Raphael Stevens

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    Rapper Aminè Just Picked Up a Sleek Architectural-Style House in Los Angeles

    Back in 2015, Adam Aminé Daniel snuck into an unlocked music room at Portland State University one fall evening, laptop in tow, and proceeded to record the vocals for a tune he dubbed Caroline. Then a marketing student/aspiring hip-hop star who “couldn’t afford to pay for a real music studio,” per The New York Times, he soon had a surprise breakout hit on his hands and went on to ink a deal with Republic Records.

    Today, the Grammy-nominated rapper, singer and songwriter, known simply to his fans as Aminè, has fortuitously amassed enough wealth to acquire a striking Architectural-style residence tucked away in a particularly secluded enclave of the Hollywood Hills. Records show the Oregon native recently paid Ryan Hudson a little over $2.7 million for the nearly half-acre spread, or just a slight $375,000 more than the Honey co-founder doled our for the place almost four years ago, in spring 2020.

    Originally built in the early 1980s, and situated beyond a lengthy gated driveway, the imposing all-white stucco structure contains three bedrooms and an equal number of bathrooms in nearly 3,600 square feet of open-concept living space on two levels—all of it decked out with a mix of dark hardwood and polished cement floors, high ceilings, expansive skylights and surround sound.

    Main-level highlights include a spacious entrance hallway that flows to a sunken living area warmed by a fireplace, as well as a gourmet kitchen featuring an eat-in island, top-tier stainless appliances, and an accompanying breakfast nook that opens via sliding glass doors to an al fresco lounging and entertaining terrace overlooking picturesque views of Mount Lee. There’s also a wet bar-equipped media room on this floor.

    Upstairs, a sumptuous primary bedroom comes complete with a fireplace, large walk-in closet, separate office space and access to a roof deck, plus a luxe bath outfitted with dual vanities, a spa tub and steam shower; and outdoors, the grounds host meandering nature pathways shaded by mature eucalyptus and oak trees. Topping it all off: an attached two-car garage and additional parking for guests.

    After Caroline peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2017, Aminè went on to release the albums Good for You and Limbo, along with the mixtapes ONEPOINTFIVE, showcasing the multi-platinum hit Reel It In, and TWOPOINTFIVE. During his career, the 29-year-old also received a Grammy nod for “Best Dance Recording” as a featured artist on Disclosure’s My High, and most recently, he released Kaytraminè with his longtime collaborator Kaytranada in 2023. More

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    Christina Aguilera and Liza Minnelli Once Lived in This L.A. Home. Now It Can Be Yours for $8.4 Million.

    With roots in midcentury design and a celebrity pedigree, a newly listed home in Hollywood Hills is about as L.A. as it gets.  

    Nestled above the Sunset Strip, a modernist gem originally designed by late architect Harry Gesner has reemerged on the market for a cool $8.4 million with Levik Stephan and Anita Stephan with Hilton & Hyland. According to public records, the circa-1960s property has been on and off the market for roughly two-and-a-half years, initially at almost $10 million. Gesner, who died in 2022 at the age of 97, was commissioned to build the abode in 1960 by film producer-director Jack Haley Jr., who went on to marry actress and entertainer Liza Minnelli in 1974. The couple lived together at the house up until their divorce in 1979. 

    The dining room has sweeping city and ocean views.

    Noel Kleinman

    Almost 25 years later, in 2003, pop star Christina Aguilera shelled out $5 million for the digs. During her residency, the singer tapped designer and developer Steve Hermann to remodel the glass-walled spread before she eventually handed the keys over in 2011 to the current owner and seller, Beautyblender president and former Shiseido executive Carsten Fischer. Altogether, the dwelling comprises four bedrooms, five-and-a-half bathrooms, and 6,500 square feet of living space.

    Tucked behind a geometric gate and entered via an angled, slat-wood door, the home is full of architectural details, including warm walnut floors, exposed-beam ceilings, marble, and stone. in addition to the huge walls of glass, there are numerous skylights and clerestory windows galore that let in tons of natural light. Plus, you’ll have some pretty epic views of the ocean and the city, too. 

    The family room features a sunken conversation pit with a custom sofa.

    Noel Kleinman

    Some of the standout spaces include the sleek family room, complete with a sunken conversation pit with bespoke seating and a steel-faced fireplace. Nearby, the chef’s kitchen is decked out with a center island, top-of-the-line appliances, and a breakfast nook. The primary suite was designed for pampering. Measuring a whopping 1,200 square feet, the plush retreat sports two fireplaces, a sitting area, a walk-in closet, and an ensuite bathroom clad in marble. Here, you’ll find a freestanding soaking tub, a glass-enclosed shower, and, oddly enough, a three-sided aquarium.  

