J.Lo ready to hit the high road
Actress Jennifer Lopez has sold her home on 2 acres in a gated Beverly Hills community for $12.5 million, including furnishings, according to local realty agents not involved in the transaction.
The estate is where Lopez reportedly married singer Marc Anthony in June. Lopez also has a home in Miami.
The buyer of Lopez’s Beverly Hills-area home is Sam Nazarian, chief executive and founder of Element Films, which is producing the movie “Down in the Valley,” starring Edward Norton. Nazarian is also a producer of the upcoming movie “Holland on Five Fingers,” costarring Laurence Fishburne and Ryan Phillippe.
The producer’s new home was built in 1998. Lopez rebuilt the house after buying it about four years ago. The one-story contemporary has four bedrooms and seven bathrooms in 10,000 square feet. The home also has a projection room, an infinity pool, a tennis court and a long, gated drive.
Lopez, 35, costars with Richard Gere in the movie “Shall We Dance?” She costars with Robert Redford in “An Unfinished Life,” due out at Christmas.
Brett Lawyer of Prudential/John Aaroe, Beverly Hills, represented Lopez in selling, and Rory Barish of Nourmand & Associates, Beverly Hills, represented the buyer, sources said.
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When she’s not in London ...
Madonna has sold her Beverly Hills home for close to its $8.9-million asking price. This is the property that the pop star-actress purchased for $6.5 million in 2000 from actress Diane Keaton.
The buyers are Erik Ludwick, an heir of the family that established Glendora-based Rain Bird Corp., and his wife, Eileen.
Madonna first listed the home in May 2003 at $10.9 million. In June of that year, she purchased her current L.A.-area residence, a Beverly Hills compound, from actress Sela Ward for $12 million. Madonna and her husband, director Guy Ritchie, also have a home in London.
The house Madonna just sold was built in 1926. Keaton totally refurbished the Spanish-style home, designed by architect Wallace Neff.
The estate has eight bedrooms and 7 1/2 baths in about 6,500 square feet. Other features are courtyards, an outdoor fireplace and dining area, a pool, detached offices and a guesthouse or caretaker’s quarters.
During the summer, Madonna, 46, headlined the 14-city “Re-Invention Tour,” featuring songs from her career. She also was executive producer this year of the movie “Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London.”
Barry Peele of Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills, had the listing, and the buyer was represented by Joe Babajian, Kyle Grasso and the late Kevin Watson, all of Prudential/John Aaroe, Beverly Hills.
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Up and out for ‘Six Feet Under’ star
James Cromwell, the actor who plays Ruth’s second husband on the HBO series “Six Feet Under” and who won an Oscar nomination for his role as Farmer Hoggett in the movie “Babe” (1995), and his wife, actress-director Julie Cobb, have listed their Sherman Oaks home at just under $2.5 million.
The empty nesters remodeled the home, built in 1937. The Connecticut-style farmhouse, behind gates, has four bedrooms plus maid’s quarters in slightly more than 3,700 square feet. The house also has a sunroom and a den with a bar. The grounds have a guesthouse, artist’s studio, gardener’s shed, meandering paths, rose gardens, a pool, spa and boccie court.
Cromwell, 64, appears with Will Smith in the sci-fi thriller “I, Robot.” Cromwell also costarred in “Angels in America” (2003), directed by Mike Nichols.
Cobb, daughter of the late actor Lee J. Cobb, starred in the 1979 TV version of “Salem’s Lot,” based on Stephen King’s book. Cromwell starred in the 2004 remake.
Cissy Wellman of Coldwell Banker, Studio City and Brentwood, has the listing.
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Scaling back from Holmby Hills
John Nickoll, chairman of the Foothill Group Inc., has put his Holmby Hills home on the market at $14.9 million. Nickoll developed the Foothill Group as a successful asset management company, which became a subsidiary of Wells Fargo.
Nickoll’s French traditional, built in 1932, is in a prestigious area of L.A. Among his neighbors are TV producer Aaron Spelling, recording executive Jimmy Iovine and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.
Nickoll plans to scale down. His 10,000-plus-square-foot home is on 1.33 acres of parklike grounds with a pool and spa. The house has a paneled study and a living room with glass walls overlooking a rose garden. There are four formal bedrooms, plus a master bedroom and a guest suite. A two-story foyer has a card room.
Drew Mandile and Brooke Knapp of Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills, have the listing.
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Now managing a Palisades remodel
The Pacific Palisades home of the late screenwriter Nelson Gidding has been purchased for slightly more than $2.3 million by Tim McDaniel, a personal manager of songwriters and producers, and his wife, writer-director-producer Diane Duarte.
The Craftsman-style house, built in 1950, has two bedrooms and two bathrooms in 2,100 square feet. Situated on the rim of Santa Monica Canyon, it has ocean views. The buyers plan to renovate the home, which adjoins their existing residence.
McDaniel’s clients have written and produced hit songs for such artists as Santana, Sheryl Crow, Dido, No Doubt and Ashlee Simpson. Duarte, who recently optioned her screenplay “Kraig Kringle” to Columbia Pictures, is co-producing it with Adam Sandler’s company Happy Madison.
Gidding, who died at 84 in May, wrote the scripts for such movies as “The Haunting” (1963) and “The Andromeda Strain” (1971). He worked on “I Want to Live!” (1958), which won actress Susan Hayward an Oscar for best actress.
Drew Gitlin of Prudential/John Aaroe, Brentwood, represented the buyers. Mary Lu Tuthill and Joan Caplis of Coldwell Banker, Brentwood, had the listing.
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To see previous columns on celebrity transactions visit latimes.com/hotproperty.
