Celebrities have a hard time staying out of the spotlight. Their photos, daily habits, and personal lives are always gracing the pages of gossip magazines, whether they like it or not. And with the so-called paparazzi always lurking, it’s no wonder that Hollywood celebs value privacy above all else when buying homes.
For celebrities who have to stay close to the spotlight, but who also want to enjoy some quiet beach time away from the prying eyes of the media, Malibu is a highly sought-after destination.
This exclusive neighborhood has been a Hollywood favorite since the 1930s, and nowadays its private beaches are lined with stunning celebrity homes (and some quite memorable TV show homes). The Malibu lifestyle even appeals to real-life royals, as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were checking out properties in the area earlier this year — before they reportedly decided to settle down in Santa Barbara.
Celebrities that call Malibu home
Celebs love Malibu because, even though it’s just a stone’s throw from Los Angeles, it offers a lot more privacy and seclusion than, say, Beverly Hills, not to mention some downright gorgeous beachfront views. Some of our favorite movie and music stars have lived here on and off during the years, while some have no plans of ever leaving. Let’s check out 10 of the biggest celebrities who live in Malibu right now, in no particular order.
Courteney Cox
Hollywood darling Courteney Cox has a lot in common with our favorite F.R.I.E.N.D. One thing is that both Courteney and Monica, her character in the iconic sitcom, are highly attached to their homes. Cox has lived in Malibu for more than a decade, and she doesn’t have any intention of ever leaving.
Over the years, she has put in a lot of work into her forever , a Malibu beach house which features guest cottages, a movie screening room, as well as a tennis house, among other things.
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga’s full-time residence is a 10,270-square-foot stunner right across from Zuma Beach. The singer paid $22.5 million for her home in 2014, and she’s become so fond of it that she’s dubbed it her ‘Gypsy palace.’ We’ve recently taken you on a tour of Lady Gaga’s precious sanctuary, which was also featured in the Netflix documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two.
Spoiler alert: the house isn’t as wacky as you might expect it to be, at least not when compared to the homes of other celebs on this list.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Hollywood leading man Leo DiCaprio owns several luxury properties around the world, including a lavish oceanfront home in a part of Malibu known as ‘Billionaires Beach.’
DiCaprio bought his 1,765-square-foot home in 1998, presumably after hitting it big with Titanic, and invested in upgrades over the years. The actor, whose roles include Rick Dalton in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, decided to list the three-bedroom bungalow as a rental in 2017, for ‘just’ $25,000 a month.
Miley Cyrus
Singer Miley Cyrus has been living in Malibu for quite some time now, and she doesn’t seem to be in any rush to leave. She used to share a home here with her former husband Liam Hemsworth, but it was destroyed in the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which damaged a lot of celebrity homes in the area.
Cyrus wasn’t going to let this unfortunate event run her out of Malibu, so she bought the house right next door to the original site. Her funky bachelorette pad cost her $2.4 million, $4.4 million shy of the home she used to share with Hemsworth.
Caitlyn Jenner
You might remember that during season 10 of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Caitlyn Jenner (back then, Bruce) moved into a stunning home in Malibu, yearning for seclusion and getting away from all the media hype.
Not long after, Jenner moved on to a stunning hilltop mansion (also in the Malibu area) that came with awesome views of the ocean, which she now shares with her dogs and current girlfriend, Sophia Hutchins. The 2018 Woolsey Fire nearly destroyed her idyllic home, but luckily the damage was contained and Jenner can continue enjoying her Malibu peace and quiet.
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr., better known as Tony Stark from his iconic run as Iron Man in the Avengers franchise, has been living in Malibu for quite some time now.
He purchased a massive $13.4 million property in 2009, which includes pretty much everything you could ever dream of, including a zoo, playgrounds, swimming pools, and jaw-dropping car collections. The actor must have seriously fallen in love with the area, since he snapped up another Malibu home in 2017 for $3.5 million.
Interestingly enough, this house shares the same zip code as Tony Stark’s fictional home near Point Dume. Coincidence? We think not.
Rick Rubin
Def Jam Recordings co-founder and iconic music producer Rick Rubin is no stranger to luxury Malibu living. The producer purchased the legendary Shangri-La recording studio, which once housed Bob Dylan, in 2011, and he also bought several homes in the nearby area over the years.
Rubin seems to also have a hidden talent for interior design, as one of his Malibu projects was highly praised and featured by the Wall Street Journal in 2017. One of the most unique features of his Malibu oasis lies in its emphasis on music — every room in the house is fitted with a state-of-the-art speaker system that ensures uninterrupted listening experiences.
Cher
Music and fashion icon Cher is another long-time resident of Malibu, which should be reason enough for anyone to move there immediately. The singer teamed up with Ron Wilson for the 19th time to renovate a Renaissance-style villa overlooking the ocean and turn it into a fortress of privacy.
The result is truly stunning, and reminiscent of the former Versace Mansion in Miami Beach, which Cher visited on multiple occasions. The 16,000-square-foot home is, as Architectural Digest put it, just ‘as dramatic as its owner,’ featuring Gothic chandeliers, Egyptian rugs, and more.
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson’s Malibu mansion looks like it was built centuries ago, but it actually dates back to the 1990s. The actor paid $11.5 million to buy it from David Duchovny and Tea Leoni in 2008, and has continued to own it ever since, even though he’s put it up for sale twice over the years.
In 2017, Gibson listed his 6,578-square-foot home for $17.5 million, but failed to actually found a buyer for it. He then listed it again in 2019 for $14.5 million, but the discount didn’t take the property off his hands (at least not yet).
Cindy Crawford
Supermodel Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber own quite a few properties in California. Among them is a gorgeous Malibu home that they bought in the 1990s, and which they’ve been using as a summer rental for $45,000 a month.
They listed the property for sale, and managed to find a buyer earlier this year who was going to acquire it for $6.5 million. Unfortunately, the buyer had to back out of the deal due to the global pandemic, but Crawford was very understanding of the whole situation, and graciously let the buyer out of the deal, even returning their deposit.
Crawford is so in love with the area that she’s got another gorgeous Malibu property to enjoy with her lovely family, which Vogue toured in 2017.
These are just 10 of the biggest Hollywood celebrities living in Malibu at the moment. But since the area is unlikely to lose its appeal among the rich and famous, expect to see many more A-listers flocking to its sandy beaches and oceanfront location. However, if Malibu doesn’t tickle your fancy, then be sure to check out these 10 celebrities who live in Beverly Hills.
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Source: fancypantshomes.com