Brentwood

Almost three years after Kate Beckinsale offloaded her longtime digs in Los Angeles for around $400,000 more than the $3.6 million she originally paid back in 2006, the Underworld star’s onetime estate has popped up for sale again, this time donning a $4.3 million price tag. The listing is held by Brandon Assanti of The Agency.

Owned by the English-born TV and film actress for 15 years, records show the four-bedroom, five-bath property in the Brentwood neighborhood was last sold to a non-famous couple for just under $4 million in fall 2021 and has since undergone few changes aside from some cosmetic tweaks.

A fireside family room lined with French doors sits adjacent to the dual-island kitchen.

Blake Worthington

RELATED: Ben Affleck Just Paid $20.5 Million for a Cliff May-Designed Equestrian Spread in Los Angeles

Nestled along a ridge directly above bucolic Mandeville Canyon and separated from the street by a tightly clumped patch of towering trees and an attached two-car garage, the white wood-sided and stone-accented house sports a distinctly Cape Cod, East Coast-esque influence. Inside, a little more than 3,600 square feet of living space is infused with light via banks of glassy French doors. There is a crafty mix of maple and tile floors, as well as high ceilings and plenty of recessed lights.

A front porch topped by a large portico serves as an entry into the home’s open-plan interiors. Among the highlights are a living room anchored by a stone fireplace and an adjoining dining room punctuated by white wainscoting and taupe walls, plus an office/library with built-in bookshelves and additional storage above. Abutting a spacious fireside family room is a gourmet kitchen boasting Carrara marble and solid walnut countertops, dual islands, and stainless appliances.

Upstairs, the charming primary suite is finished in the same sort of traditional decor style as the rest of the property. In addition to a double-sided fireplace and a sky-lit bath, its most unique feature is access to a bridge that passes over the grassy yard below on its way to a hidden hot tub in the woodsy hillside above the house. Elsewhere are three other bedrooms, one of which includes a small loft space accessible by ladder.

An inviting fireside patio is ideal for al fresco lounging and entertaining.

Blake Worthington

RELATED: Helen Hunt Just Scored Another L.A. Home for $6.45 Million

Though the backyard is somewhat small and there’s no swimming pool, the verdantly landscaped grounds are fully private and boast beautiful gardens, an expansive stone patio warmed by a fireplace, and even an outdoor shower.

Born in London to married actors Judy Loe and the late Richard Beckinsale, Kate has followed in her parent’s showbiz footsteps. After some minor TV roles, she got her big break with Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing while she was still studying French and Russian literature at Oxford University. She went on to star in numerous movies, including Pearl Harbor and Laurel Canyon, before she was cast as Selene in the Underworld film series in 2003 and morphed into a perennial action heroine.

Click here for more photos of Kate Beckinsale’s former L.A. house.

Blake Worthington More

Back in spring 2023, almost a year to the date after Alexandria Daddario and Andrew Form paid $7.6 million for an alluring midcentury-modern fixer home in Los Angeles crafted in the 1950s by noted modernist architect Allen Siple, the Mayfair Witches and White Lotus star and her film producer husband went on to dole out $2.8 million for another smaller property nearby. Now the couple has decided to pare down their real estate holdings, having flipped the latter residence in the leafy Mandeville Canyon neighborhood of Brentwood back on the market for a smidge under $3 million.

Originally built in the late 1950s by surfer-turned-architect Matt Kivlin, the 2,418-square-foot dwelling underwent an extensive renovation and reimagining at the hands of its previous owners in collaboration with designer Claire Thomas and subsequently appeared in an April 2022 issue of Architectural Digest.

Tucked into a steep hillside parcel of land spanning just over a third of an acre, the treehouse-like structure’s first level is comprised mostly of storage space and a bedroom that could double as an office, plus an accompanying two-car garage. Up above are three bedrooms, three baths, and open-plan living spaces boasting blonde hardwood floors topped with post-and-beam ceilings.

RELATED: Helen Hunt Just Scored Another L.A. Home for $6.45 Million

Highlights include a combined living and dining area separated by a large wood-burning fireplace clad in glazed Fireclay Tile and sporting sliding glass doors spilling out to a wraparound deck. An adjacent kitchen outfitted with oak cabinetry, a terrazzo tile backsplash, golden-hued marble countertops, and stainless appliances connects to a lofty den decked out with green shag carpet.

Elsewhere in the house is a primary suite flaunting an eye-catching bath spotlighted by dual vanities and a glass-encased wet room holding a rainfall shower and a Japanese-style hammered copper soaking tub. A pair of guest bedrooms share a bath adorned with pink-and-marigold tile. And outdoors, the turf-clad grounds are laced with mature oak and sycamore trees and host a cold plunge and a barrel sauna.

