Jennifer Lawrence Lived In a Modest Townhouse Before Buying Jessica Simpson’s House for $7 Million
When it comes to real estate, Jennifer Lawrence is more low-key than you might expect. The star isn’t exactly lacking in luxury these days, but her more down-to-Earth style is also a long way from the flashy Hollywood lifestyle. Before upgrading to her current Beverly Hills house , Jennifer Lawrence built her career while living in a quaint Santa Monica townhouse.
Jennifer Lawrence lived in a somewhat humble house during her rise to fame
Roughly a decade after dropping out of high school at 14, Lawrence was circling a life in Hollywood and waiting for her moment to shine (per US Magazine). After some more minor TV work, including a pilot that didn’t air, she finally had a breakthrough in 2006 with an appearance on the hit show Monk (via Parade). That same year, Lawrence picked up her first L.A.-area home: a 1,400 square-foot Santa Monica townhouse with very few bells and whistles.
Although complete with plenty of privacy, the home wasn’t all that close to the beach and had a straightforward design and layout (as detailed by Lonny). Even though an $879K price tag is expensive in most areas of the country, it’s on the low-brow side for Santa Monica. The two-bed, two-bath townhouse would be Lawrence’s oasis as her career took off only a few years after she made the purchase.
Lawrence’s Santa Monica pad was still her residence when she was nominated for an Oscar for Winter’s Bone, the 2010 thriller that largely put her on the map. But by the time she won an Oscar two years later (for Silver Linings Playbook) and was cast as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, it was clear her simple Santa Monica days were ending. In 2014, Jennifer Lawrence picked up a Beverly Hills house with four times the living space, though she kept her place in Santa Monica for a couple more years (per Curbed LA).
Jennifer Lawrence’s Beverly Hills house has been celebrity bait
Jennifer Lawrence’s frank interview style has given us a funny insider’s look at her house in Beverly Hills. At the L.A. premiere of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Lawrence dished to Extra about the house’s past. “It’s Ellen [DeGeneres’] old house. It was Jessica Simpson’s old house,” she said. “It’s like the neighborhood whore. I was outside and some girl said, ‘I grew up in this house.’ Beat it kid. Everybody’s lived in this house.”
Covered with ivy and plant life, the secluded five-bedroom house looks more like a New England cottage than an L.A. mansion (per House & Home). Instead of a party-friendly backyard, the home has a private lap pool and koi pond to complete the laidback atmosphere. For Lawrence, who lives a frenetic life as a new parent and a movie superstar, privacy and relaxation seem to be the central themes of the space.
But even though a 5,500 square-foot Beverly Hills home isn’t exactly slumming it, it’s still very subdued for a top-shelf Hollywood star. No official numbers are available, but most estimates have Lawrence paying Simpson between $7-$8 million for the property. According to LA Curbed, the average price of a Beverly Hills house around that time was well over $4 million. And in just the last year alone, dozens of Beverly Hills homes have sold for more than $15 million (per Redfin).
Lawrence has an eye-popping place in New York City
But even though her main living space is almost quaint for Beverly Hills, the actor and husband, Cooke Maroney, also have an incredible East Coast getaway. In New York City, Jennifer Lawrence sold an East Side penthouse for almost $10 million in 2020, then upgraded to a stunning home in Manhattan’s West Village. From the NY Post, Lawrence paid close to $22 million for the property in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the city.
The four-bedroom townhouse is spacious for New York City and is ideally situated in the heart of Manhattan. Just around the corner in Tribeca, Lawrence also owns a unit in an exclusive building packed with other celebrity owners. Ryan Reynolds, Justin Timberlake, and Jessica Biel are just some of the other stars who have owned units in the same building. When Lawrence isn’t using it, she rents it out for as much as $30,000 a month (via Celebrity Net Worth).
Lawrence has a nice collection of high-end properties at this point, but the 31-year-old can undoubtedly afford it thanks to her flourishing career. After taking some time off, Lawrence pocketed $25 million in 2021 for her role in Don’t Look Up and has a total net worth of about $160 million.
Lawrence recently jumped headlong into producing as well—dramatically increasing her earning potential. She is both star and producer for the upcoming Elizabeth Holmes biopic Bad Blood, director Adam McKay’s follow-up to Don’t Look Up. After never serving as a producer before 2022, Bad Blood is one of four different projects Lawrence is currently producing (per IMDb).