    The primary suite opens up to the backyard pool.

    Noel Kleinman

    The aerie abode is chock full of even more swanky perks like a discreet lower level that holds a temperature-controlled wine cellar with a wet bar as well as an 18-person screening room with plush built-in seating. Outside, the backyard is kitted out with a large swimming pool accented with azure tiles, a lagoon-style spa, a barbecue area, and an outdoor fireplace. An expansive deck serves as both an entertainment space and observation outlook so you can take full advantage of the panoramic vistas.

    Click here to see more photos of Christina Aguilera and Liza Minnelli’s former home.

    Noel Kleinman

    Authors

    Abby Montanez

    Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…

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    Kesha Is Seeking $6 Million for This Modern Compound on L.A.’s Westside

    Four years ago, in the midst of a long-running legal war with powerhouse music producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald, Kesha dropped an impressive $5 million on a brand-new home in the increasingly expensive Westside neighborhood of Mar Vista. The veteran singer-songwriter has occupied the bold and unapologetically blocky compound ever since the Covid-19 pandemic, though she’s now apparently ready to seek out new real estate pastures. The Mar Vista estate has popped up on the open market, asking just a hair under $6 million.

    The 37-year-old Tennessee native, who first burst onto the music scene in 2009 and has since sold 134 million records nationwide, remains perhaps best-known for her debut single and mega-hit TiK ToK, though she’s also racked up multiple other top 10 songs (Your Love Is My Drug, We R Who We R, Blow). Last year, she released her fifth studio album Gag Order, which received positive reviews from music critics.

    Built on speculation by a local developer, the nearly 6,000 sq. ft. main house was completed in 2019. Within the slick wood-and-concrete exterior, the house offers chic hardwood floors, neutral decor and a fireplace-equipped living room with high ceilings. There’s also an open kitchen with a massive island, quartz cabinetry and designer appliances, plus an adjacent formal dining area.

    The main house also packs in five bedrooms, and the upstairs master contains a private balcony, spa-style bath with soaking tub and a Rodeo Drive boutique-style dressing room. Naturally, this is also a full-fledged “smart home” with a full range of security cameras, a sophisticated home automation system and and speakers in each room.

    Out back, the landscaping is kept simple with a spacious grassy lawn, slick concrete pavers for outdoor entertaining, and a vast swimmer’s pool with inset spa. But perhaps the best recreational feature is the two-story detached guesthouse, which contains another two bedrooms, two baths and also functions as an open-air movie theater—a projector that projects onto the side of the guesthouse, so guests can watch a movie from the backyard.

    It’s not particularly surprising that Kesha would have opted to buy in Mar Vista; she’s got a documented fondness for this particular area of Los Angeles. Back in 2014, she picked up a small bungalow in the trendy nearby neighborhood of Venice, Calif., though she sold ultimately sold that $1.7 million place after barely a year of ownership. And in 2016, she sold a $1.4 million mini-compound in Nashville, Tenn. to a non-famous buyer. More

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    Charlize Theron Just Bought a $3.3 Million House in SoCal’s Studio City

    Barely a month after she hoisted her mother’s Los Angeles house in a particularly celeb-packed pocket of the Hollywood Hills onto the market for $3.8 million, Charlize Theron has upgraded Gerda Maritz into a new home. Records show the veteran actress—who also owns three other properties in the Southern California area—just plunked down $3.3 million for some modern farmhouse-style digs in the desirable Colfax Meadows neighborhood of Studio City.

    Originally built in 2016 and recently updated, per the listing, the two-story property offers five en-suite bedrooms and six bathrooms in a little more than 3,300 square feet of open-concept living space adorned throughout with decorative wainscoting and crown molding, wide-plank wood floors and high ceilings. Numerous windows also provide plenty of natural light.

    Theron’s newly acquired residence sits on less than a quarter-acre parcel of land, at the end of a wide driveway that empties out at an attached two-car garage fronting the white wood-sided structure. From there, a walkway leads up to the glass-paneled front door, which opens into a living area nestled alongside a dining room boasting a coffered ceiling and built-in china cabinet. There’s also a cozy family room anchored by a fireplace bordered by custom shelving and sliding glass doors spilling outside, plus a gourmet kitchen outfitted with white oak cabinetry, a marble-clad eat-in island, and top-tier Miele and Wolf appliances.

    A floating iron-railed staircase heads upstairs, where a posh master retreat comes complete with a balcony, “diva” walk-in closet, and two-way fireplace that connects on the other side to a luxe spa-like bath equipped with dual vanities, a freestanding soaking tub and large glass-encased shower; and outdoors, the private and grassy backyard hosts a fire-pit, heated pool and spa, and an al fresco lounging and entertaining terrace bolstered by a built-in Hestan grill.

