Who Was Brittany Murphy’s Husband? All About Simon Monjack, Who Died 5 Months After the “Clueless” Star in an Eerily Similar Way

It’s been over a decade since Brittany Murphy’s husband, Simon Monjack, mysteriously died a few months after the late actress.

Following a brief courtship, the Uptown Girls actress quietly married the British filmmaker in 2007 at their Hollywood Hills home. While they had known each other for years, their friendship eventually developed into a romantic relationship and worried those around them.

Despite Monjack's controversial past, which included several complicated relationships and ongoing financial troubles, he and Murphy were "inseparable." They had plans to start a family and relocate from Los Angeles to New York — but that changed when Murphy unexpectedly died at age 32 on Dec. 20, 2009.

“I’d trade it all for one more day with Brittany," Monjack told PEOPLE after her death. "I lost my life. She was my best friend."

While L.A. County Coroner Asst. Chief Ed Winter determined Murphy’s death to be caused by pneumonia combined with anemia, suspicions arose surrounding her grieving husband. Meanwhile, Monjack maintained he had done his best to care for Murphy and that his problematic past was all rumors.

“I know I have been called a conman. I am not perfect. I never said I was. But there has been so much rubbish written about me and Brittany. Most of what you read is made up,” he told The Independent.

In a turn of events, shortly after Murphy's death, Monjack died at 40 on May 23, 2010, from similar causes.

So who was Brittany Murphy’s husband? Here’s everything to know about Simon Monjack and his relationship with the late actress.

He was born and raised in England

Monjack grew up outside of London with his parents, dad William and mother Linda, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Throughout his adolescence, Monjack attended prestigious schools where he showed an aptitude for learning.

“As he was growing up, Simon was the most incredible guy. He had an IQ off the scale. He was able to charm anyone — old ladies, mothers, he could turn his charm on anyone,” Linda recalled in the 2021 Max docuseries What Happened, Brittany Murphy?.

His brother, James, added, “From early childhood, Simon had that ability to manipulate the environment to get what he wanted out.”

When Monjack was a teenager, his father was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died. Linda told The Hollywood Reporter that the death “completely destroyed" Monjack and changed his personality — leaving him unable to separate fact from fiction at times.

He worked in the film industry

After graduating from high school, Monjack moved to New York, where he enrolled at New York University, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

He went on to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, directing music videos and even a commercial for Nike, which featured Michael Jordan, per The Independent.

Monjack's first film, Two Days, Nine Lives, was financed by his family in 2001 and it was never released.

He didn't come out with other movies before his death, although he claimed to have contributed to the 2006 film Factory Girl. Despite his producer credit, director George Hickenlooper stated that Monjack received it in a legal settlement, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

A few years later, Monjack began working on a film adaptation of the 1981 novel The White Hotel, but it wasn't completed after more legal troubles.

He had a complicated dating history

Before meeting Murphy, Monjack was involved in a string of unsuccessful relationships. Looking back, his mother Linda said his personality made him often “fall in and out of love” — but to some of his former partners, his motives were more sinister.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Monjack often lied to the women he was trying to pursue, painting a picture of wealth. Monjack also reportedly lied about other parts of his life, including his health, per his former fiancée Elizabeth Ragsdale.

The pair met while she was living in Paris, and they quickly fell in love and got engaged. In What Happened, Brittany Murphy?, Ragsdale recalled Monjack telling her that he had spinal cancer and that if they wanted to have children, she had to get pregnant immediately because the cancer treatments would make him sterile.

Not long after, Ragsdale became pregnant, during which time she said Monjack isolated her from family and friends. He then told her he wanted her to have the baby in the U.S. and paid for her flight to New York. Upon her arrival, she never heard from him again.

Ragsdale later learned from his mother, Linda, that Monjack had never been sick. Ragsdale went on to welcome their baby.

Then, in the early 2000s, Monjack met British television personality Simone Bienne. The couple got engaged and tied the knot in a Las Vegas ceremony in 2001. While Bienne has remained quiet about their relationship after they split in 2006, she sued him for thousands of dollars he had failed to pay in their divorce, per the New York Post.

Monjack and Murphy married in 2007

Shortly after his divorce, Monjack reconnected with Murphy. They initially met when Murphy was still starting out in acting in the '90s, and the two kept in touch throughout the years. Their relationship eventually turned romantic in early 2007.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Murphy reached out to Monjack while she was working on The Ramen Girl in Tokyo. She had seen his script for The White Hotel and wanted to meet when she returned to L.A. Not long after, they had dinner together and began dating.

“We met when I was 17 years old. We checked in with each other throughout the years and remained friends. The easiest decision I ever had in my life was getting married,” Murphy told OK! magazine in April 2009. “He’s flown around the world to make sure we spend every single night together.”

After a few months of dating and quietly getting engaged, Murphy and Monjack were privately married by a rabbi at their home. Most of the guests were close family members and Brittany’s employees.

