Set high on the quiet, exclusive streets of gated Laughlin Park, the DeMille Estate is more than a home. It is one of Los Angeles’ most enduring pieces of film history, the place where Cecil B. DeMille lived, dreamed, and helped invent what Hollywood would become.
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Quick Facts
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How the Estate Came to Be
The house predates the Hollywood studio system itself. Built in 1913, the property was originally a Mediterranean-style residence designed by architect Bert C. Phillips. DeMille purchased it in 1916 after the monumental success of The Squaw Man (1914), which is widely considered the first feature-length film produced in Hollywood.
DeMille originally paid $28,000 for the property and surrounding land. Over the next decade, he expanded the house and purchased the surrounding parcels, eventually owning enough land to create a private, secluded, two-acre compound above the city he helped define. This expansion cemented the property’s size and grandeur, transforming it from a large house into a sprawling estate.
Laughlin Park, established around 1912, was conceived as an exclusive enclave of stately homes for Los Angeles’ early elite. It immediately attracted creative powerhouses, studio heads, and silent-era stars who sought privacy within minutes of the burgeoning studios like Paramount and Universal. DeMille’s estate soon became its crown jewel, a sanctuary where film decisions were made as readily as family dinners were served.
Cecil B. DeMille and the Golden Years (1916–1959)
By the 1920s, DeMille was already a legend—a founding father of Paramount Pictures and a master showman. His personal and professional life intertwined deeply within the walls of this estate for over four decades.
Professional Life at 2000 De Mille Drive
- Epic Planning: This was the creative headquarters for some of his biggest spectacles. It’s reported that much of the planning for the original $1.4 million production of The Ten Commandments (1923) and his sound era masterpiece Cleopatra (1934) took place here.
- The Private Projection Room: DeMille converted one of the outbuildings into a private screening room, allowing him to review “rushes” (dailies) and finalize edits away from the studio. He was known for his legendary attention to detail, and this room was key to his process.
- Radio and War: During the 1930s and 1940s, DeMille hosted his weekly radio show, “Lux Radio Theatre,” from a studio at Paramount. However, the estate became a central hub for his patriotic efforts during World War II, hosting massive war bond drives in the gardens and offering hospitality to visiting dignitaries.
Personal Life and Legacy
DeMille raised his four children here: Cecilia, Katherine, Richard, and John. Despite his public image as an imposing showman, the estate provided a traditional, ordered, and dignified home life. He lived at the property until his death in 1959 at the age of 77. The name of the street itself, De Mille Drive, was later changed in his honor, a rare tribute for a living figure at the time.
Architecture and Landscape: Beaux Arts Meets Mediterranean
The DeMille Estate combines the Beaux Arts formality often seen in East Coast mansions with the Mediterranean Revival warmth favored in Southern California.
- Exterior Features: Cream-colored stucco walls are capped by classic terracotta rooflines. The ivy-covered columns flanking the arched main entry underscore the property’s stately presence.
- Landscape Design: The original gardens were planned by celebrated landscape designer Mark Daniels, who also worked on several other historic Los Angeles estates. They descend in meticulous terraces toward the magnificent pool area.
- The Pool and Pavilion: The pool was later reimagined with arched fountains casting perfect arcs of water across turquoise tile. A small, columned pavilion anchors one corner, creating the illusion of a Roman-era bathhouse transported to a California hillside.
- Interiors: Rooms retain much of their early 20th-century detail: richly carved wooden beams, hand-wrought-iron fixtures, stone fireplaces, and a graceful, sweeping staircase. The atmosphere remains stately but livable, reflecting DeMille’s own refined taste.
After DeMille: Preservation and the Modern Era
When Cecil B. DeMille died, the estate remained in family hands for decades.
The Restoration (2000s)
In the early 2000s, preservationists Richard Grossman and Lisa Lyons undertook a meticulous, painstaking restoration. They stabilized the main house, completely modernized all major systems (electrical, plumbing, HVAC), and revived the extensive gardens without erasing their history. They famously rebuilt the pool and terraces to match archival photographs, restoring the estate’s original visual symmetry and preserving its historical integrity.
Angelina Jolie and Contemporary Hollywood (2017–Present)
In 2017, actress, director, and humanitarian Angelina Jolie purchased the DeMille Estate for approximately $24.5 million. This sale was one of the highest on record for the Los Feliz area and symbolically connected two cinematic epochs: one of Hollywood’s founding architects and one of its most globally recognized modern figures.
Jolie chose the home specifically for its history, location, and privacy, aiming for a tranquil environment to raise her six children. Her ownership continues the property’s creative lineage—she has reportedly used the home as both a private refuge and a working environment for her directorial and production projects, including her international humanitarian work.
Laughlin Park and its Enduring Legacy
Laughlin Park remains one of Los Angeles’ most coveted and discreet enclaves. Once home to early moguls and stars like W.C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin, and Carole Lombard, the neighborhood has evolved into a blend of historic preservation and quiet celebrity seclusion. Streets wind past mission-style gates, shaded by mature trees planted when film was still black and white.
Market Snapshot
Homes within Laughlin Park rarely list publicly, enhancing their scarcity and value. While the median sale prices for Los Feliz as a whole hover around $2 million, Laughlin Park’s estates trade privately at several multiples of that figure. Properties with historic or celebrity provenance—like the DeMille Estate—command exceptional premiums, supported by their cultural significance and global recognition.
Why the DeMille Estate Matters
- A Nexus of Hollywood History: It is the longest-standing residence of a founder of the American motion-picture industry.
- Architectural Significance: One of the city’s earliest and best-preserved Beaux Arts Mediterranean estates, serving as a cornerstone of Laughlin Park’s residential character.
- Cultural Continuity: Its ownership lineage connects the silent era’s golden age (DeMille) to today’s global film culture and humanitarian efforts (Jolie).
- Preservation Success Story: Sensitive, well-funded restoration in the 2000s ensured the estate remains a living, functional home without sacrificing its historical details.
The DeMille Estate endures as a private world behind its gates—a tangible link between the dawn of Hollywood and the artists who still keep its light burning.
The DeMille Estate endures as a private world behind its gates—a tangible link between the dawn of Hollywood and the artists who still keep its light burning.
