Homes With Celebrity Pedigrees
It comes up with regularity in stories involving celebrity homes: casual mentions that other celebrities have lived in the same house. People reports that Renee Zellwegger sold two adjoining apartments in New York, and the buyer was Leelee Sobieski. Or take this story in The Sun, where Noel Gallagher of Oasis facetiously said that he’s selling his Ibiza house, which was once owned by musician/ producer Mike Oldfield, because he can’t stand the thought of his neighbor James Blunt making terrible music so close by. (This anecdote includes a bonus famous neighbor.) Celebrity, celebity, celebrity!
Why does this happen? Are there Realtors catering exclusively to famous people? The explanations are much more mundane than the mansions. For one thing, these are typically very expensive properties and people with millions to spend on a home (or second home, or third) are much more likely to be famous. So are their guests, who might end up liking the area so much they get their own property there. Or they might eventually buy the house they’re visiting themselves.
At any rate, having a celebrity-studded pedigree certainly adds to the mystique and cachet of a property when it’s on the market, such as many of the following homes, most of which were suggested by Realtor.com, including one from Trulia.com.
By Colleen KanePosted July 21, 2011
The Hollywood House of Stars
Location: Los Angeles
Famous occupants: Greta Garbo, Claudette Cobert, Gary Cooper, Clifton Webb, Bette Davis
Price: $8.2 million
Beds/Baths: 7/6
Living space: 5,633 square feet
Acreage: 1.19
This 1926 Spanish Colonial hacienda style home has an incredible amount of Hollywood history, even for star-studded Brentwood. Greta Garbo literally moved here in 1931 because she wanted to be left alone (according to one blogger, she was tired of neighbors peeking through her hedges). The others followed in succession through the mid-1940s. In April 2011, for the first time in 50 years, this former home of five silver-screen stars of the previous 50 years changed hands. In addition to having such a storied past, it offers the coveted Los Angeles triumvirate of views: hills, mountains, and ocean.
No Place Like Home
Location: Los Angeles
Famous occupants: Judy Garland, Quincy Jones, Marvin Gaye
Price: $5.2 million
Beds/Baths: 5/7
Living Space: 5,513 square feet
Acreage: 2.58
Judy Garland bought this Bel Air home when she was just 16, the year she won the role of Dorothy Gale in "The Wizard of Oz." According to one blog, which has photos of Judy on this property, she outfitted the home with a state-of-the-art recording machine and loads of books. Judy moved to her next residence in 1948, according to the Judy Garland Database—which exists!—so it’s likely the Bel Air house hosted the earliest years of another celebrity, baby Liza Minelli. The property, which sold earlier this year, also features a writer’s cabin.
Charlie in Charge
Location: Encino, Calif.
Famous occupants: Al Jolson, Don Ameche, Ruby Keeler, Matt LeBlanc, Kirstie Alley, Katey Sagal, Charlie Sheen, Denise Richards
Price: $5.99 million
Beds/Baths: 7/8.5
Living space: 8,522 square feet
Acreage: 2.26
If the walls of this circa-1935 residence could talk, the transcript might not be appropriate for family websites. Much like Charlie Sheen’s own reputation, the value of his former home has plunged since 2009, when it was $9.39 million and the second-most expensive celebrity estate in Encino. (Natalie Portman’s property was the first.) To be fair, though, Sheen sold this place in 2006. Adding to the entertainment legacy of this house, the current seller is writer/composer/TV producer Michael Jacobs, who counts among his credits “co-writer of the 'Charles in Charge' theme song.”
