Marc Angeles / Vesta Home / Instagram
There are celebrity homes, and then there are homes that have witnessed the making of Hollywood itself. Dame Helen Mirren and her husband, Oscar-winning filmmaker Taylor Hackford, have returned their extraordinary Los Angeles estate to the market following an extensive refresh of the historic property. Set behind gates on approximately 2.6 hectares, Helen Mirren’s Hollywood home dates back to 1911 and has been home to some of the entertainment industry’s most fascinating figures.
Helen and Taylor purchased the property in 1986 and have spent the decades since carefully restoring and preserving its Old Hollywood character while making thoughtful updates to the interiors and grounds.
Now, the historic home has been given another transformation, with refreshed landscaping and newly staged interiors designed to celebrate its glamorous past.
And while the property’s panoramic Los Angeles views, swimming pool and beautifully layered interiors are undeniably impressive, perhaps its greatest luxury is something money can rarely buy: more than a century of Hollywood history.
A Hollywood home more than 100 years in the making
Long before Helen Mirren called the estate home, the property had already earned its place in Hollywood history. The Mediterranean-style residence was built in 1911 for Dustin Farnum, one of the stars of the silent-film era.
Farnum appeared in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1914 film The Squaw Man, widely regarded as the first feature-length film made in Hollywood.
Over the decades, the estate passed into the hands of several other notable figures, including journalist and film producer Mark Hellinger and actor-turned-producer Gail Patrick, who became an executive producer of the original Perry Mason television series. Remarkably, the century-old property has had only a handful of owners.
“It’s very unusual to have a house that’s over 100 years old and it’s only had four owners over that time,” Taylor previously told The Wall Street Journal.
It’s a remarkable provenance, even by Hollywood standards.
Who lives here?
Dame Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford
One of Britain’s most celebrated actors, Dame Helen Mirren has enjoyed a career spanning theatre, television and film. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the 2006 film The Queen and is also known for roles in Prime Suspect, Gosford Park, Calendar Girls and the Fast & Furious film franchise.
Her husband, Taylor Hackford, is an acclaimed American film director and producer whose credits include An Officer and a Gentleman, Ray and The Devil’s Advocate. He won an Academy Award for the 1978 short film Teenage Father.
The couple married in 1997 after meeting on the set of the 1985 film White Nights and purchased their Hollywood Hills estate the following year.
Helen Mirren’s Hollywood home has been given a glamorous new look
Helen and Taylor purchased the estate in the 1980s and have spent almost four decades preserving its character. Most recently, the couple enlisted luxury design and staging company Vesta Home to reimagine the interiors for a new generation.
Rather than attempting to modernise away the property’s history, the designers embraced it. Vintage-inspired furniture, warm earth tones, layered silk rugs, dramatic black accents and oversized black-and-white Hollywood photography now sit alongside the home’s original architectural details.
“Every house tells you what it wants to be, and this one didn’t need a lot of noise,” Vesta Home co-founder Brett Baer told Realtor.com. “It already had incredible character, so our job was really to layer in the right pieces and let the house speak for itself.”
It’s a design philosophy that feels particularly appropriate for a home with this much history. The result is an interior that feels sophisticated without being overly formal, allowing the architecture, rather than any passing design trend, to remain the star.
We love…the beautifully restrained approach to renovating a historic home
Rather than stripping away the estate’s personality in pursuit of a completely contemporary look, the latest refresh celebrates its history. Earthy colours, vintage-inspired furniture, tactile rugs and dramatic monochrome photography add warmth and character without competing with the original architecture. It’s a masterclass in allowing an old home to evolve without erasing the very details that make it special.
Inside the sprawling Hollywood Hills estate
The private estate includes the two-storey main residence, a detached three-bedroom guesthouse and an additional apartment and office above the garage. Inside the main home, grand entertaining spaces sit alongside more intimate rooms.
There’s a formal dining room, panelled bar and a generously proportioned kitchen complete with its own fireplace and butler’s pantry. The refreshed interiors balance the scale of the estate with a surprisingly warm and relaxed sensibility. In a previous interview with Architectural Digest about the property, Helen explained that despite its generous proportions, the house never felt overwhelming.
“Although it’s a big house, it doesn’t feel like a big house,” she said. “You don’t feel like you’re a little pea in a huge pod rattling around.”
HELEN MIRREN, ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST
It’s perhaps the secret behind the estate’s enduring appeal: for all its grandeur and celebrity history, it was designed to be lived in.
The ultimate Hollywood Hills hideaway
Outside, the estate becomes even more spectacular. The gated property occupies approximately 6.5 acres of land, an extraordinary amount of space and privacy for a home in Los Angeles. Terraced gardens unfold around the residence, while brick steps lead towards a rectangular swimming pool.
The grounds have also recently undergone a refresh, with updated landscaping and elegant iron outdoor furniture chosen to complement the architecture. Expansive terraces provide spaces for outdoor entertaining while taking advantage of sweeping views across the Los Angeles skyline. The combination of privacy, land and proximity to the heart of the city makes the property particularly unusual.
While the Hollywood Hills are famous for dramatic hillside homes and spectacular views, few estates can offer this much space — or this much history.
A home designed for Hollywood entertaining
It isn’t difficult to imagine the parties and conversations that have unfolded here over the past century. The formal dining room, panelled bar, generous kitchen, butler’s pantry and extensive outdoor terraces all point to a home created for entertaining.
Yet there are quieter moments, too. Fireplaces, richly layered living rooms and intimate seating areas prevent the vast property from feeling like a showpiece. That balance between grandeur and comfort is something the latest interiors have worked carefully to preserve. Vesta Home described its approach as “carefully edited”, creating a fresh perspective that remained elegant, timeless and faithful to the estate’s legacy. It’s a useful lesson for anyone renovating a period home: sometimes the most successful transformation isn’t about adding more, but knowing when to hold back.
Why are Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford selling?
Helen and Taylor first listed the property in 2021, when it arrived on the market with an asking price of US$18.5 million. The estate was also previously offered as a luxury rental. After several years on and off the market, the couple relocated to the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe and eventually withdrew the Los Angeles property from sale to undertake its latest refresh.
Now, the estate has returned to the market asking US$12 million — approximately AU$18 million — with new listing photography revealing its transformed interiors and landscaping.
The multimillion-dollar price reduction may grab the headlines, but it’s the history of Helen Mirren’s Hollywood home that makes the property truly remarkable. In a city where homes are routinely demolished, rebuilt and reimagined beyond recognition, this estate has survived for more than a century.
From silent-film stars to actors, producers and one of the world’s most celebrated leading ladies, generations of Hollywood figures have passed through its doors. Now, for the first time in almost 40 years, another owner has the opportunity to become part of its story.
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