Inside Meryl Streep’s Stunning Real Estate Portfolio
Here’s where the notoriously private Oscar winner has lived over the years
1985
About a decade after graduating from the Yale School of Drama, Streep returned to Connecticut, where she and Gummer paid $1.8 million for an estate in the quiet, historic town of Salisbury. The expansive property includes a small sheep farm and a 47-acre lake. In addition to the gray contemporary main house, there is also a pair of barns, a caretaker’s cottage, and a spacious art studio for Gummer. Residents in the area have spotted Streep around town but largely leave her alone, which Streep appreciates. In a 1986 interview with Ladies’ Home Journal, she said, “I’d much prefer not to have all the attention and adulation, people going berserk when they see me in public. Actually, I’m sort of boring, except for this incredibly fascinating career I have. Day to day, you know, I’m just like everybody else.” Streep and Gummer raised their four children in Connecticut, and they still own the home.
1995
The couple next purchased a redbrick Greek Revival–style townhouse in the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village for $2.2 million. The five-story residence was originally built in 1845 and was situated just a few blocks from Washington Square Park. The 6,585-square-foot dwelling included a dining room that could seat up to 16 people; a kitchen with two ovens, two dishwashers, a wine cooler, and warming drawers; a bar area; and an outdoor garden and a rooftop garden for warm-weather hosting. The primary suite, one of six bedrooms, took up the entire top floor and featured a 25-foot skylight, with an attached 450-square-foot Calacatta-marble bath, likely a sweet respite for Streep amid the daily grind. The Iron Lady star ended up selling the townhouse to the late Johnson & Johnson heiress Elizabeth “Libet” Johnson in 2005 for $9.1 million.
2006
Shortly after selling their Greenwich Village townhouse, Streep and Gummer picked up a $10.3 million Tribeca penthouse. Spanning an entire floor of River Lofts and accessible only via a private elevator, the 3,944-square-foot unit boasted unobstructed views of the Hudson, with floor-to-ceiling windows opening out onto landscaped terraces on three sides. The spacious modern unit included four bedrooms and four bathrooms, a skylight-topped entrance gallery, a wood-burning, freestanding fireplace in the living room, and a kitchen revolving around a butcher block island. The couple listed the unit for $24.6 million in 2018 but had to lower the asking price a bit over the next few months. They finally sold it for $15.8 million in early 2020.
2013
Streep’s first big purchase out West came with an architectural pedigree. The It’s Complicated star paid $4.5 million for a 3,700-square-foot Hollywood Hills home built in 1954 and known as the Honnold & Rex Research House. The midcentury-style dwelling was constructed almost entirely of concrete, wood, and glass, with a cavernous two-story living room boasting a two-story stone wall and fireplace. The home’s use of natural materials was meant to promote relaxation: Floor-to-ceiling glass windows looked out onto fountains and walled courtyards, and the four bedrooms and four bathrooms all featured views of treetops and sky. Streep’s hold on the property didn’t last long, however. The actor sold the boxy dwelling to Alex Rodriguez for $4.8 million in 2014.
2017
Streep continued her search for a home base out West, and several years later, put down $3.6 million for a 3,087-square-foot midcentury-modern-style home in Pasadena, California. Like Streep, it came with quite the legacy: before her purchase, it hadn’t changed hands for nearly 50 years. Incredibly, the Devil Wears Prada star paid half a million less than the asking price for the late 1950s gem. Designed by lesser-known midcentury architects Whitney Smith and Wayne Williams, the home boasts three bedrooms and three bathrooms, with an abundance of skylights and large windows. Details of note include exposed cinder block walls, a raised hearth fireplace, and a common area framed by two solid walls of glass. Streep still owns this home, and, based on her real estate resume, might just hold onto it for a few years yet.
