Who is Simon Monjack?

By Soraya Roberts
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, December 21st 2009, 12:07 PM

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Writer Simon Monjack is seen here with his late wife, actress Brittany Murphy.

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Brittany Murphy, seen here in one of her last photos, died after entering full cardiac arrest. The 911 call was made by husband Simon Monjack.

Brittany Murphy's shocking death of a heart attack at age 32 has suddenly thrust her lesser-known husband, Simon Monjack, into the spotlight.

The "Clueless" star's 39-year-old husband told hospital staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles not to perform an autopsy, according to a report on the gossip Web site TMZ.com, though one is reportedly already under way.

Before he married Murphy in a private Jewish ceremony in May 2007, the British-born Monjack was a bit player in the screenwriting industry. He earned a story credit for his work on the screenplay that became "Factory Girl," the 2006 Edie Sedgwick biopic starring Sienna Miller, IMBD.com reports. He also is credited as the writer/director/producer of a British indie drama called "Two Days, Nine Lives."

Before his work in Hollywood, Monjack directed commercials.

In 2007, People magazine reported that Monjack would direct and Murphy would star in "The White Hotel," a film about Sigmund Freud's relationship with one of his patients, an opera singer.

Murphy and Monjack became engaged in 2006, just months after she ended her engagement to "Little Black Book" production assistant Joe Macaluso. She had previously been engaged, in 2004, to Jeff Kwatinetz, CEO of a Hollywood talent agency. Murphy also was romantically linked to Ashton Kutcher, whom she met on the set of "Just Married" in 2002.

According to People Magazine, soon after Murphy's marriage to Monjack, reports circulated that the couple expedited their wedding so that the Brit-born groom would not be deported over an expired visa. But the duo told inTouch Weekly that the rumours were "preposterous lies. Everything was just so fabricated and hurtful."

What isn't fabricated is the fact that Murphy's sizable income (she was paid $4 million for her starring role in 'Little Black Book') contrasted greatly with Monjack's reported financial woes. Mortgage and banking company Coutts and Co. sued the writer for $470,132 in 2006 and he only finished paying the company back in 2008.

Despite Monjack's later eviction from a Hancock Park residence, an ex-landlord tells E! News he was a good tenant.

"He was a delight and a pleasure to be with," said Victor Cowley. "I'm really shocked and devastated by the news. I just sent him an e-mail with my condolences."

The tabloids went wild last month when Murphy was reportedly fired from the set of "The Caller" for being difficult. Some reports claimed that Monjack wasn't helping, arguing with the crew and generally causing trouble on the set.

Murphy's rep denied both those reports.

Murphy and Monjack had a health scare soon after Murphy's reported firing.

Monjack was rushed to an L.A. hospital after appearing incoherent aboard a flight from Puerto Rico with his wife. According to the 911 call, Monjack had stopped breathing but was quickly revived by emergency medical technicians. Though TMZ says Murphy thought he had suffered an asthma attack and that it was not serious, medics insisted on taking him to the hospital anyway.

Since his wife's death, Monjack has not talked to the press, though Murphy's family released the following statement: "The sudden loss of our beloved Brittany is a terrible tragedy. She was our daughter, our wife, our love and a shining star. We ask you to respect our privacy at this time."

Here is avideo tribute to Brittany Murphy: