Actor, producer, winemaker and father of six, Brad Pitt is a man of many parts. The Oscar-winning star of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is also passionate about design and architecture, and has an impressive property portfolio to prove it. From a 19th-century house in New Orleans to a vineyard villa in the South of France, the Fight Club actor has amassed some breathtaking homes around the world. Let’s take a closer look...
Born 18th December 1963 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Brad Pitt is the eldest of three children born to a devoutly Baptist family. He grew up in Springfield, Missouri, the birthplace of America’s most famous highway, Route 66. His father Bill owned a trucking company and his mother Jane was a family counsellor. A sporty boy at Kickapoo High School, he enjoyed a carefree childhood riding bikes with friends and taking trips to the nearby Ozark Mountains.
Pitt was just two weeks short of graduating in journalism at the University of Missouri when he dropped out and headed to California to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Having told his parents he intended to enrol at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, he spent the next few months doing odd jobs, including driving strippers around in a limousine, before his legendary good looks and charm landed him an agent and small roles in movies and television.
In 1994, three years after his breakout role in Thelma & Louise and the same year he made Legends Of The Fall and Interview With A Vampire, Pitt paid $1.7 million (£1.5m) for a mansion in Los Feliz in the Hollywood hills from Cassandra Peterson, better known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She claimed the house was haunted and arranged for a Native American shaman to do an exorcism before she sold it on to Pitt. “He loves those stories,” she told Inverse.
Over the next few years, Pitt bought two adjoining houses (and two more in 2005, after getting together with actor Angelina Jolie). According to Architectural Digest, the highly-secure 1.9-acre compound, which now comprises five houses, cost a total of nearly $5 million (£4.4m). It includes the 6,692-square-foot Craftsman-style main house bought from Peterson, known as Briarcliff Manor, which was built in 1915.
The property also includes a large outdoor swimming pool, a private tennis court, skate park and nanny quarters, and is what Pitt described as his children’s “childhood home” in a 2017 interview with GQ. The actor has six children from his marriage to Angelina Jolie, which ended in 2016. As well as its ghost stories, Jimi Hendrix is said to have written 'May This Be Love' at this very property.
It was a match made in Hollywood heaven when People’s Sexiest Man Alive (1995 and 2000) Brad Pitt married America’s sweetheart Jennifer Aniston in 2000. The couple, who had met through their agents, tied the knot in a star-studded Malibu wedding, but split five years later, reportedly after Pitt had become close to Angelina Jolie during the filming of Mr and Mrs Smith in 2004.
Shortly after marrying Aniston, Pitt splashed out $4 million (£3.5m) on an 11-acre oceanfront home located near Gaviota State Park. According to Architectural Digest, the actor used the home, which is still in his possession, as a retreat for himself and the kids when he was married to Jolie, enjoying time out horseback-riding on the beach and surrounding area.
Brad's first marital home with Aniston was this stylish 11,173-square-foot mansion, designed by Wallace Neff, once known as the architect to the stars. He originally built the sprawling Tudor-style home for actor Frederic March and his wife, actor Florence Eldridge, in the 1930s, but it has since been upgraded several times, including by Pitt and Aniston.
The couple, who are both passionate about interior design, embarked on a three-year renovation project following their Malibu wedding. It entailed upgrading its entire interior, including its five bedrooms and 13 bathrooms. Grid-style Crittall windows and stunning dark hardwood floors were installed in the formal living room downstairs, to unite the space with the veranda beyond.
Among the additions they made to the two-storey house was this classic black and white heated marble floor in the kitchen, along with its white subway tile backsplash and floor-to-ceiling marble fireplace surround. The couple spent a substantial amount of money personalising the property, even importing wooden floors from a 200-year-old French château for the bar area in the basement.
The laid-back lounge area, with its stone-clad walls and neutral tones, opens directly onto the terrace and swimming pool through full-width doors, where an outdoor brick fireplace makes a great focal point for an evening under the stars. Other additions to the property included a state-of-the-art screening room, a guest house and a dining room that can seat 20.
The French Normandy Revival-style estate, along with its stylish pool area, was home to the couple from 2001 until they announced their separation in January 2005. According to Architectural Digest, it sold for $28 million (£25m) the following year to hedge fund executive Jonathan Brooks, who added a tennis court with a pavilion. It then sold for $32.5 million (£29m) in August 2020.
Following his break up from Aniston, Pitt bought this ocean-front house in Malibu in March 2005 – the same month Aniston filed for divorce – for $8.4 million (£7.4m), according to reports. The mid-century 4,000-square-foot home has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a tennis court and is situated within 1.26 acres of rugged landscape in the Encinal Bluffs area, a highly exclusive neighbourhood in Malibu between Point Mugu State Park and the Pacific Ocean.
