STARRY-EYED
Stellar chance to buy Whoopi Goldberg’s Art Deco-style house
WHEN the estate agents say this house has a ‘notable Hollywood pedigree’ they’re really not kidding – 1461 Amalfi Drive has played a starring role in the lives of a host of famous names.
The Pacific Palisades estate is back on the market for $9,595,000 only a year after Ghost and Sister Act star Whoopi Goldberg decided to put up the ‘for sale’ boards.
The five-bedroom property, in a private and gated estate in one of California’s premier neighbourhoods, was built in the 1930s for the Austrian author Vicky Baum, before being bought by the late English actor and star of films like The Pink Panther and Casino Royale, David Niven.
Actress and comedienne Whoopi purchased the home in 1993, and she lived here for 25 years while building a stellar career and appearing in movies with some of Hollywood’s finest (she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Ghost).
Surrounded by lush landscaping and mature trees, and covered in rambling ivy, it has a magical sense of privacy in an area noted for its high-profile residents.
The property is set on a 28,000sqft plot, taking up a quarter of the estate.
The main Art Deco-style house – there is also a guest house in the grounds – has five en-suite bedrooms and seven bathrooms, and retains many of its distinctive original features including a black and white chequered floor in the entrance hall, and an extravagant onyx-clad master bathroom. Downstairs there’s a formal reception area, a dining room with beamed ceilings and even a vintage pub! A generously-sized, remodelled kitchen has glossy white units complementing the dramatic black and white flooring, and overlooks the swimming pool.
Estate agents Compass say the new owner will have ‘opportunity to restore the house to its 1930s grandeur.’
1461 Amalfi Drive is for sale with Compass at $9,595,000. (compass.com)
Whoopi Goldberg purchased the home in 1993, and she lived here for 25 years