Naomi Osaka appears to have a thing for buying the homes of pop music stars. Astute real estate watchers will recall that nearly three years ago, back in July 2019, the tennis superstar shoveled out $6.9 million to buy the modernist 90210 digs of “Jealous” singer Nick Jonas.
Now Osaka has shifted her real estate gaze to the San Fernando Valley, where records confirm she’s somewhat surprisingly splashed out $6.3 million for a different Nick’s lavish mansion. This time, it’s 98 Degrees boyband singer Nick Lachey, perhaps best known for his marriage to Jessica Simpson and for co-hosting Netflix’s “Love Is Blind” with his current wife, Vanessa Lachey. The deal was inked off-market, but the sale price would seem to be a nice profit for the Lacheys, who only lived there for a year — the couple bought the house back in late 2020, during Covid quarantines, paying about $5.1 million.
Built new in 2015, the East Coast traditional-inspired mansion already boasts an impressive celebrity pedigree. In 2018, it was sold for $4.8 million to Randall Cobb, the star NFL wide receiver who currently plays for the Green Bay Packers. It was Cobb who flipped the place, barely two years later, to the Lacheys at a modest profit.
And though she’s only 24, rest assured that Osaka can well afford her real estate indulgences. Forbes estimates the Japanese former World No. 1’s income topped $60 million in a single year alone, making her the highest-paid female athlete of all time. Notably, less than 10% of her income came from on-court winnings; roughly $55 million of that haul was instead due to her incredibly lucrative endorsement deals, including contracts with Nike, GoDaddy, Levi’s, Nissan, TAG Heuer, Louis Vuitton and Mastercard. And those are just some of her sponsors.
Born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian American father but raised primarily in the United States, Osaka boasts a unique multicultural appeal and has thus been one of the world’s most marketable athletes since the early days of her career. In 2019, she hit #1 in the rankings; since then, she’s been open about her personal struggles and famously withdrew from the French Open at the last minute, citing mental health concerns.
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Image Credit: Zillow Set behind a double-gated driveway on a prime cul-de-sac in the leafy foothills of L.A.’s Tarzana neighborhood, the elegant home boasts manicured front gardens and driveway parking for a dozen or more cars, plus a four-car garage.
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Image Credit: Zillow Inside, hardwood floors stained a rich dark brown flow throughout the open-plan living spaces. The various rooms are luxe but also casually comfortable.
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Image Credit: Zillow Spanning nearly 7,000 square feet, the large house offers an eat-in kitchen with dual islands and a trove of top-quality stainless appliances.
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Image Credit: Zillow Adjoining the kitchen is an oversized family room with a fireplace, built-in bookshelves and pocketing doors that open to the backyard.
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Image Credit: Zillow The kitchen is a chef’s dream, and it services both a formal dining room and a more intimate breakfast room.
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Image Credit: Zillow The formal dining room sports wainscoting and a patterned wallpaper.
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Image Credit: Zillow There’s also the covered and fireplace-equipped loggia for balmy nights.
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Image Credit: Zillow The backyard is truly a resort of its own, with grassy lawns, a fire pit, stamped concrete patio and a dark-bottomed pool. There’s also a bar and built-in BBQ for summer cookouts.
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Image Credit: Zillow From its perch in the hills, views overlook a substantial swath of the valley and the Santa Susana mountains that surround it.
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Image Credit: Zillow Back inside, a so-called “parlor games room” is (or was) equppied with a pool table, plus a slick wet bar that can easily seat five sports fans. Somewhere in the near vicinity lies a temperature-controlled wine cellar.
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Image Credit: Zillow The media room/screening room doubles as a comfy lounge.
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Image Credit: Zillow All five of the home’s bedrooms have ensuite full bathrooms, and there are additionally two powder rooms on the premises. The upstairs primary suite includes a fireplace, private balcony, private sitting room and dual closets.
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Image Credit: Zillow The fireplace also warms the master bath, which offers all the spa-style accouterments wealthy homebuyers have come to expect.
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Image Credit: Zillow Back outside, kids will enjoy the two-story playhouse, while the palm trees are a nice tropical touch and meld well with the sometimes-scorching San Fernando Valley heat.
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Image Credit: Zillow But the roughly 30,000-square-foot lot saves its best feature for way out back, where there’s a sunken and full-size sports court. While currently set up with basketball hoops, tennis would be an easy conversion, and there are lights for nighttime play.
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Image Credit: Zillow