscitate Murphy on the scene. She was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she suffered cardiac arrest and died at 10:04 a.m
In a coroner’s autopsy report, The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office declared the manner of death was accidental. The cause of death was pneumonia, with secondary factors of severe iron-deficiency anemia and multiple drug intoxication. In addition, the coroner found a range of over-the-counter and prescription medications in Murphy’s system used to treat cold and respiratory infections. The report also found elevated levels of hydrocodone, acetaminophen, L-methamphetamine, and chlorpheniramine.
The coroner observed: that “the possible adverse physiological effects of elevated levels of these medications cannot be discounted, especially in her weakened state.”
Despite reports at the time of drug abuse, Murphy’s mother and husband both denied that she abused drugs. They would attribute her death to a heart valve issue.
Many attributed Murphy’s declining health to her long-term struggle with eating disorders, drugs, and the pressures of fame.
Conspiracy Theories About Brittany Murphy’s Death
The circumstances around her death remained clouded as the coroner could not definitively say why pneumonia would have killed a seemingly healthy young woman.
Conspiracy theories have always surrounded Murphy’s death, but they were compounded when her husband Simon Monjack died in the same house in May of 2010. An initial coroner’s inquiry blamed toxic mold, but that was later dismissed.
Shocking New Brittany Murphy Claim Says Toxic Mold May Have Killed Star http://t.co/GIxwGQYh
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 20, 2011
crime scene recreations of Brittany Murphy’s DEATH + Perez Hilton interviews in @hbomax’s #WhatHappenedBrittanyMurphy?! won’t be watching!
I know they blame the husband, but how do they explain him dying the exact same way as her? Mold in that house? Then why is the mom alive?
— ben across the board (@blernerdidthat) October 15, 2021
In addition to mold, conspiracy theories have blamed her husband, her mother, and even law enforcement.
The behavior of Brittany Murphy’s husband and mother after the star’s death left us with more questions than answers. Brittany Murphy: An ID Mystery is streaming on #discoveryplus: https://t.co/fslZ02HhiB pic.twitter.com/NqNteziWGp
— Investigation Discovery (@DiscoveryID) October 15, 2021
Conspiracy theories claimed that Murphy’s mother and husband conspired in Brittany’s death because they may have been having an affair. Evidence of this includes prescription bottles with “Sharon Monjack” on them. However, there is no evidence Monjack and Sharon dated, much less married.
The FBI conspiracy stems from Brittany Murphy and her husband’s alleged support for FBI whistleblower Julia Davis. Davis herself promoted unfounded claims that Brittany Murphy was killed to intimidate her.
WaPo journalism at its finest. Not a word about Protasevich’s neo-Nazi past, because we can’t talk about that now.
And then this: citing Julia Davis, who famously claimed the DHS poisoned Brittany Murphy to cover up Davis’ whistleblowing. Seriously.https://t.co/pQxJrl6whK pic.twitter.com/vQVNQgOaH7— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) June 4, 2021
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