GAZELLE MAGAZINE October 2018 | Page 48

HEARTH & HOME Madonna at the MTV Video Music Awards in August CELEBRITY HOMES L ive like a superstar in Madonna’s former Beverly Hills mansion, with its sparkling new renovations, now listed at $35 million. Mauricio Umansky, founder and CEO of The Agency, Beverly Hills, also known for his role on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” alongside his wife, Kyle Richards, is the listing agent. Madonna bought it in 2003 for $12 million, when she married Guy Ritchie, and listed it for sale in 2012 for $28 million, selling it in 2013 for $19.5 million. Since then, it has been transformed into one of Beverly Hills’ best homes. 46 GAZELLE Beverly Hills has been the prime address of top celebrities since the 1920s, when Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford remodeled a former hunting lodge into a 25-room mansion, with tennis courts, swimming pool and horse stables. Much of Hollywood soon followed in order to rub elbows with their peers behind their security gates and lush vegetation, and wave hello when passing each other on the pretty, winding residential streets. Their great escapes are tropical and very private, with views above the hustle and bustle of the city, but close enough to avoid a long commute to the sound stages. The beauty of the neighborhood and its mansions has been captured as the background for popular films Madonna