Back in late 2022, Daddario and Form sold a French-Mediterranean property in L.A.’s historic Hancock Park community to Sweetgreen co-founder Nathaniel Ru for $7.7 million, or nearly $400,000 more than they paid Shameless creator John Wells for the place in summer 2021 before they spruced up the premises with the interior design firm Nickey Kehoe. The couple, married since June 2022, are currently expecting their first child together. More

Though she already owns one home on the west side of Los Angeles, Helen Hunt has plumped up her real estate portfolio yet again with another residence. Records show the Oscar-winning actress, who’s probably most known for her TV and film roles in Mad About You, As Good As It Gets, What Women Want, and Twister, recently picked up the keys to a charming lodge-style residence in a prime pocket of Brentwood for a substantial $1 million off the asking price.

Hunt paid serial entrepreneur Spencer Rascoff $6.45 million for her newly acquired property, which was purchased by the Zillow co-founder and former CEO back in late 2020 for $5.7 million—or $1 million more than Zillow’s estimated market value at the time.

Built in the early 1950s and updated in the years since, the stone-clad structure rests on a leafy parcel of land spanning a little more than a quarter of an acre and is fronted by an attached two-car garage tucked off to the side and a gated pathway that travels across a footbridge spanning a flowing stream before emptying out at the custom-carved front doors. Out back is a lagoon-style swimming pool.

Once inside, the three-bedroom, four-bath spread offers almost 3,250 square feet of single-level living space adorned throughout with hardwood floors, vaulted wood-beam ceilings dotted with skylights, and French doors in almost every room. The open concept floor plan is highlighted by a family room with sliding glass doors spilling out to a trellis-covered patio warmed by a fireplace.

An adjacent fireside dining area connects to the kitchen, which is outfitted with a breakfast bar and newer stainless appliances, including a snazzy glass-front Sub-Zero refrigerator. There also are formal dining and living rooms, as well as an inviting primary suite flaunting a fireplace, a walk-in closet, and a tiled bath equipped with dual vanities and a combination tub and shower.

Hunt, who once owned a Hollywood Hills mansion now owned by Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, still maintains a roughly 4,200-square-foot home in the same Brentwood neighborhood that she purchased for $4.6 million in 2001, as well as a home in Hawaii that she paid $3.7 million for in 2006. As for Rascoff, the co-founder of Hotwire.com, Zillow, dot.LA, Pacaso, and Supernova, he still lays claim to a $19.7 million Brentwood mansion that’s a few doors down from the place he just sold to Hunt. More

Seemingly rare are the Tinseltown romances that play out like they do in those endearingly sappy Hallmark movies. Case in point: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, who recently split after nearly two years of marriage. The result? A rumored divorce, along with the inevitable sale of the 38,000-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion the once-happy A-Listers shared for a little more than a year.

Affleck has nonetheless trudged on residentially, with the California-born actor and filmmaker first hanging out in a $100,000-per-month rental near his ex-wife Jennifer Garner and their teen-aged children and now picking up Los Angeles digs in the horse-friendly Sullivan Canyon community on the border of Brentwood and Pacific Palisades, right next door to a home owned by another Hollywood legend, Diane Keaton.

The creamy stucco, stone, and terracotta-roof home is fronted by a stone-paved motor court and an attached three-car garage.

Tyler Hogan

Records show Affleck doled out $20.5 million for his new estate, which is roughly $16 million more than previous owners David Calvert-Jones, the Australian-born nephew of billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and his wife Karina paid for the property back in early 2010. Before that, it was owned for almost five decades by Hollywood actress and activist Maxine Cooper and her Oscar-nominated producer and screenwriter husband, Sy Gomberg.

Originally built and designed in the early 1940s by noted architect Cliff May, the equestrian property underwent an extensive renovation and expansion during the Calvert-Joneses tenure in collaboration with architect Steve Giannetti and interior designer Kelly Harmon and includes a five-bedroom, five-bath house featuring roughly 6,200 square feet of split-level living space.

A fireside living room with a vaulted wood-beam ceiling flows to the outdoor gardens.

Tyler Hogan

Nestled amid a cul-de-sac parcel spanning nearly two-thirds of an acre within the Riviera Ranch enclave that May developed, the walled and gated structure is known as Paradise Found and highlighted by a fireside living area that doubles as a screening room and a formal dining room accessible via pocketing wood doors. Also standing out is a gourmet kitchen outfitted with an eat-in island, top-tier stainless appliances, and a glass-lined breakfast nook, as well as a family room, a private office space, and a primary suite boasting a fireside sitting area and a luxe bath with dual vanities, a built-in soaking tub, and a separate shower.

