Lena Waithe Buys Alesso’s Extroverted L.A. Mansion

From her humble beginnings on Chicago’s South Side to her current residence at the pinnacle of Hollywood’s proverbial food chain, it’s been a long and rocky road for Lena Waithe. The Emmy-winning TV writer/producer/actress has a fistful of current projects in the tank — Showtime’s “The Chi,” now renewed for a fifth season, BET’s “Twenties,” now stepping up to its sophomore season, and the Amazon Prime horror series “Them.” She also stars in Netflix’s “Master of None,” which recently wrapped its third season. Along the way, Waithe inked lucrative deals with Showtime and Amazon Studios, and won critical acclaim for her stories and character development.

On the personal front, Waithe married her longtime fiancée Alana Mayo in late 2019, but the couple split after just two months. Records reveal that Waithe subsequently granted Mayo full ownership of the couple’s marital home, a modern-minded bungalow perched in the hills of Mount Washington.

So Waithe, 37, has packed her bags and upgraded in a manner befitting an A-list Hollywood producer, shelling out $6.4 million for an ultra-contemporary Los Angeles home. Set on a prominent Studio City ridge line behind gates and an enormous hedge wall, the property was sold to her by Swedish-born DJ Alesso.

Spec-built in 2017 by a developer, the house was last sold in 2018 for $5.8 million. Alesso subsequently made “numerous upgrades,” to the property, per the listing agents, including the installation of state-of-the-art audiovisual and security equipment. The estate spans more than a third of an acre, and perhaps its best feature is the lavish upstairs “owner’s suite,” which has a bedroom that converts to a screening room at the touch of a button. There are also dual owner’s bathrooms and dressing rooms.

In contrast to the home’s colorful exterior, the interiors are mostly neutral and more conventional, laced with various shades of grays and creams. There’s a kitchen with top-of-the-line Wolf and Miele appliances, plus a wet bar, movie theater, three-car garage with epoxy flooring, and even a panic room for emergency situations. Out back, the expansive backyard features a infinity-edged pool and spa partially shaded by a balcony, a full outdoor kitchen with BBQ and a firepit. Sweeping views take in the San Fernando valley skyline and the San Gabriel Mountains.

Peter Cornell and Jason Oppenheim of The Oppenheim Group held the listing; Daniel Lam of The Agency repped the buyer.