Beauty with a beat in Bel-Air
Seal, the British singer-songwriter, and his fiancee, German supermodel Heidi Klum, have chosen a Bel-Air estate as their honeymoon home. The property was purchased for about $4.3 million, according to public records.
The one-story contemporary has four bedrooms and 4 1/2 bathrooms in 5,200 square feet. The house, built in 1960, was recently remodeled. It is on nearly 2 acres behind gates and has a long driveway. The grounds feature a pool and city-to-coastline views. The house has high ceilings and wood floors.
Klum and Seal started dating last year after her split with Renault Formula One team boss Flavio Briatore, who is the father of her daughter, Leni, born in May. It will be Seal’s first marriage, Klum’s second. She was married for six years to celebrity hair stylist Ric Pipino. They were divorced in 2002.
Klum, 31, is a Victoria’s Secret model and has appeared in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.
Seal, 41, was nominated in December for a Grammy Award in the male pop vocal competition for his latest album, “Love’s Divine.” His “Kiss From a Rose,” featured in the 1995 movie “Batman Forever,” won record and song of the year at the same time he won best male pop vocal performance.
Seal owned a home in Beverly Hills during the late 1990s, but he was most recently leasing a contemporary-style house in the Hollywood Hills.
Lynn Teschner and Steven Ross Kaufman of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, repre- sented the buyers, and Drew Mandile and Brooke Knapp of Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills, had the listing, real estate sources said.
A long-term Hilton check-in
Paris Hilton has become a first-time home buyer with her purchase of a Hollywood Hills home for about $3 million.
The Tuscan-style villa has three bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms and a media room in about 3,500 square feet. The house, built in the 1920s, was updated while being restored architecturally. A new electrical system was added along with such features as built-in flat screen TVs.
The heiress-actress, 23, is a great-granddaughter of Hilton hotels founder Conrad Hilton. She costars with Nicole Richie, daughter of pop singer Lionel Richie, in the Fox-TV series “The Simple Life 3,” and she stars in the upcoming movies “National Lampoon’s Pledge This!” and the “House of Wax” remake, due to be released in April. “The Simple Life 3” will return to Fox on Jan. 26.
Mauricio Umansky, the heiress’ uncle, at Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, represented her in buying her home. Bennett Carr with Prudential-John Aaroe, Beverly Hills, had the listing.
Princess leases home for show
Princess Ann Claire, granddaughter of the late Princess Shams of the Pahlavi dynasty of Iran, has leased a three-level Sunset Strip-area home at $20,000 a month for use on the E! network show “Love Is in the Heir.”
The show -- featuring the four-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot house with a pool and panoramic views from downtown to the ocean -- is in its third month of shooting. The production company, Asylum Entertainment, is also filming segments in London, where Ann Claire’s family, descendants of the last shah of Iran, live. Ann Claire, in her early 30s, shares London quarters with her parents as she seeks a husband who meets their approval. She wants to be a country music singer.
Patrick Norman of Century 21, Elaine Young Real Estate in Beverly Hills, is handling the lease.
Taper home sold for $14.5 million
The Beverly Hills home of Louise Taper, widow of philanthropist Barry Taper and daughter-in-law of the late financier and philanthropist S. Mark Taper, has been sold for about $14.5 million, real estate sources said. The estate had been on the market since August 2002. At one point, it was listed at $22,950,000.
The gated home, on more than an acre, has seven bedrooms and 18 bathrooms in slightly more than 21,000 square feet. The home, built in 1986, also has a guesthouse, a two-story library, a gym, a screening room, nine fireplaces, an elevator, a tennis court, gardens and a pool.
The buyer was described as a businessman from New York.
S. Mark Taper, for whom the Los Angeles Music Center’s Mark Taper Forum was named, was a European who came to Southern California to retire but instead built a housing development that became Lakewood. He died in 1994 at age 92. His son, Barry, died in 2001 at 71.
Barry Taper shared an interest with his wife, Louise, in the life of Abraham Lincoln, and helped her build an extensive private collection of original Lincoln manuscripts and memorabilia.
Heidi Tabib of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, represented the buyer, and Judy Ross-Bunnage of the same firm, had the listing, according to the Multiple Listing Service.
Leaving Glendale to go for a gallop
Kristen Eykel, a former model and co-host with Dave Holmes of Court TV’s “Saturday Night Solution,” and her husband, businessman Geoffrey Selzer, have listed their Glendale home at $1.75 million. They are planning to move to horse-zoned property.
The Spanish-style home has six bedrooms and five bathrooms in 3,200 square feet. The house, built in 1929, has a lap pool and city views.
Selzer is chairman of a software company for multimedia.
Phyllis Harb of Re/Max Tri City and Kevin Godley of Re/Max Olson are co-listing agents.
