The words that changed everything came just hours before a dinner party. “I’ve met the woman you’re going to marry.” That’s what George Clooney’s agent told him in 2013, ahead of an evening planned at the actor’s home in Lake Como, Italy. Clooney was hosting friends and met Amal Clooney, then Amal Alamuddin, a celebrated human rights lawyer. Today, the pair are married and share two kids, becoming one of the most notorious families in the world.
The Clooneys’ lives have transformed in more ways than one. They’ve traded Hollywood’s spotlight for a quieter, grounded existence in the French countryside, embracing a simple routine that appears to hold the key to their happiness.
Why they left Hollywood behind
© Axelle/Bauer-GriffinFollowing their marriage, the pair made the decision to leave Hollywood behind. The two claim their kids, Ella and Alexander, were one of the main reasons behind this decision. Clooney and Amal wanted to give the kids a childhood free from the media attention that follows them in the US.
"I was worried about raising our kids in L.A., in the culture of Hollywood. I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life," he said in an interview with Esquire. "France—they kind of don’t give a s--- about fame. I don’t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids.”
The family now enjoys French citizenship.
A childhood immersed in nature
© Matt Winkelmeyer/GALife in Provence means fewer screens and more hands-on experiences. The twins share meals with their parents, ride tractors across the property, and help with everyday chores on the family’s working farm. Last summer, they participated in various home projects, painting a fence with Clooney.
The family blends this back-to-basics lifestyle with modern comforts. In 2021, the Clooneys purchased Domaine de Canadel for $9.1 million. The estate is made up of an 18th-century Provençal villa, a swimming pool, tennis courts, and 172 hectares of land that includes forests, an olive grove, a vineyard, a lake, and lavender fields. Nearby sits Château Miraval, the property at the center of the much-documented legal dispute between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Fully a part of the local community
© FilmMagicThe Clooneys have roots in Brignoles, a small town in southern France. They’ve helped launch a municipal farm whose harvest supplies local school cafeterias with fresh, organic produce. Shortly after settling in, they donated $23,600 to a neighboring village to help rebuild it after floods affected the area.
The family appears to be emmeshed in the town's life, visiting bustling markets, café terraces, neighborhood restaurants, and taking strolls through the old town’s cobbled streets. The area offers rich history, from the Museum of the Counts of Provence to landmarks like the Saint-Sauveur Church and its striking bell tower.
A global life, with Provence at the center
© Frazer HarrisonLiving and studying in France has helped Alexander and Ella become fluent in French. The kids also speak English and Italian, enjoying a very European upbringing. The family still spends time in the UK, where the twins were born, and returns to Lake Como, the place where George and Amal first met.
Though Provence is their home base, George and Amal continue to travel frequently to the United States for work, spending part of 2025 in New York City due to Clooney's Broadway debut in the play "Good Night, and Good Luck."
