REMEMBERING BRITTANY
Ten years since the shock passing of one of Hollywood’s beloved actresses, mystery and intrigue continue to surround the death of Brittany Murphy
Ten years on
In the early hours of December 20, 2009, Clueless actress Brittany Murphy wheezed and struggled to catch her breath as she begged her mother, Sharon Murphy, for help. Brittany had been unwell with flu-like symptoms for weeks and, despite having a doctor’s appointment booked the following Monday, the 32-year-old starlet was so sick she was struggling to breathe. By 8am, Murphy had collapsed in the bathroom of her Hollywood Hills home, with her mother and husband, Simon Monjack, desperately trying to resuscitate her in the shower. Paramedics rushed Murphy to LA’s famous Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but the young star never regained consciousness. Murphy’s shock death devastated her fans – with her passing becoming just one part of an ongoing puzzle that would continue to fuel conspiracy theories and rumours about the actress’ life and death for years to come. This was only amplified when just five months later, Monjack, aged 40, passed
away under similar circumstances in the couple’s home.
ROMANCE, RUMOURS AND LOST ROLES
Murphy met her future husband, screenwriter Monjack, on the set of his movie White Hotel in 2001 and the pair hit it off. The couple married in 2007, but it wasn’t all smiles and celebrations. Murphy had been battling through an extensive and upsetting career slump, having lost her roles in The Expendables and Happy Feet 2 thanks to an onslaught of tabloid reports about her supposed drug and substance abuse issues. Murphy hadn’t managed to nab a starring movie role since 2004, and the fear of a Hollywood conspiracy to kick her out of Tinseltown was becoming all too real and consuming.
A TRAGIC END
Murphy had been suffering from symptoms for a number of weeks leading up to the morning she died. According to a 2011 article by The Hollywood Reporter,
Murphy’s mother and husband were by her side as she pleaded for help. “Mummy, I can’t catch my breath. Help me,” she said before collapsing. Almost immediately rumours emerged that Murphy had suffered a drug overdose. Speaking to WHO at the time, Monjack denied these reports. “My wife was not abusing prescription drugs that I was aware of.” The Los Angeles County coroner later determined Murphy’s cause of death was the outcome of anaemia, pneumonia and drug intoxication from over-the-counter prescription medication.
NOT SO CLUELESS
Alicia Silverstone, 42, recently paid tribute to Murphy during the 2019 Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo while recalling Murphy’s audition for the role of Tai in Clueless. “That was incredible,” Silverstone said. “I remember just being blown away by what she did in the room and thinking I had to tell [writer/ director Amy Heckerling] just in case she didn’t know that Brittany Murphy was the one that had to play the part.”