Brittany Murphy ‘wasn’t herself’ before her sudden death at 32, doc says: ‘She just seemed so sad’
Brittany Murphy, the Hollywood actress whose breakout role was 1995’s teen comedy 'Clueless,' passed away in 2009 at age 32.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brittany Murphy’s sudden death still raises questions 12 years later.
The late American actress is the subject of a new HBO Max documentary airing on Oct. 14 titled "What Happened, Brittany Murphy?" which promises to reveal "chilling details" about her final days. It also explores her relationship with her husband, British screenwriter and producer Simon Monjack.
The show, produced by Blumhouse Television, includes interviews with Monjack’s mother, Linda, and brother, James, as well as his former fiancée Elizabeth Ragsdale, who alleged he lied to her about who he was, People magazine reported on Wednesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The "Clueless" star died in 2009 from a combination of pneumonia, anemia and multiple drug intoxication from prescription and over-the-counter medications. She was 32. Monjack passed away five months later from similar causes at age 40.
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Ed Winter, an assistant chief coroner in Los Angeles County, told The Associated Press that the star had collapsed in the bathroom of the Hollywood Hills home she shared with her husband Simon Monjack. (Photo by Gustavo Caballero/WireImage/Getty Images)
Makeup artist Trista Jordan, who worked with Murphy on her last film, 2009’s "Something Wicked," came forward for the special. She claimed Murphy’s appearance in her final months was shocking.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Her eyes were so sunken, and she just seemed so sad," Jordan told the outlet. "She wasn’t herself. She was in so much pain. She had Bambi legs and couldn’t stand up."
Cynthia Hill, the director behind the documentary, said her research on Monjack raised red flags during filming.
"He was a disturbed individual who was used to conning people and Brittany was one of his last victims," she claimed. "There was a pattern of behavior that became very obvious the more research that we did."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Monjack, who was visibly emotional following his wife’s death, had described Murphy as his best friend and soul mate to the press. The two married in 2007. He claimed they were planning a family.
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Brittany Murphy attended the ‘Across the Hall’ Premiere at the Laemmle Music Hall 3 on December 1, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California. She died on December 20, 2009. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Hill noted that everyone who spoke out about Murphy all described how kind she was to those she encountered.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Everyone was so consistent when they would describe her," Hill explained. "She was so generous, caring and always thinking about everybody else and I think sometimes that gets forgotten because of all the mystery surrounding her death."
"She was loved by everyone," Hill added.
In 2020, Investigation Discovery (ID) also revisited the star’s case in a documentary titled "Brittany Murphy: An ID Mystery." It featured the last interview made by Angelo Bertolotti, Murphy’s father, before his death in 2019 at age 92. The patriarch had previously cast doubt on the conclusion that his famous daughter died of natural causes. Forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht, who was brought in by Bertolotti to investigate Murphy’s death, also participated in that documentary.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At the time of the show’s airing, Wecht told Fox News he was just as perplexed by Murphy’s sudden demise and was eager to investigate what could have really happened.
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Simon Monjack and Brittany Murphy attend the 2007 Award of Hope Gala Honoring Michael Ball of Rock & Republic with performance by John Legend at Four Seasons Hotel on June 9, 2007 in Los Angeles, CA. (Getty Images)
"What stood out to me was that here’s a young woman of 32 years old," he explained. "How could she have developed such an advanced state of pneumonia and such an incredible state of iron deficiency? Where in the world was her mother, her husband? Why didn’t she receive proper medical care? I was just puzzled by all of it. She had the financial means to see a doctor. And then she had prescriptions for strong opiates. It was very perplexing."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}For Wecht, the case will never truly be clarified in the years ahead.
"The body has undergone extensive decomposition at this point," he said. "Now it's all over. There's no way meaningful scientific studies can be done. But there’s no question about the pneumonia. This was shown and proven. There’s no question at all about the advanced pneumonia or the iron deficiency. That cannot be avoided… Still, it’s all too late now."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.