On the 16th anniversary of the death of actress Brittany Murphy, which shocked Hollywood, the so-called "cursed house" where she once lived is drawing renewed attention. The mansion is the Hollywood Hills estate once owned by pop star Britney Spears, and it is the place where Murphy and her husband died just months apart.
Murphy bought the dwelling from Spears in 2003 for about $3.85 million (about 5 billion won). On Dec. 20, 2009, the actress beloved for the film Clueless was found unconscious in her home bathroom at age 32 and was taken to a hospital, where she died. The official cause of death was announced as pneumonia, severe anemia and drug intoxication from a mix of prescription and over-the-counter medications.
But the tragedy did not end there. Her husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack, was found dead in the same house just five months later. Monjack's cause of death was also determined to be acute pneumonia and anemia, raising many questions because the couple died in succession from the same causes.
Murphy's mother, Sharon Murphy, called 911 herself at around 8 a.m. on the day her daughter died, and she was also the first to find Monjack when he died. The three had held a wedding at the dwelling and lived together.
Later, Monjack's mother alleged that there was "serious mold" in the house and raised the possibility of "toxic mold," claiming Monjack had complained in life that he "saw hallucinations of something crawling out of his skin." However, U.S. forensic authorities officially ruled out that theory in 2010.
Interestingly, it is reported that not only Murphy but also Spears, who once lived in the house, felt a "strange energy." Spears' former makeup artist recalled that she said a spiritual portal had opened and that she felt pushed on the stairs, and that she ultimately moved to a hotel.
Murphy was also known to have expressed anxiety about the house to those around her. In an interview, Monjack said, "My wife really hated that house and always wanted to stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel." Ironically, the bathroom where Murphy died was said to be her most comfortable space, a "sanctuary" where she wrote, hummed songs and spent time alone.
The mysterious death was reexamined and drew renewed public interest through the 2021 HBO documentary What Happened, Brittany Murphy?. And at the end of 2024, the mansion appeared on the market for about $18 million with descriptions saying it had undergone a "complete transformation."
Time has passed, but the sudden death of an actor who defined an era and the mysteries surrounding that space remain a Hollywood mystery.
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