Brittany Murphy's death shocked many and left the world with plenty of unanswered questions. Shortly before her death, many Hollywood experts agreed that Brittany was destined for greatness, thanks to the actress' exciting and charming personality.

Brittany Murphy had already been in a couple of hit films before she tragically lost her life in 2009 at 32. She first appeared in 1995's Clueless before starring in Girl, Interrupted and Uptown Girl.

Brittany's Early Life And The Successful Start Of Her Acting Career

The rising star was born on November 10, 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia. Her parents, Angelo Bertolotti and Sharon Murphy, divorced when she was just two.

Her father was in and out of prison. When her parents divorced, she lived with her mother in Edison, New Jersey.

She took up dancing and singing as a child, and she was in her first acting role when she was nine. She appeared in Really Rosie in her school in the starring role.

At the age of 13, she went to Hollywood with the guidance of her mother. Murphy's acting career only progressed from there.

After a number of minor roles, Brittany finally landed a notable role in 1995 when she appeared in Clueless. She played the role of Tai Fraser.

The film pretty much launched her acting career. She went on to appear in many notable movies in the 2000s, including Little Black Book and 8 Mile.

During her role in Riding In Cars With Boys in 2001, the director claimed that she was a "terrific actress," thanks to her ability to be funny and dramatic.

In 2002, she dated Ashton Kutcher, her co-star in Just Married. A couple of years later, in 2005, she got engaged to Joe Macaluso, whom she met while filming Little Black Book.

Her engagement to the production assistant ended in August 2006.

Brittany Murphy's Marriage To Simon Monjack And Her Career's Decline

Brittany Murphy got married to English screenwriter, film producer, and film director Simon Monjack in 2007. He had been previously married to Simone Bienne in 2001, but the marriage had ended in 2006.

Notably, her career started to decline after her marriage to Monjack. After a few years together, Brittany Murphy met her death in 2009. At that time, her career was suffering. There were rumors that she was abusing drugs.

As a result of these rumors, she lost many great opportunities. She appeared unfocused on her career, and there were claims she had trouble remembering her lines due to her addiction.

Simon Monjack, her husband, said that former agents and managers had started the disparaging rumors about her drug use in a bid to destroy her career.

The couple considered making a move to New York to start afresh.

However, her mother, who was struggling with breast cancer, and her husband, who had heart problems, depended on her. Therefore, she continued to work in Los Angeles, but she only starred in low-budget films as a way to make money.

Brittany Murphy's Death Was Sudden And Mysterious

Brittany Murphy's death was quite sudden and mysterious. Not even claims that a cruel twist of fate caused her death could answer questions about the tragedy.

Still, the way her life ended was beyond what anyone would have expected, even with claims she had drug problems.

Her body was found in the bathroom of her Hollywood Hills mansion.

After an autopsy, it was claimed that Brittany Murphy's death was caused by pneumonia, iron-deficiency anemia, and drug intoxication. Strangely, there were no illegal substances in her body.

What made Brittany Murphy's death even weirder is that her husband died five months later under similarly mysterious circumstances.

"Mommy, I Can't Catch My Breath"

A month before Brittany Murphy's death, she, her mother, and her husband went to Puerto Rico. She was shooting a horror film, Caller.

Allegedly, her husband showed up on the set drunk, and producers tried to ban him from the set. This made Murphy quit her role on the day they began shooting.

Later, her husband claimed that she had left because she had been misled about the nature of the film. She was told it would be a thriller, but she soon realized it was a horror.

The family decided to turn the trip into a vacation and stayed on the island for eight more days. Unfortunately, during the flight home, Murphy's husband and her mom got Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria that causes staph infections.

They had to make an emergency landing so that he could be taken to the hospital.

After the trip, the couple was sick and got treatment for pneumonia until Brittany Murphy collapsed on the balcony of her mansion in Hollywood Hills.

Her mother saw her lying down, and she had trouble catching her breath. When her mom told her to get up, she said, "Mommy, I can't catch my breath. Help me. Help me."

Given her tendency to be dramatic, the mother did not take her pleas seriously. She also told her mom that she was going to die soon.

After some hours, she collapsed for the second time in the bathroom, and even after she was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, her life could not be saved.

Her husband later revealed that the bathroom was one of her favorite places. She regularly spent hours there, listening to music, reading magazines, or trying different make-up in front of the mirror.