    A native of South Africa, the 48-year-old actress first gained notoriety after appearing in the films The Devil’s Advocate, Mighty Joe Young and The Cider House Rules, and went on to win a 2004 “Best Actress” Oscar for her portrayal of real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster. Theron has since appeared in numerous movies and TV series, including North Country, Tully, Bombshell, The Italian Job, Mad Max: Fury Road and Atomic Blonde. Under Denver and Delilah Productions, she’s also produced The Burning Plain, Dark Places and Long Shot.

    In addition to her just-purchased abode, Theron also lays claim to another Studio City house she paid $2.6 million for in late 2022—reportedly occupied by another family member—as well as a 20-acre ranch in Ojai that she bought for $4.2 million in summer 2018 and her main residence, a 1920s Mediterranean-style villa in Hollywood Hills acquired for $1.6 million back in the late 1990s. As for her mother’s old Hollywood Hills home, that place is currently pending sale. More

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    A Jamaican Hideaway Featured in the Bob Marley Biopic ‘One Love’ Can Be Yours for $16.8 Million

    Always wanted to live like a legendary reggae musician who sold more than 20 million records during his lifetime? Now’s your chance, because the blissful Jamaican retreat currently appearing in the newly released film One Love has just hit the market for $16.8 million.

    Featured prominently in the biopic, it’s at these cool digs that the late Bob Marley (played by Kingsley Ben-Adir) went to recuperate after he was shot during a 1970s assassination attempt. It’s also said to have been a favorite outpost of the Rolling Stones and Willie Nelson, and was written up in the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz.

    Nestled on a remote 26-acre parcel high atop Jamaica’s Blue Mountains—a UNESCO World Heritage Site laced with coffee farms, giant swallowtail butterflies and more than 300 species of birds—the boutique luxury resort in St. Andrew, near the Caribbean island’s capital city of Kingston, is being offered by the U.S. marketing team of Ivan Hernandez, Leslie Cooper and Alex Miranda at Compass.

    Each cottage boasts four-poster beds and private verandas overlooking serene gardens and picturesque views.

    Navarone Morgan

    Known as Strawberry Hill Hotel, the charming white wood-framed and shingle-roof dwelling is currently owned by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who acquired the property in 1974 and subsequently enlisted local architect Ann Hodges to restore the premises in the ’80s after damage from Hurricane Gilbert.

    Originally built in the 18th century, Strawberry Hill actually began its life as a coffee plantation and strawberry farm that was gifted by the Royal Family in 1780 to Horace Walpole, the 4th Earl of Orford and son of Prime Minister Robert Walpole. The site went on to serve as a naval hospital for foreign officers in the late 18th century, then belonged to several well-known Jamaican families before ultimately going to Blackwell.

    A serene lagoon-style swimming pool is ringed by palms and exotic blossoms.

    Navarone Morgan

    Today, the establishment is part of Backwell’s Island Outpost hotel chain, and boasts 13 Georgian-style cottages adorned with plantation shutters, fretwork fanlights hand-crafted by local artisans, mahogany four-poster beds and French doors spilling out to private verandas. There’s also a restaurant and bar, an indoor/outdoor spa with five treatment rooms, infinity-edge swimming pool, a yoga pavilion, meandering pathways leading to hidden pergolas, a helipad, and per the listing, the opportunity for the new owner to add 16 more villas.

    Click here for more photos of Jamaica’s Strawberry Hill Hotel.

    Navarone Morgan More

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    Inside the $3 Million L.A. Home of Late Game Show Icon Bob Barker

    The first house in what is known today as L.A.’s Outpost Estates neighborhood, which winds up into the mountains north of Hollywood, was built in the 1850s by Don Tómas Urquidez in the middle of a sycamore grove near what is today the intersection of Outpost Drive and Hillside Avenue. The three-room adobe structure was later owned by Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, the first publisher of the Los Angeles Times, who dubbed it the Outpost.

    The land around Otis’s Outpost was eventually acquired by developer Charles E. Toberman, who erected a 30-foot red neon sign that read “Outpost” to promote the upscale development that he called Outpost Estates. Early residents of the hillside enclave included silver screen superstars like Bela Lugosi and Dolores Del Rio, and current showbiz residents include Charlize Theron and David Lynch.

    The living room is ample with a fireplace, stained glass, and French doors to the yard.

