Los Angeles

Tongue-wagging rock legend Gene Simmons is kissing goodbye the Beverly Hills mansion he’s owned for 36 years. After paying $1.34 million for the property back in 1984, it’s now on the market for $22 million.
Why sell? It seems Simmons, 71, and his actress and model wife, Shannon Tweed Simmons, are relocating to tax-free Washington State to escape what Simmons calls California’s “unacceptable” taxes.

They’re giving up their stately 16,000-square-foot, three-story European-style home in the celebrity enclave of Benedict Canyon, to move to a 24-acre estate the couple owns close to Washington State’s Mount Rainer.

When they originally bought the 1.84-acre hilltop property in Los Angeles, it came with just a rustic ranch home. They proceeded to spend five years and a reported $12 million replacing it with this majestic, though decidedly un-rock-star-looking home completed in 2000.
Simmons’ Beverly Hills estate has a pool with waterslide and a tennis court.  Photo: Christopher Amitrano

Extensively featured on the long-running A&E reality series Gene Simmons Family Jewels, the home has seven bedrooms, seven baths, a pro-size tennis court, a pool with a 60-foot water slide and parking for 30-plus cars.
But prospective buyers might have to imagine what three of the bedrooms could look like. That’s because right now they’re being used to house the fire-breathing rocker’s mind-blowing collection of KISS memorabilia. They are jam-packed with everything from music awards and KISS-branded pinball machines to guitars and an endless array of KISS toys and figurines.
The grand foyer.  Photo: Christopher Amitrano

In a YouTube video on the collection, Simmons boasts: “We have more than 5,000 licensed products. Everything from KISS condoms to KISS caskets.” Sadly, for KISS fans, the collection is not included in the sale.
One of the best-selling rock bands of all time, the group was founded by Simmons and guitarist Paul Stanley in the early 1970s. Since then, the rockers, known for their outrageous makeup and pyrotechnic stage shows, have sold more than 75 million albums.
A 40-foot window marks the entryway.  Photo: Christopher Amitrano

To reach the house, imposing security gates open from snaking Benedict Canyon Drive to a wide driveway and up to a huge circular motor court and a trio of garages.
With towering hedgerows on three sides and a densely wooded area directly behind the home, the compound is well-hidden from prying eyes—and what Simmons has described as “buses with well-meaning tourists from Sandusky, Ohio.”

The living room.  Photo: Christopher Amitrano

Grand sweeping steps on either side of the garages lead up to the home’s imposing twin front doors. The foyer has a showpiece 40-foot-high window and a sweeping staircase topped by a gorgeous glass-domed ceiling
The huge open-concept living room features Simmons’ grand piano, a cozy fireplace and big, overstuffed sofas, one of which is an unusual back-to-back design.
The kitchen.  Photo: Christopher Amitrano

Having raised two kids at the home—comic book creator Nick Simmons is now 31; sister Sophie, 28, is an actor and singer—the open-plan kitchen is truly family-sized. Simple in design, it features white country-cottage cabinets, wood floors and marble countertops.
Upstairs, the primary suite with its vaulted ceiling is unpretentious, with its simple furniture, wide-planked floor and arched doorways. A rock star’s retreat it’s not.
The dining room.  Photo: Christopher Amitrano

Outside, the surprisingly small pool area is shielded by towering trees and includes a rustic, stone patio and stone-edged spa.
Israeli-born Simmons, estimated by Money Inc. to be worth about $300 million, is showing his commitment to quitting California by recently listing yet another home he owns, this one in LA’s Laurel Canyon.
The primary bedroom.  Photo: Christopher Amitrano

Listed in August for $2.2 million, the unassuming, split-level 2,345-square-foot house has breathtaking views of the Los Angeles skyline and the Santa Monica Mountains all the way to the Pacific. It is now priced at $1.99 million.
As for the Benedict Canyon compound, it’s on the market with Million Dollar Listing stars Matt and Josh Altman of The Altman Brothers and Douglas Elliman.
The patio and pool.  Photo: Christopher Amitrano

Another of the home’s seven bedrooms.  Photo: Christopher Amitrano

The motor court.  Christopher Amitrano More

The living room fireplace will leave you slack-jawed and open-mouthed. There, stretching from floor to ceiling, is Bacchus, the hedonistic god of wine, with mouth agape, doing double duty as a fireplace.
The quirky plaster fresco, with its ring of sharp incisors, wild hair and flared nostrils, is a guaranteed conversation stopper, or maybe starter—especially with flames flickering from a roaring fire.

