Five months after Jackie Collins succumbed to breast cancer at 77, the wildly prolific and successful romance novelist's Beverly Hills home has come up for grabs with a whopping $30 million pricetag. According to the Wall Street Journal, the 21,784-square-foot residence was completed in 1992, with Ms. Collins taking a very hands-on role in its design.
In a 2014 interview, the Hollywood Wives author told the WSJ that the house was inspired by a David Hockney painting. "In 1989, my husband Oscar [Lerman] and I visited an art gallery in London, where we saw Mr. Hockney's 'A Bigger Splash.' I couldn't take my eyes off the pool and fell in love with the clean lines, suspended splash and overall tranquillity. Within days, I was sketching a design for a new home that wrapped around a pool based on the one in the painting."
To execute her vision, Collins enlisted the services of architect Ardie Tavangarian. Per the listing, the one-acre property boasts an eight-bedroom main house connected by a 100-foot-long art gallery to a guest house with offices, a gym and sauna, and a screening room. Interior details include several quarry's worth of marble, a dramatic curving staircase, sky lights, multi-tiered soffits, and enough built-in shelving to display as many Buddha statues and panther or cheetah figurines you could ever want. There's also a cabana for the all-important swimming pool, multiple terraces, and a six-car garage. Lookie-loos, be forewarned: "Buyers must be prequalified."
· Beverly Hills Estate of Jackie Collins Lists for $30 Million [Wall Street Journal]
· 616 North Beverly Dr [Estately]