OJ Simpson has died aged 76 following a battle with prostate cancer – nearly three decades on from the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.
The notorious murder suspect who was found civilly liable for the two killings died surrounded by his family at his home in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.
An X post shared on his official account by his family said: ‘On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer.
Simpson became one of the most infamous figures in America after he was charged with murdering Nicole and Goldman in 1994. He was later cleared of the killings.
But his reputation was ruined forever and the latter part of his career was marked by a series of seedy ventures.
After being acquitted, Simpson went on to be found civilly liable for the murders and was later forced to pay out $33.5million in damages to the Brown and Goldman families.
The former NFL star had a colorful personal and romantic life – marrying twice and fathering five children – now DailyMail.com looks back at his two marriages, children and how much he was worth before his death…
OJ Simpson has died aged 76 following a battle with prostate cancer – nearly three decades on from the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman – pictured at his 1995 trial
The former NFL star had a colorful personal and romantic life – marrying twice and fathering five children – now DailyMail.com looks back at his two marriages, children and how much he was worth before his death. – pictured with Brown and kids Sydney and Justin in 1994
WHO WAS OJ SIMPSON MARRIED TO?
Simpson wed his first wife Marguerite Whitley in 1967 when he was just 19 years old.
The pair welcomed daughter Arnelle, now 55, and son Jason, 53. The couple also shared daughter Aaren who was born in 1977 but died just one month before her second birthday in 1979 after drowning in the family’s pool.
They divorced in 1979 – when Simpson was already seeing Nicole – who was 20 to his 32.
In 2018 Fox special OJ: The Lost Confession, Simpson confirmed that he began a relationship with Nicole, despite the fact that he was still with Marguerite, who had just given birth to Aaren at the time.
Nicole had just graduated high school.
Simpson says he was in the process of separating from his wife, but they were slow to get a divorce because of the birth of Aaren.
Simpson’s love affair with Nicole, and how quickly the two became serious after meeting in 1977, was the focus of an entire episode of the Oscar and Emmy-winning documentary OJ: Made In America.
Simpson wed his first wife Marguerite Whitley in 1967 when he was just 19 years old – they are pictured with daughter Arnelle and son Jason on January 8, 1973
The pair welcomed daughter Arnelle, now 55, and son Jason, 53. The couple also shared daughter Aaren who was born in 1977 but died just one month before her second birthday in 1979 after drowning in the family’s pool
Simpson’s friend Thomas McCollum III recalled his first trip to The Daisy with the football star, and the exact moment the then 30-year-old Simpson saw waitress Nicole.
‘He was married to Marguerite at that time, but as we’re sitting there this gorgeous little surfer blonde is waiting tables at the lunch hour,’ said McCollum.
‘OJ goes, “Wow, who’s that?” And Nicole came over and she said hello and she didn’t walk ten feet away and he looks right at [owner of The Daisy] Jack Hanson and says: “I’m going to marry that girl.”‘
David LeBon was Nicole’s roommate in Los Angeles at the time and said he was shocked at how quick it was happened, and the state his friend came home in after her first date with the former football star.
‘She was 18-years-old. She had just graduated from high school. She was like my little sister,’ said LeBon.
‘She goes, “I met this man and his name is OJ Simpson.”
OJ met Nicole when she was a teenage waitress at the trendy Beverly Hills restaurant, The Daisy. They met when he dined there and became inseparable (pictured 1980)
‘They went out and I waited up for them. She got home and it was like 2:00 in the morning and her jeans were ripped and I went “what happened?”
‘And she goes, “well, he was a little forceful”. And I go “Nicole, why would you let him on a first date be a little bit forceful?”‘
He went on to say that Nicole told him that she really liked Simpson.
‘That was the start of it,’ said LeBon.
Nicole and Simpson in 1981 after his divorce
Two days later LeBon said that Nicole told him Simpson was buying her a car and getting her an apartment.
‘I went, “Nicole, think about this.” You know he’s married and has children. And she goes, “but I think I really like this guy.”
‘It was that fast,’ said LeBon. ’18 years old. I mean, it was too young.’
The final person to speak during the first episode was Nicole’s sister Tanya Brown, who spoke about just how in love her older sibling was with this man who was unknown to them despite his fame.
‘We didn’t know who he was. We’re girls in the Brown house. We didn’t grow up with football, we went to the beach,’ said Tanya.
‘We were like, “who are you?”‘
She then added: ‘They had a real love affair these two. When they were together it was just love.
The children were just eight and five at the time of their mother’s murder and asleep in the home when their mother was stabbed to death on June 12, 1994 alongside Goldman, who was 25
‘And that’s what makes this thing so sad.’
The pair married in 1985 and welcomed daughter Sydney Brooke, now 39 that year and son Justin, 36, in 1988.
In 1989, the former football player pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge against Simpson. The couple divorced in 1992.
The children were just eight and five at the time of their mother’s murder and asleep in the home when their mother was stabbed to death on June 12, 1994 alongside Goldman, who was 25.
WHO WERE OJ’S CHILDREN?
OJ is pictured with his children with Nicole as well as eldest son Jason in 1994
OJ and Nicole’s children have remained largely out of the spotlight in their adult years.
After the trial Simpson shared custody of the children with the Brown family after a five year custody battle – their grandmother Juditha had legal guardianship of the children while Simpson had physical custody.