A stylish hideaway for his budding romance with Angelina Jolie, Pitt is reported to have spent millions renovating the property, choosing some vintage one-off pieces from his furniture collection, like the George Nakashima chairs and Verner Panton chandelier in the living room. The main reception rooms have dark bamboo floors, and Pitt maximised the views out to sea by installing floor-to-ceiling windows throughout.
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple, the kitchen is stainless steel and features a walk-in refrigerator and freezer, as well as other top-of-the-line appliances. A glass-topped counter divides the cooking and prep areas from the breakfast area, where a wooden table is surrounded by some vintage Eames chairs.
As well as this long lap lane swimming pool, ringed by high hedges, the 1962 home has access to a private cove along a scenic winding pathway. Pitt also secured approval for a second storey, designed by renowned architect Chris Sorensen. Fellow property enthusiast Ellen DeGeneres clearly appreciated all the effort. She snapped it up for $12 million (£10.5m) and sold it a year later making $1 million profit.
Pitt and Jolie confirmed their relationship in a shoot in W Magazine in July 2005 and quickly settled down to family life, with Pitt adopting Jolie’s two children, Maddox and Zahara, whom she had adopted from Cambodia and Ethiopia respectively. The couple had their first biological child, Shiloh, in May 2006 (with Pitt in this 2010 photo, along with Jolie and Zahara). The following year, the couple adopted a boy, Pax, from Vietnam. In 2008 they had biological twins, Knox and Vivienne, who were born in France.
Quickly fusing into ‘Brangelina’, Pitt and Jolie became the ultimate power couple, not only adopting children from around the world, but dedicating themselves to high-profile humanitarian causes. Concerned by the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the actor set up his Make It Right foundation in 2006 to help rebuild housing in the Lower 9th Ward neighbourhood of New Orleans.
Designed by the likes of Frank Gehry and David Adjaye, more than 100 affordable New Orleans homes were built by Pitt’s foundation, according to Architectural Digest, but it was not the resounding success it first appeared. According to reports, the flood-proof homes were quickly plagued by mould and water damage, and the now-defunct non-profit was forced to pay $20.5 million (£18m) to disgruntled homeowners in 2018
Pitt and Jolie bought this 1830s brick house in the New Orleans’ French Quarter for $3.5 million (£3.2m) late in 2006 to continue their charity work in the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The three-storey house, located on 521 Governor Nicholls Street, in the heart of the historic centre and near the waterfront, has seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, a grand spiral staircase and a two-storey guesthouse.
The 7,700-square-foot house, most recently listed in 2020 with Brigitte Fredy Property, has all the charm you would expect from a traditional house in the southern city, including Venetian-plastered walls, custom marble mantles and original crown mouldings, although it has undergone extensive decorative changes since the couple were living here.
With his natural flair for design, Pitt is believed to have updated the interiors during his time in the property, injecting a more pared-back feel (seen here in the living room) than the original more lavish décor. His move to New Orleans heralded a series of Louisiana-shot movies, including his starring role in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, which was filmed in uptown New Orleans.
A frequent visitor to the city, Pitt was photographed on this balcony waving to actor pal Matthew McConaughey, who was in town filming The Amazing Race in May 2014. But they were not the only stars connected to the property. It was once home to Cosimo Studios, where early rock'n'roll legends Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Earl Palmer recorded in the 50s and 60s.
The landscaped private courtyard was no doubt a sanctuary for the couple during their time here, but the property was eventually sold after Jolie filed for divorce in September 2016, citing irreconcilable differences. It had been originally listed for sale for $6.5 million (£5.7m) in May 2015, and eventually sold for $4.9 (£4.3m) in November 2016 to the late Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, before hitting the market again in 2020.
Pitt and Jolie bought an apartment in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in 2007 for an undisclosed sum. Also home to Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra, it is thought to hold significance for the pair as one of the first places they stayed together as a couple. Its famed Art Deco interiors are currently undergoing renovations and the hotel is due to re-open in 2023. It is unclear if the couple still own this property.
Soon after, Jolie gave birth in July 2008 to twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, the family decamped to Palais Parkschloss, outside Berlin, where Pitt was filming a Quentin Tarantino movie. The vast villa, which they rented for three months, came with a staff of 14, a full security system, a dock on Wannsee Lake and a private helicopter landing pad. Action star Steven Seagal rented the same mansion in 2001.
One of the most stunning properties Pitt and Jolie bought together, Château Miraval is an ancient villa and vineyards near Aix-en-Provence in the South of France, where the couple married in a secret ceremony at the estate’s Romanesque chapel in August 2014. The pair first leased the property in 2008 for three years, before officially taking possession in 2012 with a purchase price of $60 million (£52.7m), according to People.
