Hollywood actor Johnny Depp – best known for his roles as Captain Jack Sparrow, Willy Wonka and Sweeney Todd – is reportedly putting one of his most jaw-dropping personal properties up for sale: an entire French village in the country’s southern region. Let’s explore the Pirates of the Caribbean star’s $55.5 million (£39.9m) estate, complete with its own restaurant and village church. Click or scroll for more...
Located in the paradisical Côte d'Azur area, the 19th-century Provençal hamlet can be found just 17 miles from the glamorous celebrity magnet Saint-Tropez. Depp purchased the estate in 2001 when he was at the height of his fame: he was coupled up with French actress-cum-singer Vanessa Paradis and they had their first child together – the future model Lily-Rose Depp. Their son Jack would follow the next year.
According to TopTenRealEstateDeals.com, this is the third time that Depp has reportedly tried to put the French Riviera property on the market. It was put up for sale in both 2015 and 2016 but failed to attract a buyer. During this period, its real estate value varied from $27 million (£19m) to $63 million (£45m). This time, it is thought the listing will have an asking price of $55.5 million (£39.9m).
The accommodation in the village is as beautiful and rustic as the setting. There is the main house and a guest home, totalling 12,900 square feet of living space, 15 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms. Throughout the grounds, you’ll find 300-year-old oaks, olive trees and vineyards. Previous listings included some of Depp’s possessions – his books, music and art – as part of the deal, but it is unclear if these will be a part of the upcoming sale.
As would be expected when you own a village, there are plenty of sociable amenities, too. In addition to the various residences, there's a covered wagon with a bath and kitchen, two swimming pools, a skate park that he designed for his son, a full gym and a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed wine cellar (pictured).
The 15-hectare hamlet was completed dilapidated when Depp acquired it. He has since spent a cool $14 million (£9.9m) on restorations which include the preservation of the original stone and wood beam structures throughout all the buildings – this alone cost $10 million (£7m)!
Further renovations carried out by the three-time Academy Award nominee have included transforming the village's former place of worship (pictured) into one of six on-site guest homes; the Catholic confessional is now a wardrobe. With beautiful stonework and soaring ceilings, who wouldn't want to live in a converted church?
Depp, who rose to fame as an 80s teen heartthrob in the television series 21 Jump Street, also invested in making over the facade of the buildings: there is a real feeling that you are in the heart of a functional French village. For example, the town square is utterly charming and houses a private restaurant called Chez Marceline. There’s no telling who has dined here – perhaps famous co-stars like Helena Bonham-Carter or Orlando Bloom?
The village’s exclusive location will also be a huge draw; Saint-Tropez is a hotspot for the world’s elite to convene. Along its palm tree-lined streets, you may bump into the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyoncé and Jay-Z or Depp’s ex-partner Kate Moss. It’s also just a stone’s throw away from the beauty of the Mediterranean sea.
The estate even has its own art studio, filled with paintings and materials. Life of late has not been so blissful for Depp, however. The Edward Scissorhands actor has recently been involved in a legal battle with his ex-wife, the actress Amber Heard. In late 2020, he lost a UK libel case taken out against The Sun newspaper – a decision that he plans to appeal.
Clearly a fan of the sea breeze, Tim Burton’s frequent collaborator also owns a 45-acre three-island atoll in the Bahamas. Known as Little Halls Pond Cay (Depp affectionately refers to it as ‘F*** Off Island’), it has six different beaches and was bought by the actor for $5.35 million (£3.8m).
Depp is not just an on-screen seafarer: he owned a 150-foot luxury yacht named Vajoliroja (so named after the first two letters of Vanessa, Johnny, Lily-Rose and Jack), which reportedly cost $350,000 (£248k) in monthly upkeep. His accountant convinced him to sell the yacht, which was bought by JK Rowling – the creator of his Fantastic Beasts character Gellert Grindelwald – in 2016. He has since been dropped by the franchise following the court case and subsequent public controversy.
Although he is a Hollywood fixture, Depp was born in Owensboro, Kentucky. Despite moving around frequently in his childhood, he clearly holds a soft spot for his birthplace. Set on the outskirts of Lexington, the Kentucky native originally purchased this gorgeous horse farm in 1995 for a modest $950,000 (£674k).
The 41-acre estate houses a seven-bedroom home, four-car garage, guesthouse, pool and three barns – enough to make any equestrian swoon! Originally, the farm was put up for auction in 2017, but the top offer of $1.4 million (£993k) was refused. Local press reported it is worth $2.33 million (£1.7m) but it only sold for $1.35 million (£957k) – nearly half its cash value – in early 2020.
Depp is not known for a frugal nature and has previously gotten into financial trouble for his outrageous spending habits. One of his most extravagant purchases is a collection of five penthouses, all in the same building: the truly incredible Art Deco-style Eastern Columbia Building in trendy downtown Los Angeles.
Sometime between 2007 and 2008, Depp acquired five of these luxury urban dwellings for a total of $7.2 million (£5.1m). He then relisted them together for $12.8 million (£9m) but ultimately sold them separately. It turned out to be a smart business decision, as he made a profit of $2 million (£1.4m) in the resale, selling the final property (pictured) in November 2017.
If all these properties weren’t enough for the Golden Globe-winning actor, he also owns a whopping five neighbouring homes in the elusive Hollywood Hills. It has been reported that he once considered building a tunnel between the homes, which have a collective worth of $19 million (£13.5m). Pretty handy for when you leave your phone in your other house!
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