    Sam Ghazi

    In 1929, a spacious new house was completed on the site of the original adobe cottage, and six decades later, in 1969, the Spanish-Revival-style home was acquired by 19-time Emmy-winning game show host and dedicated animal rights advocate Bob Barker. The beloved host of The Price Is Right occupied the vintage residence for more than 50 years before he died in August 2023, just a few months shy of his 100th birthday. 

    Today, Barker’s home is listed for sale for $2.988 million with Robert Valandra of The Flying V Realty Investment Company. Valandra is one of Barker’s nephews and the executor of the trust that owns and is selling the property.

    Original elements are present throughout the circa 1929 Spanish Revival-style home.

    Sam Ghazi

    In need of a restoration and update, the nearly 5,000-square-foot fixer-upper is still in possession of much enviable original detail, including stained-glass windows, wrought-iron detailing, antique light fixtures, and, on the wood-beamed ceiling over the switchback staircase, a delicate fresco. In the 28-foot-long living room, a fireplace is surrounded by the original wood paneling and arched French doors open to the backyard, while the library includes an original walk-in wet bar. Elsewhere are a dining room, a separate breakfast room, a kitchen with a butler’s pantry, a large laundry room, and a couple of powder rooms.

    There are four bedrooms and three bathrooms on the upper floor. Two bedrooms share a Jack and Jill bath; another has a private bath; and the primary suite includes a bathroom of its own, along with a walk-in closet and a dressing room.

    The backyard and swimming pool are hedged for privacy and gated for security.

    Sam Ghazi

    There’s an almost 400-square-foot garage at the end of a gated driveway and a 600-square-foot basement level that could be used for additional bedrooms, a screening room, or a home office. 

    The slightly more than quarter-acre parcel is privatized by tall and thick hedging. Several rooms on the ground floor spill out to the backyard, and stairs provide access to a long balcony on the upper level. Stepping stones across a tree-shaded lawn connect the house to the swimming pool, which is surrounded by flagstone terracing.

    The property is number 673 on the L.A.’s list of historical and cultural monuments and, as marketing material states, offers a preservation-minded buyer the opportunity to “bring this sleeping beauty back to life.”

    Click here for more photos of Bob Barker’s home.

    Sam Ghazi; CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images More

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    Bob Barker’s House in Photos

    Just curious why this is a fixer upper when Bob Barker’s net worth when he died was $70 million dollars. The exterior brickwork is broken up, and the floor tile in the main bathroom looks old and terrible, as does the shower tile. No offense, but had Barker abandoned this home to live elsewhere, or was he just extremely thrifty? There’s just a disconnect here. Thanks. More

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    The Menendez Brothers’s Murder Mansion in Beverly Hills Just Sold for $17 Million

    It is perhaps one of the most infamous homes in true crime history. But for all the darkness that surrounds it, the Los Angeles mansion where Erik and Lyle Menendez murdered their parents today bears no remnant of the grisly crime for which it is known. Lavish and well-maintained, the Mediterranean-style mansion sits behind carefully clipped hedges and sycamore trees on a lovely, sunny street in the Beverly Hills Flats neighborhood.

    The home’s macabre history also failed to scare well-heeled buyers away. After putting it up for sale at the end of last year, longtime owner Samuel Delug has just unloaded the place for exactly $17 million—a discount off the nearly $20 million ask, but still more than quadruple what the local businessman paid for the house back in 2001. The new owners, per records, are the Lahijanis, a wealthy Iranian family based in Beverly Hills.

    Inside, the palatial home boasts a two-story foyer with limestone floors, a wood-paneled billiard room, a living room with Palladian windows and a den with a wet bar. It was in that very den, as many true crime aficionados know, where wealthy businessman Jose Menendez and his wife Kitty were shot dead with a pair of 12-gauge shotguns in August 1989.

    The Menendez family had been renting the Beverly Hills house while they waited for construction on their dream home in Calabasas to be finished, and the resulting publicity generated by the murders catapulted the house into the international spotlight. In 1993, the 90210 manse was bought by Murder, She Wrote co-creator William Link, who sold the place in 2001 to Delug.

    Built in 1927 but radically remodeled in the 1970s and again in the mid 1980s, the Mediterranean-style mansion also offers seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms in about 9,000 square feet of living space, all of it set on a half-acre lot with a backyard swimming pool and detached guesthouse.

    Other notable home amenities include backyard rose gardens, a wine cellar with a tasting room, a wood-paneled office,and an enormous primary bedroom with black-and-gold carpeting, plus dual bathrooms and dual showroom closets. The two-story guesthouse contains an upstairs bedroom with a private balcony, plus an attached one-car garage accessed via a discreet alleyway that runs behind the property.

    Amy Vertun of Rodeo Realty held the listing; Jordana Leigh, also of Rodeo Realty, repped the buyers. More