They say showbiz is one of the most volatile industries, particularly for working actors, but tell that to Ellen Pompeo. The Massachusetts native, 52, has held a steady job for the last 17 years at “Grey’s Anatomy,” the hit ABC medical drama where she stars as protagonist Meredith Grey. During that time, she’s seen nearly all her original co-stars quit or fall by the proverbial wayside.
For her devotion to the show, Pompeo has been very richly rewarded. Forbes says she hauled in $19 million during 2020 alone, and she’s long ranked high on year-end “highest paid actresses” lists. Some of that money has been funneled into real estate investments; she once owned a Spanish-style rental property in the Hollywood Hills and an estate in the Hamptons, though both those homes were sold off some time ago.
Way back in 2013, Pompeo paid “Friends” co-creator Marta Kauffman about $6.4 million to buy her Buff & Hensman designed beach house in Malibu, complete with ocean views from its blufftop location and a walled courtyard with a swimming pool.
Since then, home values have risen dramatically, and records show Pompeo has just spent another $10.3 million to buy the less-impressive house next door to that Buff & Hensman estate. This key purchase gives her 1.67 contiguous acres in Malibu’s desirable Encinal Bluffs neighborhood, with the acreage stretching from the ocean to Pacific Coast Highway, plus two side-by-side houses with a total of eight bedrooms and 7.5 baths.
Because the house was never on the market, there aren’t any particularly interesting details or pictures of Pompeo’s latest acquisition. But the landlocked property has an ocean view, and is lushly landscaped with grassy lawns, koi ponds and several rock waterfalls. The existing structure was built in 1980 and owned for decades by the same family. It includes five bedrooms, four full bathrooms and one powder room in roughly 4,000 square feet of living space, according to tax records.
Encinal Bluffs, home to some of Malibu’s most remote and least-crowded beaches, has long attracted a slew of celebrity homeowners. Current residents include Cindy Crawford, Leo DiCaprio, Aaron Rodgers and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who currently wants $225 million for his village-like Encinal Bluffs estate.
In addition to the expanded Malibu compound, Pompeo and her longtime husband Chris Ivery also maintain a historic home in Los Feliz’s gated Laughlin Park community. Some years ago, they hired celebrity interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard to work his decorative magic on that 1930s villa, which was originally designed by Paul R. Williams. Photos of the elegant results were published in a 2017 issue of Architectural Digest.
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Image Credit: Bing