Shangri-La
Location: Malibu, California
Famous Occupants: Margo Albert, Mister Ed, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan
Price: $2,000,000
Beds / Baths: 4 / 3
Living Space: 4,449 square feet
Acreage: 1.73
Bob Dylan’s Shangri-La Malibu recording studio was named when the ranch was the home of its original owner, actress Margo Albert, who starred in the 1937 film Lost Horizon—hence the property’s name. After Albert, the property is rumored to have been a bordello catering to Hollywood elite. In the 1960s, “Mister Ed” was taped at Shangri-La, and Mister Ed himself was stabled on the property. In the early 1970s, Dylan revamped the property to house dual studios, designed to his specifications, for himself and The Band. Eric Clapton spent a few very creative months on the grounds. Many legends have recorded at the studio over the decades, and recent albums produced there include the Gossip, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Metallica, and Weezer. The property, which recently changed hands for much less than the asking price of $3.19 million, can still accommodate horses and has plenty of room for musicians, including a guest house.
A Four-Star Power House
Location: Los Angeles
Famous occupants: Avril Lavigne, Deryck Whibley, Travis Barker, Shanna Barker
Price: $9.5 million
Beds/Baths: 8/10.5
Living space: 12,184 square feet
Acreage: 0.59
Here we have a double-dip example of celebrity couples compounding the star power of a house that’s just eight years old. Singer Avril Lavigne and musician Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 currently are selling their Mediterranean mansion in the “exclusive gated enclave,” Bel Air Crest. The now-divorced couple bought it from musician Travis Barker of Blink-182 and actress Shanna Barker. Combine the star power of those four residents, and it practically equals one A-list former occupant!
Nashville’s North Shore
Location: Hendersonville, Tenn.
Famous occupants: Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Roseanne Cash, Barry Gibb
Price: $2.3 million in 2006
Beds/Baths 7/5
Acreage: 4.6
Johnny Cash is dead and his house burned down. This sentence is a song title by Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers, and alas, it is also the truth. The Nashville-area lake house where Johnny and June Carter Cash lived more than three decades together burned down in 2007, four years after Johnny’s death. The Bee Gee’s Barry Gibb bought it and was restoring it when it burned, and neighbors in Nashville’s north shore included an Oak Ridge Boy, while past neighbors included Roy Orbison and Luther Perkins, both whom tangled with fire themselves.
Chez Osbourne
Location: Beverly Hills, Calif.
Famous occupants: Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne, Jack Osbourne, Christina Aguilera
Price: $13.5 million
Beds/Baths: 6/9
Living space: 10,000 square feet
Acreage: 0.64
This pink Mediterranean-style mansion with the black-and-white Goth-ish interiors was once the abode of the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon, and their three kids, two of whom appeared on their reality series "The Osbournes." It features luxurious details, such as a beauty salon and guest house with recording studio, and master bedroom with a raised-platform bed and his-and-her baths. (We enjoy reminiscing about when it was still novel to see an aged rock star doddering around his real house on TV.) The home now belongs to Christina Aguilera, who put the house on the market following her recent divorce. She and the ex, music executive Jordan Bratman, purchased it from the Osbournes in 2007 for $11.5 million.
House of 'Glee'
Location: Beverly Hills, Calif.
Famous occupants: Diane Keaton, Ryan Murphy
Price: Unknown
Beds/Baths: 7/9
Living space: 8,434 square feet
Acreage: 0.49
This 1927 remodeled Spanish Colonial courtyard-style house once belonged to actress Diane Keaton, who sold it last year to Ryan Murphy, the creator of "Glee." The home was featured in Architectural Digest in 2008, and can be seen here. The sale price was not disclosed, but the property originally listed $12.99 million and was later reduced to $10.99 million. Whatever the cost, the creator of "Nip/Tuck" can probably handle it, as he likely has a few sheckels to spare.
Hollywood Hills Hideaway
Location: Los Angeles
Famous occupants: Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Jason Statham
Price: $11,495,000
Beds/Baths: 10 / 11
Living space: 5,334 square feet
Acreage: .86
This compound in the celebrity-studded Hollywood Hills consists of a Spanish-style house built in 1929 that's been updated and restored, a contemporary house, and a one-bedroom guest house. Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor recently sold it to Jason Statham, who himself recently sold his nearby bachelor pad. It's unclear how Statham intends to use the compound, but it may involve his model/actress girlfriend Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and no matter what he does, it will probably be action-packed.