Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner buy home in Pacific Palisades
Acting couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are the latest owners of a California ranch house in the Pacific Palisades that has been capturing the imagination of A-listers since Gregory Peck bought it in 1947. The pair recently purchased the nearly 8,800-square-foot home from producer Brian Grazer for $17.55 million, according to public records.
Built in the late 1930s, the Cliff May-designed low-slung house was innovative for its time and today is considered typical of his trademark designs. Rooms flow easily from one to another or onto patios, allowing for the passage from indoors to outdoors without stepping down. Large picture windows take in the views.
Peck, who lived in the one-story home until 1952 with his first wife, Greta, favored the den as his retreat. A Life advertisement for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer shows the couple at the room’s bar.
After a series of owners, the home was brought back to life by Grazer in the mid-’90s -- updated, expanded and rebuilt to keep the structure intact and maximize the canyon, city and ocean views. In addition to the five-bedroom, eight-bathroom main house, there is a swimming pool, a guesthouse and an office/gym/art studio, according to the Multiple Listing Service description.
The 3-acre, cliff-side compound had been listed at $27.5 million.
Grazer, 55, shared a best picture Oscar with Ron Howard, his partner at Imagine Entertainment, for “A Beautiful Mind” (2001). The prolific television and film producer also worked with Howard on “The Da Vinci Code” (2006) and “Angels & Demons,” in release May 15.
It’s not likely Affleck and Garner will be making beer commercials in their new home. Affleck, 36, who stars in the recently released drama “State of Play,” had his breakthrough role in “Good Will Hunting” (1997), for which he shared a screenwriting Oscar. He appeared in such blockbusters as “Shakespeare in Love” (1998) and “Pearl Harbor” (2001).
Garner, 37, rose to stardom on the television series “Alias” (2001-06) and plays opposite Matthew McConaughey in the just-released “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.”
