A Residence Fit For A Queen

Dame Helen Mirren, famed for her roles in  films such as The Queen, The Good Liar and The Duke has decided to list the Hollywood Hills home she owns with her husband.

The expansive property, built in 1911 and located on over six acres, includes a guest house and a total of nine bedrooms and eleven bathrooms. A popular neighbourhood with the Hollywood elite, the home has had four owners: Dustin Farnum, star of DeMille's Squaw Man; Mark Hellinger, writer/producer whose short story became the Bogart/Cagney film The Roaring Twenties; Gail Patrick, executive producer of the popular 1950’s/60’s Perry Mason television series where the home was sometimes used as a film location for the show, and the current owners. The property boasts all the great features of its era, including large rooms, lots of French doors that open to the hilltop breeze, a panelled library, beautiful hardwood floors and large fireboxes in the fireplaces.  One special room is the cosy bar with bar stools, a comfortable sofa and chairs for more intimate entertaining. The large formal rooms and outside living area with pool and downtown views cover entertaining for large groups and family get-togethers. The early California indoor/outdoor architecture makes the house warm, inviting and relaxing for both family and friends. It’s this element and the home’s adaptability to different lifestyles that make the house a hard one for Mirren to let go.

Now living most of the year in a secluded mountain home on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, Helen Mirren and her director-husband Taylor Hackford feel that it’s time to either sell or rent their storied Hollywood Hills home of 30 years.  Finding it a little hard to let go, they are offering it for sale at $18.5 million or for rent at $45,000 a month.

London-born Mirren has had a fabulous career, the only actor to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting in both the US and the UK with Oscar, Emmy and Tony awards. Her Academy Award win was for Best Actress in the film The Queen acting the part of Queen Elizabeth II. Taylor also won an Academy Award for the short film Teenage Father and has directed favourites such as An Officer and a Gentleman and Against All Odds.  In 2003, Helen was appointed Dame by Queen Elizabeth for her acting career that dates back to age 20 when she starred as Cleopatra for a UK National Youth Theatre production. Helen became a U.S. citizen in 2017 and voted for the first time in the 2020 election.

Joyce Rey of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury, Beverly Hills, holds the listing

Photo credit:  Coldwell Banker Source: joycerey.com