Zsa Zsa Gabor’s Bel Air home will likely face the wrecking ball once it closes to its developer buyer in the coming months, according to a source with knowledge of the sale.
Gabor, who died on Sunday at 99, lived for four decades in a quirky French Regency-style home in Bel Air, with a celebrity pedigree that preceded her. Around three years ago, Gabor went into contract to sell the home for $11 million to a commercial real estate development company, which has been busy preparing the construction permits needed to redevelop the property, the source told Mansion Global.
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The Hungarian actress, who appeared in more than 60 movies—and who was famous for marrying nine times—lived in the home with her last husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt.
Film and airline tycoon Howard Hughes commissioned the bright yellow home, which today spans 9,000 square feet with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, in 1955. Before Gabor moved in, Elvis Presley rented the home for a spell, and Gabor hosted a laundry list of celebrity guests in the house, including President Ronald Reagan, Queen Elizabeth II and President George H.W. Bush, according to an old listing for the property.
Pictures of the home show a brick courtyard with a pool in the backyard and scarlet steps (reminiscent of a red carpet) leading to a rooftop terrace. Inside, the home has French details and mouldings, an antique fireplace and French doors, according to the listing.
Ms. Gabor made use of the home’s massive double-sized, two-room closet. The home also has posh features like staff quarters and a butler’s pantry, according to the listing by broker Roger Perry.
Mr. Perry helped engineer a deal between Gabor and a buyer in 2014 that delayed the closing so that she could continue to live in the home until her death. Unlike a typical life estate agreement, like the one Hugh Hefner used to live in the Playboy Mansion, the sale was never finalized, though it’s expected to close in the coming months.
Property records show the buyer in escrow is a company called 1001 Sky View. The limited liability company is part of a Los Angeles-based commercial development firm called Jade Enterprises, the records show.
Right now, the developers are mulling two options, the source said. The new owners will either resell the property with the construction permits in place, or raze the home and redevelop the property itself. In either case, Gabor’s last residence would likely face complete or partial demolition.
An executive at Jade Enterprises did not return an email request for comment on the property.
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During her final years, Gabor rented the home out to production companies to film movies such as "Argo" (2012), and HBO’s Liberace film, "Behind the Candelabra" (2013), according to property records. Gabor and her home were also in an episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" in the 1990s.
The Los Angeles estate isn’t the only former Gabor home in flux. A less flashy Palm Springs house which she lived in during the 1960s, before moving to the Bel Air home, is on the market for slightly less than $1 million.
The more modest mid-century, glass-lined bungalow has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a pool.
Gabor’s publicist Edward Lozzi did not immediately return a request for comment.