The origins of this funky, over-sized wall decoration aren’t clear, but it certainly reflects the playful character of the home’s owner, actor and two-time Academy Award winner, Geena Davis, star of the beloved 1991 road flick Thelma & Louise.

Davis, 64, has lived in this five-bedroom, 5,146-square-foot Mediterranean-style villa for the past 13 years, splashing out  $4.19 million for it in 2007, shortly after wrapping up her run in the hit TV series Commander in Chief, which won her a Golden Globe for Best Actress.
Built in 1999, the home sits on a 17,000-square-foot lot on a quiet, tucked-way cul-de-sac in leafy Pacific Palisades, a stone’s throw from the western end of Sunset Boulevard and a quick drive down to the beaches, Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica.
Here there’s no guarded entry, no security gates or imposing fences; it’s just a peaceful, somewhat unassuming house on a street, with a low, rustic, wood-framed fence separating home and sidewalk.
The front of the barrel-tile-roofed villa is dominated by three side-by-side garages and arched front door with masses of bougainvillea decorating the façade.
The covered patios look out over lush gardens.  Photo: Lee Manning

The front door leads straight into a foyer with views ahead to Bacchus in full yawn. The Spanish influence is seen in the lovely colored tiles on the floor, white-washed walls and soaring vaulted ceilings with imposing arches.
Off the living room is a casual dining room with French doors leading out to a secluded, tree-shrouded, covered terrace. Close by is the recently remodeled kitchen with its large central island, gray-green stone countertops and backsplash, white cabinets and gorgeous mosaic tiles behind the gas range.
The first floor is also home to two of the five bedrooms, each with its own distinct character. We love the quirky Japanese room with its painted wall featuring Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic Great Wave off Kanagawa, whimsically countered by a surfboard mounted on the wall.

The newly remodeled kitchen.  Photo: Lee Manning

The rear garden is the home’s secret hideaway, with its shady vine-covered pergolas and terraces leading down to a grille and dining area, lovely rose garden and lawn. But one surprising omission—especially for an A-list Hollywood star’s home with a $6 million price tag—no swimming pool, though there’s certainly space to dig one. And the private beach clubs along the nearby Pacific Ocean are a short bike ride away.
Upstairs are three of the five bedrooms, which include the spacious owner’s hideaway. It features a stunning vaulted-ceiling, gnarled wood beams, gorgeous fireplace with hand-painted tile surround.
French doors lead out to a private terrace with a wrought-iron balustrade and views over the lush gardens. Just off the master is a cozy sitting room with its wall of built-in bookcases.
The dining room.  Photo: Lee Manning

The master suite also comes with dual bathrooms and walk-in closets and a light-filled private office/study. The highlight of one of the bathrooms is the free-standing, shiny-chrome bathtub.
“This is a very special offering filled with romance and charm in a fabulous Palisades location,” says listing agent David Offer, of Berkshire Hathaway HomeService California Properties.
What Offer is reluctant to reveal, however, is the location of the home’s key safety feature—a fortified panic room.
There’s no word either on why Davis is parting with her longtime home. Perhaps it has to do with her recent split from her husband or there’s a can’t-miss upgrade on the horizon—with a pool. But look for the actor on the silver screen in upcoming feature films Ava and Cowgirl’s Last Ride.
The owner’s hideaway.  Photo: Lee Manning

The master suite’s study.  Photo: Lee Manning

The master bath and soaking tub.  Photo: Lee Manning

The home office.  Photo: Lee Manning

One of five bedrooms in the home.  Photo: Lee Manning

The unassuming front entrance.  Photo: Lee Manning

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