The sprawling property encompasses 1,000 acres of land and features several structures from the 17th century. It has a working vineyard, a lake, outdoor swimming pools and 20 fountains. Indoors, Pitt is understood to have put his stamp on the property, which features 35 bedrooms, a swimming pool, billiards room, screening room, twin gyms, a sauna and a Jacuzzi, as well as a banquet hall.
A wine-producing estate since the 13th century, the couple carried on the tradition by launching Miraval Wines in 2013, the same year that Jolie revealed in a New York Times op-ed that she elected to undergo a preventive double mastectomy. “We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has,” she wrote.
After the couple split in September 2016, following an incident on their private jet, it was Pitt who primarily maintained involvement with the brand, developing his Fleur de Miraval rosé champagne, which was served at the Oscars in 2022. The pair are currently embroiled in a bitter lawsuit over the fact that Jolie sold her stake. In late 2021, Pitt began working with French producer Damien Quintard to restore a recording studio on the property.
Pitt made his first foray into furniture design following a visit to Château Miraval from high-end furniture maker Frank Pollaro in 2008. Pollaro had designed a desk for Pitt and wanted to deliver it in person. The two struck up a friendship and, in 2012, collaborated on a collection of furniture that includes retro beds, patent-leather chairs and 9ft tables. The brand goes under the slogan “Designed by Pitt, built by Pollaro. Made in USA”.
Brad can also add sculpture to his list of achievements after publicly debuting his first works of art in a museum in Finland. The “largely self-taught” artist presented his nine sculptures as part of a larger exhibition by the British artist Thomas Houseago, alongside a ceramic series by the Australian musician Nick Cave. Pitt reportedly began trying his hand at pottery after his divorce from Angelina Jolie, spending up to 15 hours a day in Houseago’s Los Angeles studio in 2017.
Amid rumours of his impending divorce, Pitt fell in love with the Balearic Islands while filming his World War ll drama Allied and is reported to have splashed out $3 million (£2.6m) on a property in southern Mallorca in 2016. The 9,687-square-foot villa has eight bedrooms and a cliff-edge swimming pool overlooking the sea in the fashionable village of Port d’Andratx, where model Claudia Schiffer and Salma Hayek also have homes.
In the same year the Pitt-Jolie family were reported to have rented an eight-bedroom house in Richmond in Surrey for six months for $21,000 (£18k) a month, while Pitt filmed World War Z and Jolie worked on humanitarian projects in Britain. The newly-built 20,000 square-foot pile, set in three acres, was designed to look like a Palladian country mansion and sold in 2012 for more than £40 million ($45.6m).
We were treated to a glimpse of the inside when Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson stayed here in 2018 when he was filming Fast And Furious spin-off movie Hobbs And Shaw. The action man posted this photograph of himself cooking steaks and barbecue ribs in the kitchen on his Instagram. The house also boasts two swimming pools, a cinema and a gym, although Johnson brought his own ‘Iron Paradise’, the travel gym the actor brings to every location.
Nearly three years after Jolie first filed for divorce, a judge declared the couple officially single again in April 2019, just ahead of the release of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, which earned Pitt his first Oscar. The pair are still involved in negotiations regarding the custody of their children and dividing up their assets.
Pitt doesn’t usually roll up his sleeves to do his own renovation work, but he made an exception in 2020 when he converted a garage into a stunning guesthouse for his close friend and long-time make-up artist, Jean Black. The actor joined forces with the Property Brothers, Drew and Jonathan Scott, for the new HGTV show Celebrity IOU, which sees notable VIPs surprise important people in their lives with special renovation projects.
The team had just three weeks to convert the garage into this chic minimalist space, which includes a living space, a bedroom and walk-in closet, a bathroom and this smart, streamlined kitchen. There is plenty of space-saving recessed shelving and a large window opens up to a small patio area outside, ready for Black's friends to share an alfresco drink on a warm evening.
Back to his own homes, in July 2022 Pitt shelled out a whopping $40 million (£35m) for this cliffside house in Carmel, California, the town where Clint Eastwood was once mayor, in what is thought to be the most expensive house sale ever in the area. Known as "Seaward", or the "D.L. James House" after the Kansas City businessman who commissioned it, the Craftsman-style home was designed by celebrated architect Charles Sumner Greene and his brother Henry.
Located a stone’s throw from the beach, it was built in 1918 from locally sourced granite and sandstone and appears to be built into the rock. Previous reports have said the house measures about 3,000 square feet and there is a service wing for live-in help, plus a basement-level library. It has arched windows made from bricks individually chosen by Charles Greene, and a tiled Mediterranean-style roof.
The only portion of the property visible from the road is this big wooden gate set into a stone arch, with the house set privately on the cliff far below. The historic building is an impressive addition to the actor’s property portfolio and testament to his sophisticated taste in architecture. We can’t wait to see where his talent for spotting a real-estate gem takes him next.
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