Emmy winning entertainment news mandarin, mineral makeup mogul and indefatigable philanthropist Leeza Gibbons has splashed out almost $5.5 million — a bit more than the just under $5.4 million asking price — for a historic home in L.A.’s historically hoity-toity Hancock Park neighborhood.
Fully restored and thoroughly updated in a manner that seamlessly mixes and matches original architectural details, such as leaded and stained glass windows, with up-to-date creature comforts and conveniences, the charming, handsome and finely detailed 1920s English Country cottage has four bedrooms and four bathrooms in about 3,800 square feet. A matching, two-story guesthouse adds significant square footage with a poolside lounge and bath and, upstairs, an ample bedroom suite with fireplace.
A wide entrance hall with shiny, dark brown floor tiles steps down to a baronial living room, where an imposing, antique, mirrored, carved-wood fireplace is flanked by a built-in cocktail bar and French doors to the backyard. The huge dining room is casually open to an up-to-date gourmet kitchen. The second floor features a sumptuous owner’s suite with double walk-in closets, a private terrace and a huge bathroom replete with a cushioned lounge opposite a jetted tub surrounded by marble. Wrapped in high hedging, the backyard offers antique brick terraces, a swimming pool and spa along with a full kitchen and dining terrace under a vine-draped pergola.
The property was listed with Rock Realty Group’s Jason Reitz, while Gibbons was represented in the transaction by Michael Sutton of The Agency.
Along with her author husband, Steve Fenton, the former “Entertainment Tonight” co-host, chat show host and 2015 “Celebrity Apprentice” winner, who sold a 7,000 sq. ft. Beverly Hills mansion late last year for a bit more than $15.4 million, presides over an ever-changing property portfolio that includes at least three residential properties in a couple of plum West Hollywood neighborhoods, two of them acquired in 2018 for a total of more than $4.2 million.