Brittany Murphy's Death Was Ruled Accidental

The county coroner ruled Brittany Murphy's death to be accidental. As far as the authorities were concerned, she suffered from pneumonia, iron deficiency, and "multiple drug intoxication."

After her husband died, it was ruled that he succumbed to "heartbreak" because of his wife's mistreatment in Hollywood. Monjack's death raised many questions, just like Brittany Murphy's death, with some people thinking that foul play was involved in their deaths.

There was also a theory that the couple had died after toxic mold got into their home. Allegedly, the property owners did not want this secret getting out due to a non-disclosure agreement.

Her mother also supported the toxic mold theory after claiming how "absurd" it was. Sharon Murphy went as far as suing the property developers involved.

Sharon and Brittany Murphy had bought the five-bedroom, 8,000-square-foot home in Hollywood Hills from Britney Spears in June 2003 for $3.85 million. Britney had lived there with Justin Timberlake, her boyfriend at the time.

Conspiracy Theories About Brittany Murphy's Death

An independent inquiry was started by Angelo Bertolotti, Brittany Murphy's father, into her death in November 2013. In this research, pathologists discovered traces of various heavy metals in her blood.

For this reason, it was concluded that she had been poisoned. Bertolotti said he had a feeling that his daughter had been murdered.

Initially, he thought her husband was behind her death. Brittany's father thought Monjack was controlling and purposely destroying her acting career.

The claims were dismissed by Sharon Murphy, who claimed that the barium and antimony in her system might have come from the hair dyes she used.

According to another theory, the government was behind Brittany Murphy's death due to her friendship with a Hollywood filmmaker and whistleblower. The fact that her husband had grown paranoid months before she died was seen as evidence of this fact.

A friend had told the media that he believed his wife was being watched. He even installed 56 cameras throughout their property. He also set up a device that scrambled their phone conversations to ensure nobody was wiretapping them.

There was also a letter between the alleged whistleblower and Brittany Murphy. She asked for support, but the whistleblower politely turned down the request.

Another theory suggested that Sharon was responsible for Brittany Murphy's death. This theory started with rumors that she had started sharing a bed with her daughter's husband after her death.

Allegedly, a photoshoot Monjack and Sharon had after Brittany Murphy's death made it seem like they were grieving parents rather than a husband and a mother-in-law. In the photo, they were looking into each other's eyes.

Monjack was reportedly found dead on the bed he shared with Sharon. This theory was undermined because Sharon and her daughter were very close, which means she would not do her any harm.

The investigators did not consider Brittany's mother a suspect at any point during their investigations.

Based on another theory, Brittany's extreme weight loss might have played a role in her death. In Clueless, she was not as thin as in subsequent films.

She lost a lot of weight after she was criticized for her size. Her agent had also told her that she was "huggable, but not fu*kable," which spurred her to lose a great deal of weight.

At the time of Brittany Murphy's death, the actress was underweight, and yet her husband was still encouraging her to lose more weight, which led to the anemia that played a role in her death.

Life After Brittany Murphy's Death

Following Brittany Murphy's death, her husband and mother started claiming that she had been using prescription medication for much of her adult life. She had to do this to deal with the chronic pain after being involved in a car accident.

They, however, insisted that she was not a drug addict. She allegedly also had heart murmurs, which meant she risked her life whenever she took any illegal substances.

On the day she died, Brittany Murphy allegedly took a combination of drugs that included migraine pills, cough medicine, Prozac, a beta-blocker, and Biaxin, among other medications to deal with nasal discomfort and menstrual cramps.

According to the coroner, this combination of drugs turned lethal and led to Brittany Murphy's death because of her weak physiological state.

At the time she died, her mental and physical health had declined. Trista Jordan, a make-up artist who worked with her, said that her eyes were sunken and that she was so sad shortly before she died.

The truth is that, to this day, Brittany Murphy's death is still one of the most shocking and puzzling tragedies in recent Hollywood history.

In 2020, a documentary called The Missing Pieces: Brittany Murphy was released to talk about her bizarre death. HBO also released a documentary titled What Happened, Brittany Murphy? in 2021.

The documentary puts a lot of blame on her husband, Monjack, who was portrayed as toxic and manipulative. There were accounts of him lying about his wealth, fighting off brain cancer, and owning several Ferraris long before he met Brittany, who was seven years younger than him.

Unfortunately, the sad fact is that Brittany Murphy's death overshadows her acting career to this day.