A Move Up From That Genie Bottle
Grammy Award-winning pop singer Christina Aguilera, who has an apartment in Manhattan but has considered home to be Wexford, Pa., has purchased a home in the Beverly Hills area for just under $2.8 million.
Aguilera, 20, won a Grammy Award last year for best new artist, beating out Britney Spears and Macy Gray.
A former member of the New Mickey Mouse club, Aguilera sang the hit song “Reflections” in the Disney movie “Mulan” (1998) before releasing her debut album in 1999 with its hit single “Genie in a Bottle.”
Aguilera, whose voice has been likened to a younger Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston, also had the hit “What a Girl Wants” before releasing her new Spanish-language album, “Mi Reflejo.”
Aguilera bought a Mediterranean-style home in a gated community with three bedrooms and maid’s quarters in more than 7,000 square feet.
Built about 10 years ago, the home, on slightly more than an acre, also has an office, library, screening room, wine cellar, gym and grassy yard with a rose garden, pool and city views.
Rock star Ozzy Osbourne has sold his Beverly Hills home for about the same price he paid for it in 1998: $3.5 million. The asking price was $3.9 million, down from $4.5 million when it first went on the market.
The six-bedroom 9,000-square-foot home had been listed on and off with different Realtors since November 1999, when the heavy-metal musician bought an 11,000-square-foot Beverly Hills home for about $6.5 million.
The Italian-style gated home he just sold has a two-story foyer, a butler’s pantry, a staff room, three family bedrooms and a master suite with a fireplace and a terrace. Built in 1991, the home also has a guest house with two baths, a pool, a spa and European gardens.
The buyer was described as a local businessman.
Osbourne, in his early 50s, was lead singer of Black Sabbath, a band that helped to define heavy metal in the ‘70s. The band temporarily regrouped in recent years, but Osbourne, the elder statesman of heavy metal, has had a solo career since Black Sabbath broke up in 1979. He gained notoriety for biting off the head of a live bat during a concert in 1981.
Joe Babajian and Kyle Grasso, with Prudential John Aaroe in Beverly Hills, had Osbourne’s most recent listing. Both moved this month from Coldwell Banker (Fred Sands), Beverly Hills. Babajian was chairman of Fred Sands Estates Directors, and Grasso was also with Fred Sands Estates Directors.
“Downtown” Julie Brown, one of MTV’s early video jockeys, has purchased a waterfront home in the Silver Strand area of Marina del Rey for $1.5 million.
Brown, in her mid-30s, is engaged to be married later this year.
The former veejay is star of “The Julie Show,” syndicated on radio, and she co-hosted the TV special “Mrs. World,” which aired nationwide on PAX-TV on Jan. 6.
Besides being known for her appearances on MTV and the E! Channel, where she has been a host of “The Gossip Show,” Brown has hosted many TV specials, including the 24th annual Mrs. America Pageant (2000), and she has played herself and others in series and in such movies as “Desperation Blvd.” (2000).
Brown bought a house with five bedrooms in just under 5,000 square feet. Built in 1990, the house has an entry with a waterfall and beach and ocean views from almost every room.
Brown was represented in her purchase by Peter and Ty Bergman, directors of Coldwell Banker Previews, Marina del Rey.
Darryl Quarles, who wrote the screenplay for “Big Momma’s House,” and his wife, Karen, have listed their Ladera Heights home at $925,000. They bought a larger home on the Westside.
The Ladera Heights home has five bedrooms, including a master suite with a fireplace and sitting area, in slightly more than 3,300 square feet. The home also has an office and a family room.
Since buying the property in 1995, the couple upgraded the home, built in 1993. They added a granite kitchen, a surround-sound system inside and outside, designer-style paint in neutral tones, a pool and a spa with a used-brick deck.
Quarles is a producer and screenwriter of “The Black Knight,” starring Martin Lawrence. The movie is due out in November. Quarles wrote and produced the TV series “The Parent Hood” (1998-99) and the TV movie “Soldier Boyz” (1996). He was executive story editor for “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” (1995-96) and “Cleghorne!” (1995-96).
LaShelle Washington of Re/Max Westside Properties has the listing.
Kenneth Crear, co-manager of the R&B; group Dru Hill and manager of Dru Hill singer Sisqo’s solo career, has become a first-time home buyer with his purchase of a Hollywood Hills home for slightly more than $1 million.
Crear, 32, is also president of Dragon Records, founded in 1999 as Sisqo’s imprint label with Island/Def Jam.
Crear bought a three-bedroom, nearly 3,000-square-foot contemporary with walls of glass, city views and a pool.
Debora Bright-Laney of DBL Realtors, Sunset office, represented Crear in his purchase. Luke Daniel and Edward Cavanaugh of Nelson Shelton & Associates had the listing.
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Inside:
Ozzy Osbourne, “Downtown” Julie Brown
