LOS ANGELES, CA — Iconic adult actress Marilyn Chambers died of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by an aneurysm, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office revealed Monday. The weakened blood vessel was a secondary effect of heart disease, the report noted.“The findings of the autopsy have established the cause of death to be: effects of cerebral hemorrhage ruptured cerebral artery berry aneurysm,” according to the coroner’s report. “Other conditions: hypertrophic heart disease.”
The results of the autopsy — begun April 14th, two days after Chambers was found dead in her home in a Los Angeles, CA, suburb — laid to rest speculation and rumor that Chambers succumbed to everything from drug abuse to foul play. A toxicology report indicated two prescription drugs — the painkiller hydrocodone and the antidepressant Citalopram — were present in Chambers’ blood at the time of her death, but their concentration was “within or below therapeutic levels.”
Born Marilyn Ann Briggs April 22, 1952, Chambers became an enduring sweetheart of adult cinema at age 20, when she was cast as the lead in the Mitchell Brother’s now-classic 1972 film Behind the Green Door. Her appearance in the movie put an end to her hopes for mainstream stardom and her budding career as a model. Proctor & Gamble immediately cancelled her contract as the wholesome young face of its Ivory Snow laundry detergent.
The adult industry and porn fans loved her, though. Playboy magazine named Chambers one of the top 100 sex stars of the 20th Century, and AVN ranked her among the top 10 adult stars of all time.
Chambers’ death provided an opening for women’s health organizations to remind the public that heart disease, not breast cancer, is the No. 1 killer of women. Cardiovascular problems claim the lives of about 400,000 women every year, according to the American Heart Association.
