Ellen DeGeneres Lists Her Stunning Santa Barbara Estate for $45 Million
Ellen DeGeneress Santa Barbara home will have your jaw on the floor - and not just because of the eight figure price tag.
The comedian and TV host, 59, is hoping to sell the coastal California estate she shares with wife Portia de Rossi, 44, for $45 million, listing agency Sotheby’s confirms to PEOPLE. The couple purchased the property in 2012 for a reported $26.5 million.
The stunning 10,000-square-foot home, known as the “The Villla,” was built in 1930 and sits on just under 17 acres with breathtaking views over the Pacific and surrounding mountains. DeGeneres, who’s developed a reputation as a real estate mogul - buying, renovating and selling numerous houses in Southern California over the last 25 years - spoke to Sotheby’s about what charmed her about the historical estate.
“The house is always surprising. It reveals itself to you in new ways every day,” she says. “It’s not overly manicured or tidy. It’s not overly precious or perfect. And it’s a home that manages to be both spacious and cozy at once.”
The main house includes six bedrooms, nine fireplaces, and an 800-square-foot living room. Outside, the grounds feature a swimming pool, sunken tennis court, classic fountains, and a stately guest house called Jordan Hall - a new addition to the property built by DeGeneres.
“The surrounding gardens and olive trees are almost as wonderful as the interior,” the comedian tells Sotheby’s. “The house truly feels like it was built out of the landscape, rather than plopped on a plot. It feels ancient, like it’s been there forever. Like that hill was never without the house. This is a home that honors nature, and I love that.”
Like all her homes, DeGeneres was deeply involved in the restoration and decoration of the stately stone property. “If you think of your home as a canvas regardless of its style of architecture you can put anything on it,” she says, adding, “I tend to keep painting the painting until it’s so done, there’s nothing left to do. That’s when I sell the canvas and buy a new one.”
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DeGeneres released a book, Home, which highlights several of her interior design conquests including the Villa. “When I’m in a room, I want everything I’m looking at to make me happy,” DeGeneres told PEOPLE in 2015, when the book was released. “I’ve gotten better over the years. This didn’t happen to me right away. I shop a lot and I study a lot and I look at a lot of books and magazines. I just learned what I like.”
The Emmy winner has also hosted an HGTV show, Ellen’s Design Challenge, and released several decor collections, including her own ED range, and new lines of rugs, furniture and dinnerware with collaborators.