“They were married at their home in Los Angeles several weeks ago in a very intimate ceremony,” Murphy’s rep later told PEOPLE. “It was officiated by a rabbi and they were surrounded by their families.”

They were planning on starting a family

Despite concerns about the couple’s quick marriage, Monjack and Murphy pushed forward in their relationship.

Just months before Murphy’s death, she expressed that she wanted to start a family with her husband and shared that they would have children “hopefully soon.”

“I hope to have a few. I’ve always loved kids and babies and always wanted to be a mom,” Murphy told OK! magazine.

Reflecting on their relationship, Monjack told Access Hollywood that Murphy was talking about having babies in the days before she died and had names picked out for their future children.

Monjack was there the day Murphy died

On the night before Murphy’s death, Monjack was by her side at their Hollywood Hills home. The pair had recently returned from a trip to Puerto Rico, where Murphy was set to film The Caller, but only days into production, she was dropped from the cast.

While rumors swirled that she had been fired, Monjack insisted it had been a mutual parting because Murphy didn’t like changes in the direction of the script, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

During the trip, both Monjack and Murphy’s mother Sharon caught colds. When they returned home, Murphy also became ill — and on top of some other persisting health issues, it ended up being a recipe for disaster for the actress.

As the weeks went on, Murphy became increasingly sick, eventually developing laryngitis. During that time, Murphy didn’t see a doctor because she and Monjack were concerned that paparazzi would spot them, and it would negatively impact her career. Instead, she allegedly consulted with a medical professional over the phone and spoke to a pharmacist.

Things became dire in the early hours of Dec. 20, 2009, when Murphy began complaining that she couldn’t breathe. Her mom recalls Murphy “lying on the patio trying to catch her breath” and even saying, “I’m dying. I’m going to die. Mommy, I love you.” But because Murphy frequently struggled with ailments, her comments weren't taken seriously, Sharon told The Hollywood Reporter.

Throughout the night, Sharon tried to help her daughter feel more comfortable, while Monjack suffered a seizure due to an ongoing medical issue. After Murphy collapsed in the bathroom the next morning, Monjack and Sharon called 911 and began resuscitation efforts.

Murphy was taken to the hospital, but unfortunately, it was too late. Murphy was pronounced dead at age 32. The L.A. county coroner later ruled that she died as a result of pneumonia combined with anemia and “multiple drug intoxication” from prescription and over-the-counter medication.

Monjack faced questions surrounding Murphy’s mysterious death

While the coroner didn’t rule Murphy’s death as suspicious, there were rumors that Monjack was somehow involved.

Murphy’s friends and family had long been concerned about her relationship with Monjack and thought he had been too controlling and had isolated her. At the time of her death, Murphy allegedly didn’t have a cell phone or access to her email, per What Happened, Brittany Murphy?. Monjack also reportedly fired Murphy's manager, lawyer and agent.

After the actress' death in December 2009, suspicions about Monjack's intentions continued building, particularly when he tried to launch The Brittany Murphy Foundation, which also served as a memorial service for Murphy with “suggested donations” of up to $10,000. It was later canceled.

Questions also arose when he shared that he didn’t want an autopsy for Murphy. While the coroner went forward with the autopsy anyway, it raised questions about why Monjack didn’t want to happen — although he reasoned it was because of his Jewish faith.

After the results were released, coroner Winter told PEOPLE that Murphy’s death could have been avoidable had she been able to see a doctor sooner.

“This death could’ve been preventable,” he said at the time. “Murphy was planning on seeing a doctor, but she, unfortunately, passed away before she did. This was a case of a person with pneumonia who was anemic and was taking medication when she should've been getting medical treatment.”

Meanwhile, Monjack maintained that he had been caring for his wife, who had seen a doctor, and he thought she was dealing with the flu.

“I had no idea she had pneumonia. I took very good care of my wife, she was on an antibiotic and she was taking cough medicine and doing all the right things,” Monjack told PEOPLE in January 2010.

In his own interview, Winter added that they weren't looking into Monjack in connection to Murphy's death. "He was never considered a suspect. No one’s criminally liable here because this has been ruled an accident," he said.

Monjack died five months after Murphy

Amid concern about Monjack’s involvement in Murphy’s death, he unexpectedly died of similar causes.

On May 23, 2010, Murphy’s mother found Monjack unresponsive and called 911. When the Los Angeles Fire Department arrived, they pronounced Monjack dead at age 40. The coroner later determined that the cause of death was pneumonia and anemia.

While Monjack’s death came as a surprise to the public, he had privately been dealing with health issues for some time, including seizures. A few months before his death, his mother, Linda, told PEOPLE that her son was “unwell” and was undergoing testing.

Although there was concern about mold in their shared home, the coroner did not believe they had been exposed to mold.

To this day, the couple’s coincidental deaths remain mysterious.

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