Yolanda doesn’t watch TV. She also doesn’t listen to today’s popular music. It’s true. We know that some of our posts (quite a few of them recently) have been devoted to Hollywood celebrities, but about 57% of the time we don’t even know who the heck these people are before we give ’em a good ol’ Google.
Random rant: but have y’all noticed how most “primetime” shows seem to start later and later? Back in Yolanda’s day, we remember when all good TV shows ended by 8 PM. Anything later was for fornicators and crackheads. But now you’ve gotta stay up half the night just to catch a glimpse of a zombie decapitation or two. Oh hell no. We will not compromise this face by sacrificing our beauty sleep.
Okay, fine. We do enjoy a tiny bit of TV. One show we definitely TiVo is the excellent How to Get Away With Murder. It’s not so much that we care about the (melo)dramatic plotlines, engrossing as they may be. We mostly just watch to see Viola Davis flaunt her massive, perfectly-honed acting chops. She’s fantastic. If Yolanda loved blogging as much as Ms. Davis clearly loves acting, these posts would write themselves. Instead we’re stuck on this chaise lounge dictating to our long-suffering typist Todd. Hey, Todd!
Anyway, HTGAWM became a massive breakout hit a year or two ago and won Ms. Davis countless awards and nominations including an “Outstanding Lead Actress” Emmy. But don’t get it tangled, she’s a veteran actress. Ms. Davis initially began performing on Broadway back in the 1990s and had her breakout film role with a remarkable (and Oscar-nominated) tour-de-force performance in the movie Doubt. And since 2005, she has lived in a large but rather ordinary and unassuming tract-house style thing way out in Granada Hills, deep in the feared San Fernando Valley.
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With a big new show and a big new contract under her Hermes belt, it’s blatantly high time for a Ms. Davis upgrade on the residential front.
Although her name does not appear on the deed — the owner is shielded behind something called “The Genesis Trust” — Yolanda happens to know that Ms. Davis and her husband Julius Tennon (and their daughter Genesis) will soon move to a brand-new 7,545-square-foot mansion in the most star-studded little cranny of Toluca Lake. Records show the house sold just about three weeks ago (in August 2016) for a fat $5,700,000.
Here’s what we mean by star-studded. Just two doors away from Ms. Davis’s new abode is a massive mansion that was custom-built recently for Steve Carell and his family. Directly next to that is the home of singer Sia. Next to Sia is a house owned by P. Diddy/Sean Combs/Puff Daddy/whoever and occupied by Kim Porter, his favorite baby mama. Behind Ms. Porter’s house is a large mock-Med mansion that was owned by pop culture hellion Miley Cyrus from 2007 until last year, when she sold it for $6,000,000 to heiress Ariadne Getty. The house, so we’ve been told, is not actually occupied by Ms. Getty but rather by her up-and-coming fashion designer son August Getty.
Next door to Mr. Getty is a house formerly owned by mega-mansion builder Nile Niami, who leased it for a time to pint-sized diva Ariana Grande before selling it to comic book maestro Jim Lee. Behind Mr. Lee’s house is the multi-parcel estate of the late and eternally beloved Bob and Dolores Hope and just over from that is another Toluca Lake house formerly owned by Miley Cyrus and now owned by her parentals.
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Imagine how many security cameras are along that little stretch of road? There’s a lot! But we digress.
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Listing details call Ms. Davis’s new spec-mansion a “contemporary European masterpiece”. The masterpiece has a somewhat unconventionally-angled front door that’s practically on the side of the 5-bed, 8-bath structure. The double doors glide open to a hardwood-lined, high-ceilinged proper entrance foyer.
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The living room has medium-brown hardwood floors, pastel wall colors, and a large fireplace. There’s even bookshelves — real, actual bookshelves! You don’t see that much anymore. Seriously.
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Take a gander at the kitchen, which is undeniably luxurious with its 60″ gas range, griddle, Sub Zero fridge, microwave drawer, dual dishwashers, and a butler’s walk-in pantry. All countertops are marble, and the humongous center island has stool seating and some sort of exotic-looking purple ash wood cabinetry. Fancy!
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Elsewhere there’s a state-of-the-art theater with a 133-inch screen, projector, and (naturally) surround sound. Marketing materials also say there’s a “media bath with TV”, whatever that is. To Yolanda, a gal who almost never watches TV, it all seems rather like overkill. But we suppose someone who takes their virtual entertainment real serious would appreciate this setup. And who better than Ms. Davis, really?
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Upstairs, the master bedroom has rarely-seen wall-to-wall carpeting. Yolanda doesn’t see much carpet on new construction these days, but it looks pretty comfy. A boutique-sized dressing room can easily accomodate all of Ms. Davis’s red carpet gowns.
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Nice ‘n shiny marble floors in the master bath. There are separate vanities and a chair for Ms. Davis when her glam squad arrives to get her red carpet-ready.
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The light-flooded office is definitely Yolanda’s favorite room in the house. We’d kill to have that leather furniture set and there are more real bookshelves!
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Outdoor amenities on the .44-acre micro-estate are numerous and include a large balcony off the master suite and a full outdoor kitchen and Viking BBQ on the stone terrace below. There’s enough grass for a soccer pitch and a saltwater pool with spa. Somewhere lurking out there is also a pool bathroom.
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The grey-walled and red tile-roofed mansion also has a long list of other luxury features, including (but not limited to): Lutron lighting control, security cameras, indoor and outdoor speakers and an electric car charging station in the three-car garage for Ms. Davis’s Tesla (if she’s got one, we don’t know).
Oh dear — we hate to cut this story short, but Yolanda really must dash. We’re late for our nightcap and then it is straightaway and immediately our bedtime. Todd, dear, pack this poor poodle up as best you can.
Todd: Mazel tov on your new house, Ms. Davis!!
Craig Strong of John Aaroe Group repped both the seller and Ms. Davis in this deal.