Ellen DeGeneres buys Montecito Mansion for $27.4 as rumors swirl of return to US – 1 year after moving to UK
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres has returned to the US housing market with a vengeance, purchasing a stunning Montecito mansion for $27.4 million in an off-market deal that closed in late November – a year after she and her wife Portia de Rossi moved to Great Britain
DeGeneres, 67, and de Rossi, 52, reportedly bought the California home from a Hollywood producer Brian Grazeras first reported by Radaronline.
Property details viewed by Realtor.com® show that the couple purchased the property through a trust managed by DeGeneres’ longtime business manager, Harley J. Neuman.
That same trust was used when DeGeneres bought a sprawling Carpenteria estate in 2022, which she later sold for a whopping $96 million in August 2024, months before she and De Rossi moved to Britain’s Cotswolds.
DeGeneres, long regarded as one of Hollywood’s most prolific – and successful – real estate investors, continued that legacy across the Atlantic, where she two farms in the short time she lived there.
However, her decision to make a new real estate investment in Montecito, where she and De Rossi lived for years before moving abroad, will further fuel speculation that the couple are eyeing a return to the US.
Initially, the comedian and her husband planned to live in Britain for just a few months a year. However, they made the move more permanent after learning of that president Donald Trump had emerged victorious in the 2024 elections.
“We came here the day before the election and woke up to a lot of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, ‘He got in,’” she explained at an event in July. “And we say, ‘We’re staying here.'”
She then talked about their new life in Britain
“We moved here in November, which wasn’t the ideal time, but I saw snow for the first time in my life. We love it here,” she said. “Portia flew her horses here, and I have chickens, and we had sheep for about two weeks.
“Everything is just better here: the way animals are treated, the people are polite. I just love it here.”
However, their move was not without difficulties. The property the duo first moved into was a historic farmhouse that they completely renovated to create a more modern retreat.
They would end up living in the property for a few weeks before purchasing another, much more modern, glass-walled abode a few miles away, which DeGeneres later revealed suited their needs much better.
“When we decided to live here full-time, we knew Portia couldn’t live without her horses,” DeGeneres told the Wall Street Journal. “We needed a house with a horse facility and pastures for them.”
The couple then put their first property on the market for $30 million, about $10 million more than they paid for the home.
While that ranch is still on the market, it hasn’t stopped DeGeneres from making another expensive real estate investment in the form of a beautiful three-bedroom, six-bathroom home in the Santa Barbara enclave.
The estate is set behind tall hedges and a gated entrance leading to a long driveway, ensuring total privacy from prying eyes.
According to a previous advertisement for the property, it features three buildings – a huge main residence and two guest houses – offering a complex ideal for those who enjoy entertaining large groups of guests.
The home sits on a 3-acre lot and was previously purchased by Grazer in 2012 for $7.6 million. This means that the producer has made quite a profit on the sale of the house, which DeGeneres and de Rossi bought for almost four times the price he paid 13 years ago.
However, Grazer is believed to have made multiple updates to the property, including completing the main home, which was built in 2015.
Because the property was purchased off-market, no new listing images have been made available.
It is unclear whether DeGeneres and de Rossi purchased the home as an investment property or if they plan to use the property as their U.S. home base after selling the majority of their other homes in California in the wake of their move.
Meanwhile, the couple’s British farm has been up for sale for the past six months.
The listing, which is managed by Andrew Barnes And Marcus O’Brien of Sotheby’s International Realty, praises the property’s many positive attributes, including its “43 hectares of rolling Cotswold countryside”.
“The main building unfolds around a central landscaped courtyard, a beautiful focal point that brings light and flow to the interior,” the description continues.
“A series of generous reception rooms overlook this space, creating a seamless connection between indoors and outdoors. Designed for both large-scale entertainment and relaxation, the layout combines sharp architectural detail with a contemporary eye for volume, proportion and finish.”
In a previous advertisement, the property was described as “an eco farm with the perfect modern rustic interior.” However, one of DeGeneres and De Rossi’s real estate agents noted that the farm was somewhat “tired” when the couple purchased it.
But that didn’t stop DeGeneres from falling in love with the house. She reportedly paid around $3.3 million above the asking price to secure the house, then hired a team of 70 workers to carry out the renovation works as quickly as possible so that it would be ready for her and De Rossi as soon as possible.
The Journal reported that DeGeneres and de Rossi were originally given an 18-month timeline in which contractors believed the renovations could be completed — so they brought in “about 70 workers” who could complete the work in about 10 weeks.
