Brittany Murphy Net Worth: What Happened to the ‘Clueless’ Actress’s Money After Her Death?

Brittany Murphy died in 2009, but a new documentary is reigniting interest in her passing. 

On May 26, Investigation Discovery aired Brittany Murphy: An ID Mystery. The 42-minute film revisits long-simmering questions about the 32-year-old actress’s accidental death. The Los Angeles County coroner determined the Clueless star died from a combination of pneumonia, iron deficiency, and multiple drug intoxication, CNN reported in 2010. But some suspect that there’s more to the story, especially because her husband Simon Monjack died under similar circumstances just six months later.

Brittany Murphy was worth $10 million when she died

Murphy got her start in Hollywood as a child actress in the early 1990s. She had small roles in TV shows such as Murphy Brown, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, and Blossom. But she got her big break in the 1995 teen comedy Clueless, where she played Cher’s (Alicia Silverstone) friend Tai. 

Murphy later went on to appear in movies such as Girl, Interrupted and 8 Mile. In the early 2000s, she starred in a string of romantic comedies, including Just Married, Little Black Book, and Love and Other Disasters. She also provided the voice of Luanne Platter on the animated Fox series King of the Hill. 

When she died in December 2009, Murphy was worth an estimated $10 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Murphy’s mother inherited her estate

Murphy married Monjack, a screenwriter, in 2007. But she left her estate not to her spouse but to her mother Sharon Murphy, the New York Daily News reported in 2010. The actress intentionally left her husband out of her will, the paper reported. 

Though Monjack — who died in May 2010 of anemia and pneumonia — wasn’t named in his wife’s will, he may still have had access to her millions. Murphy’s former business manager told People that Monjack took 80% of the cash from his deceased wife’s accounts before his death. That left her mother in an uncertain financial position, Jeffrey Morgenroth said. 

“There were huge amounts of money in [Brittany’s] pension plan and bank account, and all of that’s gone,” Morgenroth told the magazine. “I would see it on the statements. There was money being withdrawn by Simon, hundreds of thousands.”

Monjack’s mother Linda Monjack disputed Morgenroth’s account, saying that her son received little from his wife’s estate. 

Murphy’s mother sold her house for $2.7 million 

In 2003, Murphy purchased a $3.85 million home in Los Angeles that was previously owned by Britney Spears. Both she and Monjack would later pass away in the house. At one point, there was speculation that toxic mold in the home could have been a factor in Murphy and Monjack’s deaths, though that was eventually ruled out.  

Murphy’s mother eventually sold the home in 2011 for $2.7 million, E! reported. The home was later completely gutted and rehabbed. It hit the market again 2016 with a price of $19.75 million. It sold in 2017 for $14.5 million. 

Brittany Murphy: An ID Mystery is currently streaming for free on the Investigation Discovery website.

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