Just a girl in the hills

Just a girl in the hills
By Ruth Ryon, Times Staff Writer
April 1, 2007

She and musician-actor Gavin Rossdale, frontman for the grunge group Bush, were married in 2002 and had a son, Kingston, in the spring of 2006. That September, Stefani and Rossdale bought a 10,000-square-foot Hollywood Hills home for their little family, paying slightly less than its $15.5-million asking price. The contemporary-style house is on 2 acres in a gated community.

Stefani gained fame with rock group No Doubt and hits such as "Just a Girl" and "Don't Speak," then went for a solo spin; her latest solo album is "The Sweet Escape."

Stefani has now put her Los Feliz bachelorette pad on the market at close to $4.8 million. It has six bedrooms and five bathrooms in 5,000 square feet. The grounds are about half an acre with a pool, spa, electric gates and a long, private drive. Mediterranean in style, the house was built in 1928 and has a two-story entry, hand-stenciled beams, a stone fireplace, an updated kitchen, an atrium with stained glass and a media room.

Stefani, 37, has owned the Los Feliz home since 1998, when she bought it for $1.4 million. Two years later, on No Doubt's album "Return of Saturn," she wrote lyrics about her desire to be a mother. Kingston is expected to accompany his mother throughout her upcoming world tour. Last week, Stefani appeared on "American Idol" and performed on the 20th anniversary of the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in Hollywood.

Stefani has been compared to a younger Madonna in appearance and style. She played Jean Harlow in the film "The Aviator." Rossdale, 41, appeared in the movie "Constantine" and is in the cast of the upcoming films "Frost Flowers" and "How to Rob a Bank."

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New launchpad for 'Rocket Man'

Sierra Towers no sooner lost Lindsay Lohan as an owner of one of its condos than it gained Sir Elton John.

For his price of close to $2.5 million, the Grammy and Academy Award winner gets a high-rise view of downtown to the Pacific. The 1,800-square-foot unit has two bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms with walls of glass and a balcony. There is a gym, a doorman and a rooftop pool. The 146-unit, 32-story building is in West Hollywood, just off Sunset Strip.

The English pop/rock singer, composer and pianist celebrated his 60th birthday last Sunday night with his 60th performance at New York's Madison Square Garden performing songs including "Your Song," "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)," "Candle in the Wind" and "I'm Still Standing."

S. Martin Weiss of Sotheby's International Realty-Sunset had the listing, and Russell M. Filice of the same office represented the buyer, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

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Good vibrations in Santa Barbara

Beach Boy Bruce Johnston is planning to hang his surfboard in smaller Santa Barbara quarters.

Johnston, who joined the Beach Boys in 1965 — one year after they went on their first major U.S. tour — and his wife, Harriet, have listed the home where they raised their four sons. The asking price is nearly $4.4 million.

The ranch-style house, which the couple has owned since 1986, is on an acre with mountain views. It has a master bedroom suite with a sitting room, two other bedrooms, a maid's suite and a detached guesthouse, used for recording music.

Last June, the five surviving Beach Boys, including Johnston, 64, gathered on top of the Capitol Records Tower to receive a double platinum award for their greatest-hits compilation "Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys" and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the album "Pet Sounds."

Johnston left the band in the mid-'70s but returned before the end of that decade.

Sandy Stahl of Sotheby's in Montecito has the listing.

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Own a piece of old Hollywood

Xorin Balbes, a designer-developer known for his restorations of Los Angeles-area homes such as the Sowden House designed in 1926 by architect Lloyd Wright, has renovated the El Cabrillo bungalows in Hollywood. The Spanish Revival courtyard-style units are where Cecil B. DeMille held meetings, Rudolph Valentino made movies and Stevie Wonder is reported to have once lived.

Seven of the 10 units that have been turned into condos have been sold. The three available are priced from $745,000 to $999,000. The units were designed in the '20s as rentals by Arthur and Nina Zwebell.

Deasy/penner&partners, Beverly Hills, is handling sales.