Justin works as a realtor in Las Vegas and his company profile reads: ‘Justin sets himself apart by DOMINATING customer service with communication, while utilizing timeless negotiation techniques to give his clients the competitive edge!’
He welcomed a daughter Lana in May 2022.
In 2016 it was revealed Sydney was living quietly in St Petersburg, Florida and working in real estate.
The children moved to Miami, Florida with their father after his acquittal.
In 2016, Nicole’s sister Tanya spoke about Sydney and Justin to People saying: ‘They are so well-grounded. I’m so proud of what and who they’ve become.’
In 2014 on the 20th anniversary of the murders Tanya told Radar Online the pair were both ‘professionals’ who went to college, adding: ‘They’re in relationships. They’re happy. They’re just like us. Quote unquote.’
Jason was famously placed in handcuffs after he arrived at his father’s Brentwood home to speak to him in the aftermath of the murders. He has maintained a low profile since the trial (pictured with sister Arnelle, first left) when his father was acquitted in 1995
Arnelle has remained a staunch supporter of her father – asking for him to be released at his 2017 parole hearing so she and her siblings can ‘move forward’ (pictured 1995)
OJ had repaired his relationship with his two youngest children – visiting them in Florida, most memorably during Thanksgiving 2018 – pictured with son Justin
Simpson is pictured with daughter Sydney in 2018
Tanya said: ‘I had to go and pick the kids up at the house where he lived. It was hard for me, but I did it… I had to put on the face because this is their dad. They will always love their dad. I choose to respect that.
When Sydney and Justin were 14 and 12 they moved from California to live with Simpson in Florida.
A family spokesman told ABC News at the time: ‘The children said to their grandmother, ‘I want to be with my father.’”
In Tanya’s interview with Radar, she also said that she never spoke to the children about Nicole’s murder or OJ’s alleged involvement, calling it the ‘pink elephant in the room that I hope never shows up.’
Justin works as a realtor in Las Vegas and welcomed a daughter Lana in May 2022
‘We don’t talk about it. I’m the aunt that when they come to visit, it’s ‘Let’s go to a movie! Let’s go shopping! Let’s go to the beach! They’ve probably talked about it on their own. But when they come to our house we have fun. We don’t need to rehash everything.’
The siblings made a rare public appearance at the wedding of their cousin, Sean, in February 2016.
The two were photographed sitting in the front row during the ceremony in Newport Beach, California, and were seated next to their aunt Denise and Juditha.
Jason was famously placed in handcuffs after he arrived at his father’s Brentwood home to speak to him in the aftermath of the murders.
He has maintained a low profile since the trial and was last known to be working as a chef in Atlanta, Georgia according to a June 2016 interview in the Los Angeles Times.
Book O.J. Is Innocent and I Can Prove It by William C. Dear. claimed Jason was previously diagnosed with intermittent rage disorder
Arnelle has remained a staunch supporter of her father – asking for him to be released at his 2017 parole hearing so she and her siblings can ‘move forward.’
She said: ‘As a family we recognize he’s not the perfect man, but as a man and a father he has done his best.
OJ had repaired his relationship with his two youngest children – visiting them in Florida, most memorably during Thanksgiving 2018.
O.J. told The Associated Press in June that year: ‘I’ve been to Florida two or three times to see the kids and my old buddies in Miami. I even managed to play a game of golf with them. But I live in a town I’ve learned to love. Life is fine.
‘We don’t need to go back and relive the worst day of our lives,” he said. “The subject of the moment is the subject I will never revisit again. My family and I have moved on to what we call the ‘no negative zone.’ We focus on the positives’
WHAT WAS OJ SIMPSON’S NET WORTH?
Questions about OJ Simpson’s net worth have been circulating ever since he lost the wrongful death civil trial, in which the judge ordered OJ to pay $33,500,000 in damages- Pictured: Simpson in Las Vegas earlier this year
In 2007, OJ lost the rights to his book ‘If I Did It’ to the Goldman family, who subsequently renamed the book, ‘If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer’
OJ Simpson’s net worth is estimated to be $3 million (£2.1 million), according to Celebrity Net Worth – pictured 1994
Questions about OJ Simpson’s net worth have been circulating ever since he lost the wrongful death civil trial, in which the judge ordered OJ to pay $33,500,000 in damages.
However, OJ famously paid very little of the $33.5 million damages to the families of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. The figure he owes is now actually over $70 million.
Before the 1995 trial, OJ’s net worth was in the tens of millions. According to Celebrity Net Worth, OJ was worth $10.8 million (£7.7 million) at the time of his divorce from Nicole Brown in 1992, which is around $18 million (£12.9) in 2018.
OJ Simpson’s net worth is estimated to be $3 million (£2.1 million), according to Celebrity Net Worth.
In 2007, OJ lost the rights to his book ‘If I Did It’ to the Goldman family, who subsequently renamed the book, ‘If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer’.
After the criminal and civil trials, OJ made money initially through book and TV deals. OJ is also thought to generate significant sums of money through his pensions.
ESPN estimates that OJ made more than $600,000 from his NFL pension during his nine years in prison between 2008 and 2017.
There is also a Screen Actors Guild pension which reportedly pays out $1700 a month.
In 2018, Tom Scotto, a friend of OJ’s, says that OJ also invested $5 million in a personal pension.