Nicole Brown Simpson

Brown was born on May 19, 1959, in Frankfurt, West Germany,[2][3] to Juditha Anne "Judy" Brown (née Baur, c. 1931-2020) and Louis Hezekiel "Lou" Brown (1923–2014).[4][5] Her mother was German and her father was American.[3][6] After moving to the US she attended Rancho Alamitos High School in Garden Grove, California, and later Dana Hills High School in Dana Point, California, where she graduated in 1977.[7]

Brown met Simpson in 1977[8] when she was eighteen years old and working as a waitress at a Beverly Hills private club called The Daisy.[9][10][11][12] Although Simpson was still married to his first wife, Marguerite, the two began dating. Simpson and Marguerite divorced in March 1979.[13] Simpson and Brown were married on February 2, 1985,[14] five years after his retirement from professional football.[13][15][16] The marriage lasted seven years, during which time they had two children, Sydney (b. 1985) and Justin (b. 1988).[17] Simpson physically abused Brown during their marriage. Though Brown called the police multiple times, they only arrested him once, after which he pleaded no contest to spousal abuse in 1989.[18][19] Brown later dropped the charges after her father refused to help her and instead pushed her to reconcile with Simpson, as Simpson had set him up with a lucrative Hertz dealership. Brown eventually filed for divorce on February 25, 1992, citing irreconcilable differences.[20] Following the divorce, Simpson and Brown got back together.[21] Audio released during the murder trial of O. J. Simpson revealed that Brown called 9-1-1 on October 25, 1993, crying and saying that "He [Simpson] is going to beat the shit out of me."[22] When the police arrived, Brown was secretly recorded by Sgt. Craig Lally. "He gets a very animalistic look in him," Brown stated. "All his veins pop out, his eyes are black and just black, I mean cold, like an animal. I mean very, very weird. And when I see it, it just scares me." Brown also stated Simpson hadn’t hit her in four years.[23] Several months after this incident, the relationship would end for a second and final time[22] when Nicole moved out of their shared home with help from her real estate agent friend Robin Greer.

Brown lived at 875 South Bundy Drive in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, with her two children.[24][25][26] On the evening of Sunday, June 12, 1994, Brown, aged 35, was stabbed to death by an unknown assailant outside her home along with her friend, 25-year-old restaurant waiter Ron Goldman. Her body was found shortly after midnight on June 13. She was lying in the fetal position in a pool of blood.[27] An autopsy determined that Brown had been stabbed seven times in the neck and scalp, and had a 14 cm-long (5.5 inches) gash across her throat, which had severed both her left and right carotid arteries and breached her right and left jugular veins.[27] The wound on Brown's neck was so severe it had penetrated a depth of 1.9 cm (0.75 inches) into her cervical vertebrae,[27] nearly decapitating her.[22][28] She also had defensive wounds on her hands.[27]

Brown's funeral was held on June 16 at the St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Brentwood,[29] with mourners including Simpson and their children,[30] members of Brown's family, Al Cowlings, house guest Kato Kaelin, and Steve Garvey. [31] Brown is buried in Ascension Cemetery[32] in Lake Forest, California.[33][34]

Simpson was tried for the murders of both Brown and Goldman. In October 1995, after a public trial that lasted nearly nine months, he was acquitted.[35] In a 1997 civil trial, a jury found him liable for the wrongful deaths of Brown and Goldman and awarded $19.5 million in damages to their families. Simpson would later be jailed for an unrelated armed robbery at a Las Vegas hotel in 2008.[36][37]

In 1996, after the conclusion of the trial, a judge granted Simpson's petition to give him full custody of Sydney and Justin.[38] Brown's parents continued unsuccessfully to fight for custody[39][40][41] until their deaths.

Following the deaths of Brown and Goldman, the townhouse at the site of their killing, 875 South Bundy Drive,[24][25][26] sat empty for two years, until the next owner extensively remodeled it and had the address changed.[42]

Filmmaker Ezra Edelman, who directed the documentary O.J.: Made in America, dedicated his Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature to both Brown and Goldman in his acceptance speech.

A foundation, Nicole Simpson Foundation, was established in 1994 in her memory.[43] Later renamed the Nicole Brown Charitable Foundation, it reportedly cut back on grantmaking in 1999 due to a drop in donations and questionable management practices.[44][45]

Jessica Tuck portrayed Brown in the 1995 television movie The O. J. Simpson Story. Brown was portrayed by Sandra Olson in Reenactment of the Century. In 2013, it was announced Charlotte Kirk would portray Brown in Nicole & O.J. Mena Suvari most recently portrayed Brown in The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson.

• List of unsolved murders
• O. J. Simpson robbery case

• "Case Files: Simpson". Court TV. Archived from the original on February 3, 2004. Court TV's complete coverage of the O. J. Simpson murder case.
• Nicole Brown Simpson at Find a Grave
• Nicole Brown Simpson at IMDb
• "Nicole Brown Simpson's Death". Famously Dead.