Yet more amenities can be found outdoors, where the garden-laced grounds are spotlighted by a central courtyard hosting a pool and spa flanked by an open-air cabana, along with several spots that are ideal for al fresco lounging and entertaining. There’s also a two-story detached guesthouse, horse stables, and an attached three-car garage resting beside a spacious cobblestone motor court.

Set on nearly two-thirds of an acre, the property includes a structure where you can keep your horses.

Tyler Hogan

In addition to his just-purchased Brentwood pad, Affleck also lays claim to a secluded riverfront country estate in Georgia that he picked up in 2003, back when he and Lopez coupled up the first time around. It was here that the erstwhile couple held a lavish wedding celebration in 2022. As for Lopez, who has been spotted looking at homes in L.A. for the past couple of months, she recently sold a duplex penthouse in New York for $25 million and still owns a Hamptons estate she paid $10 million for more than a decade ago. More

For many years, Kendrick Lamar has lived in the seaside town of Manhattan Beach. After years of renting, the acclaimed rapper and songwriter bought a brand-new mansion there about five years ago, with the sandy beach and deep blue sea lying just two short blocks from his doorstep. But he began making moves far more inland in late 2022, when he purchased a traditional spread in the prime East Gate neighborhood of Bel Air. Now he’s reportedly added another Los Angeles property to his portfolio, this one a modern farmhouse-style spread in the Lower Mandeville Canyon area of Brentwood that sits right next door to a home owned by Gwyneth Paltrow.

Though records have yet to clear, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Lamar has doled out “more than $40 million” in an off-market deal for his new estate, which is roughly $20.5 million more than its previous owners, Viet Dinh, the former chief legal and policy officer at Fox Corp., and his wife Jennifer Ashworth, paid for the property back in 2019. Should escrow close, it will be one of the priciest transactions in L.A. so far this year.

An aerial view of the property.

Apple Maps

Built in 2018 and designed by noted L.A. architect Philip Vertoch, the wood and stone-trimmed structure features nine bedrooms and 15 baths in a little more than 16,200 square feet of tri-level living space adorned throughout with blonde hardwood floors, high wood-beam ceilings, and stone, reclaimed wood, and marble accents. Glitzy amenities include a duo of staircases and an elevator, as well as a wine cellar, a gym, a movie theater, and a spa bath sporting a sauna and massage and steam rooms.

Hidden away behind gates on a parcel of land spanning nearly an acre, Lamar’s new residence has an attached three-car garage tucked off to the side. Though current MLS images aren’t available and it’s not known whether the Dinhses made any improvements during their tenure, previous listings show a spacious living area boasting built-in shelving, a wet bar, a fireplace notched into a wood-paneled wall, and glass doors spilling out to a covered loggia warmed by a fireplace.

Other highlights include formal living and dining rooms, plus a gourmet kitchen outfitted with an eat-in island and a secondary caterer’s kitchen. Sequestered upstairs, the opulent primary retreat has a two-way fireplace between the bedroom and a lounge area, along with a balcony and dual walk-in closets and baths. More amenities can be found outdoors, where the private and grassy grounds are spotlighted by a pool with a Baja shelf and spa. There’s also a detached guesthouse on the premises.

Over the course of his 20-plus-year music career, Lamar has certainly achieved rare levels of success. The 36-year-old Compton native won a whopping 17 Grammys out of 50 nominations, nabbed a Pulitzer Prize for DAMN—the first nonclassical or jazz recording ever to earn the coveted honor for music—and even appeared in a novel hip-hop-centric Super Bowl halftime show in 2022.

In addition to his Brentwood, Bel Air, and Manhattan Beach homes, Lamar lays claim to a Calabasas residence long occupied by several of his family members. And last year, he paid $8.6 million in cash for a three-floor penthouse in New York City’s Pierhouse building that offers views of Lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Per WSJ, real estate agents involved in the deal included Cindy Ambuehl and Morgan Trent of Christie’s International Real Estate and Mark Norton of Palm Realty Boutique. More

In Los Angeles, tearing down historic homes has become commonplace, causing the loss of some particularly fabled old beauties. One famous recent case in point: the “Zimmerman House” in Brentwood, which was crafted in the 1950s by modernist architect Craig Ellwood and purchased by Hollywood actor Chris Pratt and author Katherine Schwarzenegger, who destroyed the structure in favor of a brand-new mansion.

