The Hollywood Hills are full of glass boxes and sleek infinity pools that look like they belong in a car commercial. But 8071 Rising Glen Place was different. People still talk about it. They talk about the "curse," the mold, and the weird energy that supposedly chased Britney Spears out before Brittany Murphy ever moved in. If you look at the Brittany Murphy house inside today, you won’t see the Mediterranean-style home where she spent her final days. It’s gone. Scrubbed from the earth and replaced by a $18 million modern fortress.
But for those of us who grew up watching Clueless or Uptown Girls, the original house is frozen in time. It wasn't just a building; it was a character in a tragedy that still feels surreal.
📖 Related: Bill Hillary Clinton Young: What Most People Get Wrong About Their Early Years
What it was actually like inside the original house
When Brittany and her mother, Sharon, bought the place from Britney Spears in 2003 for $3.85 million, it was a 8,000-square-foot Mediterranean estate. It was sold fully furnished. That’s a lot of house for a 25-year-old.
Inside, the vibe was "Old Hollywood meets 2000s excess." Think soaring ceilings, heavy drapes, and a kitchen that looked like it was designed for a chef who never actually cooked. There was a formal dining room that probably saw more script readings than dinner parties. Huge French doors opened up to a garden and a pool that looked out over the city. It was the dream. Or it should have been.
Honestly, the most famous room in the house wasn't the master suite or the gym. It was the bathroom.
Simon Monjack, Brittany’s husband, used to call it her "comfort zone." It was a "Brittany-sized room" where she felt safe. She’d spend hours in there. She had her journals, her magazines, her makeup, and her music. It was her sanctuary. Ironically, that’s where Sharon found her collapsed on the floor on that December morning in 2009.
The "Bad Spirits" and Britney Spears
You can't talk about the Brittany Murphy house inside without mentioning the girl who lived there first. Britney Spears reportedly hated the place. Her former makeup artist, Julianne Kaye, has talked about how Britney was convinced the house was haunted. There’s a story about Britney seeing "bad spirits" near the stairs that tried to push her.
She left and never went back. She stayed at a hotel and sold the house shortly after.
Brittany felt it too. Toward the end, she reportedly loathed the Rising Glen house. She called it "unlucky." Simon claimed that every time they drove up Sunset, she’d beg to stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel instead. She felt trapped. It’s weird to think about a 10,000-square-foot mansion feeling like a cage, but for her, it did.
The black mold mystery
For years, the internet was convinced that toxic black mold killed Brittany and Simon. It made sense to people. How else do a 32-year-old woman and her 39-year-old husband die of the exact same thing—pneumonia and anemia—just five months apart?
The house did have issues. There was a lawsuit against the builders for construction defects. Sharon Murphy initially blamed mold, then retracted it, then sued her lawyers for not letting her pursue a wrongful death claim based on mold.
The L.A. County Coroner, Ed Winter, was pretty firm about it though. They checked. They did the toxicology. He said there were "no indicators" that mold played a role. But the rumor stuck. It stuck so hard that the house became almost unsellable.
📖 Related: Christina Milian and Daughter Violet: The Truth About Raising a Teen Between Paris and LA
The "Metamorphosis" of 8071 Rising Glen
Sharon eventually sold the place in 2011 for $2.7 million. She took a massive hit—over a million dollars lost. The house sat there, soaking up bad vibes and conspiracy theories, until a developer bought it and did the only thing that made sense.
They tore it down. In 2013, the original structure was leveled. If you go there now, you’re looking at a 9,400-square-foot "ultramodern megamansion." It has:
- A chef's kitchen with a butler's pantry (very different from the 2003 version).
- An elevator.
- A home theater and a massage room.
- A primary suite with dual bathrooms and a wraparound terrace.
The developers called it a "complete metamorphosis." It’s an attempt to scrub the history away. They want you to see the "resort-inspired backyard" and the "architectural brilliance," not the place where a star faded away.
Why the house still haunts us
The tragedy of the Brittany Murphy house inside isn't just about the architecture or the hauntings. It’s about the fact that she died in her "favorite room" while trying to breathe.
Her brother, Tony Bertolotti, still voices doubts about the official story. He’s mentioned heavy metal poisoning and missing money. Whether you believe the conspiracies or the coroner's report (pneumonia, anemia, and multiple drug intoxication), the house remains the center of the web.
It’s currently back on the market, or was recently, for nearly $18 million. It’s been on and off the market for years. Even with a brand-new building and a "rebirth," the address 8071 Rising Glen Road carries a weight that $18 million of glass and stone can't quite hide.
Actionable insights for fans and researchers
If you're fascinated by the history of this property, here is how to navigate the information:
- Check the Timeline: Don't confuse photos of the current listing with Brittany's house. If the house looks like a minimalist white cube, it's the 2017 rebuild.
- Review the Coroner’s Report: If you're looking for facts over rumors, the L.A. County Coroner’s office remains the primary source that dismissed mold and foul play, attributing the deaths to "community-acquired pneumonia."
- Watch the Documentaries: What Happened, Brittany Murphy? (HBO Max) gives the most detailed look at the interior life of the couple during their final months in that house.
- Real Estate Records: Public records on Zillow or Redfin for 8071 Rising Glen show the stark price drops and the eventual demolition, which helps separate the "cursed" narrative from the actual market reality.
The house is a reminder that even in the most beautiful spaces, life can be incredibly fragile. Brittany wanted to move to New York to start over. She just never made it out of the bathroom.
Fact Check: The original Mediterranean house was 8,000 sq ft; the new build is roughly 9,400 sq ft. Brittany died Dec 20, 2009; Simon died May 23, 2010.