What’s the price to buy some very morbid celebrity history? Right now, it’s $17.99 million.
The Los Angeles property where the “Clueless” actress Brittany Murphy died — and where her husband passed away by near-identical causes five months later — has listed for that sum, according to Realtor.com.
Murphy was 32 at the time of her death in 2009 — the cause was listed as a fatal mix of pneumonia, anemia and prescription meds in excessive use. She had moved into the property in 2003 — buying it fully furnished from Britney Spears for $3.85 million.
However, the residence where Murphy, and 40-year-old Simon Monjack, met their ends no longer stands. In 2011, Murphy’s mother Sharon sold the residence for $2.7 million — more than $1 million below its purchase price. In 2013, crews demolished the original home and a six-bedroom, 8.5-bathroom mansion rose in its place.
By 2017, the new structure traded hands for $14.53 million — and in 2019, those owners aimed to sell it for $17.99 million. In late 2020, however, it sold for considerably below that asking price — for $12.2 million, The Post reported at that time.
The 9,400-square-foot offering initially sought $18.99 million in July before re-listing for its current asking price.
At the time of Murphy and Monjack’s deaths, rumors swirled that black mold inside the original home had killed them, which the local coroner denied. But even before that, there was gossip of unusual vibes inside.
When Spears called the original mansion her own, she was said to have experienced a paranormal encounter there. Her former makeup artist, Julianne Kaye, said the incident was such a fright that Spears left the home right after and refused to return.
In a 2021 appearance on the “We Need To Talk About Britney” podcast, Kaye alleged Spears was convinced that “bad spirits” had aimed to “push her down the stairs.”
“She goes, ‘I know you’re going to think I’m crazy. I’m not crazy. I know what I saw, I know what I felt,’” Kaye said on the podcast of Spears.
Even Murphy later had her reservations about the dwelling. In the months before his own death, Munjack reportedly claimed that his late wife believed the home was “unlucky,” and was planning to move to New York.
“She absolutely hated the … house,” he 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 out house, a 10,000-square-foot home, we’re going to stay in it.’”
Overall speculation that the home was “cursed” made its long-ago sale difficult.
Today, what stands in its place is an elegant residence that has gone through a “rebirth” since its late 2020 purchase, boasting a renovation that the listing describes as a “complete metamorphosis.”
The work includes a new chef’s kitchen with a butler’s pantry, plus a “recently enhanced” primary suite with two bathrooms and a wraparound terrace. Listing images show a striking infinity-edge pool located outside, where there are also spaces for al-fresco entertaining and wide city views.
Inside, there are floor-to-ceiling windows, a handsome marble fireplace in the formal living room and even a plush screening room.