Another Brentwood home recently sparking ire among demolition foes has been this storied 1920s hacienda, the site of Marilyn Monroe’s 1962 death and the only house she ever owned. Resting amid a half-acre parcel of land at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive, the residence was acquired last year in an $8.4 million, all-cash deal by billionaire heiress Brinah Milstein and her husband Roy Bank, a former reality TV producer, who are seeking to demolish the place.

The acquisition of Monroe’s house gives Milstein and Bank more than an acre of prime Brentwood land.

Google Earth

The couple, who own the roughly 6,000-square-foot mansion immediately next door, for which they paid $8.2 million back in 2016, would like to link the two properties together to create one large compound. But in January, after much strum and drang by preservationists, the Monroe residence scored a reprieve when the L.A. city council unanimously voted to consider the house for historic preservation, prompting the building department to revoke the couple’s demolition.

According to a new lawsuit, Milstein and Bank are now asserting that they have the right to demolish the famed home, claiming that city officials acted unconstitutionally in their efforts to designate the home as a landmark and accusing them of “backdoor machinations” in trying to preserve a house that doesn’t meet the criteria for status as a historic cultural monument.

The lawsuit claims the home has had 14 owners since Monroe’s death and has been substantially altered, with more than a dozen permits issued for various remodels during the past six decades. “There is not a single piece of the house that includes any physical evidence that Ms. Monroe ever spent a day at the house, not a piece of furniture, not a paint chip, not a carpet, nothing,” the lawsuit says. It also claims that the home is a nuisance to the neighborhood, with fans and tour buses regularly stopping by to snap pictures of the privacy wall.

Marilyn Monroe’s former home.

Mercer Vine

Despite its modest scale and unpretentious nature, the 2,600-square-foot bungalow gained worldwide fame in 1962 as the location of Monroe’s apparent overdose at the age of 36. The walled and gated property was the only house ever owned by the legendary actress, and in the 60 years since, the estate has become one of the city’s most famous local landmarks. Blogger Lindsay Blake previously published an in-depth post filled with numerous fascinating tidbits about the property, including how Monroe placed a plaque above the front door that read “Cursom Perificio” in Latin. Translation: “My Journey Ends Here.”

The home’s exterior architecture remains incredibly similar to how it appeared in the early 1960s, but the interiors have been significantly altered. Most notably, the kitchen and bathrooms have been modernized, and the estate’s formerly detached guest casita has been merged into the main house. Still, numerous original features—casement windows, terracotta tile floors, wood-beamed ceilings—happily hearken back to Golden Age times. More

Though he already owns one Los Angeles home, Martin Short has plumped up his real estate portfolio with yet another residence. Records show the beloved actor, comedian and writer—best known for his work on SCTV and Saturday Night Live, and most recently, Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building—just doled out $2.2 million for some renovated digs in Brentwood’s Upper Mandeville Canyon neighborhood. Originally listed in March for around $2.4 million, Short scored a slight deal on the property.

Built in the early 1960s and recently given a contemporary makeover, the all-white structure is nestled amid a grassy parcel of land spanning almost three-quarters of an acre. Fronted by a bridge and shared driveway that empties out at an attached two-car garage, as well as a set of steps that stops at a dainty porch before traveling up to the double entry door, the place has four bedrooms and three bathrooms in a little more than 1,800 square feet of split-level living space boasting hardwood floors and wood-beam ceilings throughout, plus sliding glass doors spilling out to several al fresco lounging and entertaining areas.

Photos are fairly scarce, but on-line listings show a living room anchored by a corner fireplace sporting a marble surround, along with a spacious dining room/workspace that sits adjacent to a kitchen outfitted with newer stainless appliances. A hallway leads to the bedrooms, which include a primary suite boasting a private balcony and spa-inspired bath.

Outdoors, the private backyard hosts a seated bar, fire-pit conversation area and seasonal waterfall, as well as a freeform swimming pool and spa flanked by a grassy sundeck. There’s also a detached studio apartment with its own kitchenette and bathroom.

A native of Canada, the 74-year-old actor first gained notoriety for his sketch comedy, including the characters Jiminy Glick and Ed Grimley. Short has since appeared in numerous movies and TV series, including Three Amigos!, Innerspace, Father of the Bride and The Morning Show. He’s also starred in Broadway productions of The Goodbye Girl and Little Me, the latter of which earned him a Tony award for “Best Actor in a Musical.”

In addition to his just-purchased abode, Short has long owned a primary residence in Pacific Palisades that he paid $1.3 million for way back in 1987. More