Madonna buys Angelina Jolie’s mansion with more than a century of Hollywood history

Angelina Jolie’s longtime Los Angeles home is entering another celebrity chapter. Madonna has reportedly purchased the actress’s historic Cecil B. DeMille estate, a property whose Hollywood connections stretch back more than a century.

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The estate sold for $24.75 million on September 24, after Jolie listed it for $29.85 million in May. While The Wall Street Journal initially reported that the buyer’s identity could not be determined, subsequent reports have identified the Queen of Pop as its new owner. Neither star has publicly confirmed the reported purchase.

For Jolie, the transaction closes a chapter that began in 2017, when she purchased the property for approximately $24.5 million following her separation from Brad Pitt. 

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The final sale price was $5.1 million below her asking price and just $250,000 above what she paid, before accounting for ownership expenses and transaction costs.

Inside the historic estate:

Located in Laughlin Park, a gated enclave in Los Feliz, the roughly 2.1-acre property includes an approximately 11,000-square-foot main residence with six bedrooms and 10 bathrooms.

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 A library, wine cellar and gym are among its amenities, while the grounds include a guesthouse, swimming pool, pool house and dedicated tea house.

The setting is equally impressive. Mature trees, rose gardens and rolling lawns surround the residence, and the primary suite opens onto a private patio with sweeping views. Despite its location in Los Angeles, the compound offers the space and seclusion of a much larger retreat.

A home with more than a century of Hollywood history:

The residence dates to 1913, with its design credited to architect B. Cooper Corbett. DeMille purchased it in 1916 for $27,893 and lived there until his death in 1959.

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The filmmaker, whose credits include The Ten Commandments and The Greatest Show on Earth, later expanded his estate by acquiring the neighboring residence associated with Charlie Chaplin. He connected the houses with a glass corridor, using the additional property as a guesthouse and office.

The estate also played a role in DeMille’s working and social life. According to Architectural Digest, he entertained prominent visitors there, while the rose garden hosted family weddings. A scene from his 1927 film The King of Kings was even filmed in the estate’s olive grove. The property remained in the DeMille family until the late 1980s.

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Madonna’s reported interest began with a video tour:

Madonna’s connection to the property emerged before the sale. In August, the New York Post reported that her representatives had contacted the brokers and arranged a video tour because she was not in Los Angeles to see it in person. Representatives for both stars did not respond to the outlet at the time.

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Her specific reason for choosing the estate has not been publicly established. Its privacy, generous grounds and cinematic pedigree are distinctive features, but attributing the purchase to any one of them would be speculation.

For Jolie, the sale follows her previously expressed desire to spend more time outside Los Angeles once her youngest children reached adulthood. Twins Knox and Vivienne turned 18 in July, making the transaction a notable development as she considers her next chapter.

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