NEED TO KNOW
Brittany Murphy died at her Hollywood Hills home on Dec. 20, 2009
The Clueless star bought the estate from Britney Spears in 2003
Murphy lived with her husband, Simon Monjack, who was later found dead on the property, and her mother, Sharon Murphy, with whom she purchased the home
The history of Brittany Murphy’s Hollywood Hills home was dark even before she died at age 32 on Dec. 20, 2009 — just a few days before Christmas.
After battling flu-like symptoms, the Clueless star collapsed in the bathroom. The Los Angeles County coroner concluded Brittany died as a result of pneumonia combined with anemia and “multiple drug intoxication” from prescription and over-the-counter medication. Five months later in May 2010, Brittany’s husband, Simon Monjack, was also found dead on the property.
Though many years have passed, the couple’s deaths remain mysterious. At the center of the tragedy is their home that the actress purchased from Britney Spears in 2003. Many suspected the mansion was a key factor, with Spears reportedly experiencing haunted encounters when she lived there. Brittany also felt uneasy about the place.
Here’s everything to know about Brittany Murphy’s home, including what happened to it after she and Monjack died.
How long did Brittany Murphy live in her home?
J. Merritt/FilmMagic
Brittany Murphy arrives at the grand opening of Victoria Jewels in Beverly Hills, Calif., in 2003.
Brittany moved into the home in the hills of West Hollywood, Calif., in 2003. She and her mother, Sharon Murphy, purchased the 8,000-square-foot, fully furnished estate from Spears for $3.85 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Uptown Girls actress lived in the home for just under six years until she collapsed in the master bathroom in 2009.
Before Spears, Madonna also resided in the five-bedroom home, per Reuters.
Who else lived in the home with Brittany Murphy?
Frazer Harrison/Getty
Simon Monjack and Sharon Murphy during a photo shoot in Hollywood, Calif., on Jan. 13, 2010,
Brittany lived in the home with her mother, Sharon, and Monjack, whom she married at the estate in May 2007.
Sharon was the one who called 911 when Brittany collapsed at 8 a.m. after experiencing flu-like symptoms for a few days, a coroner spokesperson told PEOPLE. The L.A. Fire Department responded to the call, and the actress was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead.
Then-deputy medical examiner Dr. Lisa Scheinin — who performed Brittany’s autopsy — listed pneumonia as the primary cause of death and described the condition as “severe” in the two-part HBO Max docuseries What Happened, Brittany Murphy?
Monjack, a British filmmaker with a history of health issues, died at the same residence at age 40. On May 23, 2010, Sharon found her son-in-law unresponsive in the home. He was pronounced dead after the LAFD was called to the residence for a medical emergency, PEOPLE reported at the time. Like Brittany, a coroner later determined acute pneumonia and severe anemia as the causes of Monjack’s death.
Was there mold found in the home after Brittany Murphy’s death?
MB Pictures/Shutterstock An aerial view of Brittany Murphy’s home in May 2004.
There was speculation that the couple’s deaths could have been related to mold in the home, but the medical examiner’s office dismissed that claim in 2010.
Yet Monjack’s mother, Linda Monjack, continued to fuel the theory when she told the Daily Mail in November 2013 that her son had found “severe mold” in the home prior to his death.
“All I know is that before Simon’s death, he was having hallucinations that things were crawling out of his skin,” she said.
Was Brittany Murphy’s home haunted?
Alamy A view of Britney Spears’ and Brittany Murphy’s former home in October 2020.
Both Spears and Brittany reported that they thought there was something strange about the home, located atop the Sunset Strip on Rising Glen Road, when each lived there.
Spears, who was dating Justin Timberlake when she resided in the house, claimed to have had an otherworldly encounter that led her to leave the property and never return. In February 2021, the “Toxic” singer’s former makeup artist, Julianne Kaye, recounted the situation on an episode of the We Need to Talk About Britney podcast.
“[Spears] had that place up on Sunset Plaza, and I’m just gonna say, this is really weird … She calls me … I had my friend do reiki healing on her,” Kaye explained. “He had come up, I guess she’d had a crazy partying weekend and needed to relax. He left, and she swears to God that he opened some spirit portal or something, and these bad spirits had come in … and they were trying to, like, push her down the stairs or something crazy.”
Kaye continued, “It was so bad that she left. She went to the Casa Del Mar hotel to stay there and never went back to the house. She goes, ‘I know you’re gonna think I’m crazy. I’m not crazy. I know what I saw. I know what I felt.’ “
While Brittany never claimed to see spirits, she did seem to have a sense that something was off. In January 2011, writer Alex Ben Block shared interviews with Sharon and Monjack prior to his death, in which the screenwriter said Brittany tried to avoid the home at all costs.
“She absolutely hated the Rising Glen house,” Monjack told The Hollywood Reporter. “Every time we would drive up Sunset, Brit would say, ‘Please, can we stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel?’ I’d say, ‘Honey, you’ve got to be realistic. We have our house, a 10,000-square-foot home. We’re going to stay in it.’ “
Brittany also reportedly thought the property was “unlucky,” with Monjack telling Ben Block that he had been planning on moving himself, his wife and his mother-in-law to New York. Resettled on the East Coast, the plan was for Brittany and Monjack to start a family and for her to “revive” her career in independent films.
The filmmaker also shared that the bathroom where Murphy ultimately died was her “comfort zone” in the home. She spent hours in there reading magazines, singing to herself, writing poetry and sampling beauty products.
What happened to Brittany Murphy’s home after her death?
Michael Bezjian/WireImage
Brittany Murphy poses for a portrait at the Tt Collection pop-up party in L.A. on Dec. 3, 2009.
Brittany had a will drawn up and executed before meeting Monjack, which stated that her estate should be left to her mother, Sharon.
The infamous Hollywood Hills location became known as the site of Brittany and Monjack’s mysterious deaths and has changed hands multiple times since. According to property records, Sharon sold the estate in July 2011 for $2.7 million, a massive loss, after struggling to find a buyer. The asking price was originally $4.99 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In 2013, the home was torn down and underwent a multiyear rebuild, with developers aiming to create a sprawling, contemporary structure. When it was sold in 2017 for $14.53 million, the property bore no resemblance to its former incarnation. According to Zillow, the home, measuring 9,400 square feet with five bedrooms and nine bathrooms, was sold again in December 2020 for $12.2 million.
The estate went back on the market in September 2024 and has been removed and relisted several times. As of November 2025, the home was back on the market and listed as a six-bedroom home. In October 2024, Carolwood Estates wrote that the current owner — a Rhode Island-based trust, according to property records — had “pumped” another $2.7 million into the property.
Read the original article on People