While today they may own some of the world’s most impressive property portfolios, celebrities come from a wide range of backgrounds.

Whether from humble roots, like Elvis Presley and John Lennon or born into a life of luxury like Gwyneth Paltrow and Miley Cyrus, their early homes give us an idea of who they really are behind the glitz and glamour.

Click or scroll on to tour these childhood celebrity homes and discover just how far they’ve come…

As an Oscar-winning actress, savvy businesswoman, and lifestyle guru, Gwyneth Paltrow has undoubtedly achieved success using her brains and talent.

However, it's also fair to say she's been luckier than most. As the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and director Bruce Paltrow, Gwyneth grew up in lavish surroundings.

She spent most of her childhood in this mansion in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, which last sold in 2024 for $11.4 million (£8m).

Built in 1913, the house was bought by Paltrow's parents in 1976 and has been extensively remodelled since the famous family lived there.

However, we can tour the 6,900-square-foot (640sqm) home and get a taste of what it must have been like when Gwyneth lived here as a child.

This glamorous light-filled kitchen may have inspired the young Gwyneth's later career as a food writer. The large marble-topped island and Wolf and Subzero appliances would suit any A-lister who loves to cook.  

Elsewhere on the ground floor, there's a glass-walled entryway leading to a theatre room and guest bedroom. 

The home has six bedrooms in total, with four in the main house and two in a detached guest house. The primary suite has a fireplace, his-and-hers bathrooms as well as some seriously spacious walk-in wardrobes. 

The guest house has a sauna, a gym and an office. There's also a glass-panelled three-car garage on the 0.4-acre (0.2ha) lot, which doubles as a showroom for car collectors.

Outside, the garden is filled with palm trees, terraces, built-in seating areas, two fire pits and a Balinese-inspired pool and spa. 

Gwyneth also spent many of her childhood years living in a Renaissance-Revival-style townhouse on New York's Upper East Side. That seven-bedroom home last sold in 2022 for $12.9 million (£10m).

While these days the 'Material Girl' singer has some incredible luxury properties in London and Hollywood, Madonna started her life in much more humble surroundings.

Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to this charming detached house in the suburbs of Detroit for some of her formative years.

The house was listed by realtor Robert Kabbani in 2017 and sold for $411,000 (£318k) and it’s no wonder why: with five bedrooms, three bathrooms and 1.2 acres of surrounding grounds, this could be a perfect family home.

The house has had an eventful history over the years – it was put on eBay in 2001 and changed hands twice after that.

In 2008 it was damaged by fire but has now been beautifully restored.

After one year at Michigan University, Madonna moved to New York to pursue her dreams of becoming a star. She was a student at Rochester Adams High School from 1972 to 1976 and lived in Rochester Hills, in Michigan's Oakland County.

While Detroit is known for its edgy music scene, this sleepy Midwest suburb was about as far from cool Manhattan as you can get – although we could imagine a teenage Madonna shooting some pool around this table.

In an interview with Howard Stern Madonna said: "I just didn't fit in. I just felt like I was with rich people, and I wasn't and I felt out of place. And I felt like they were members of country clubs and they had manicures and they wore nice clothes and I didn't fit in."

While the teenage icon-to-be may have struggled to settle into the affluent area, her family home was certainly cosy and comfortable.

The wooded gardens are studded with decks and small wooden bridges that crisscross a stream. There's a large round sunken area containing a firepit and plenty of room to sit and roast marshmallows.

The house was damaged by fire in 2008 but has undergone an extensive renovation since then – which is apt for a building that was once the home of the queen of reinvention.

Now somewhat of a superfan shrine, this modest timber home is the exact spot where legendary rock 'n' roller Elvis Presley was born. 

Located in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis was born in the modest home of Vernon and Gladys Presley on 8 January 1935.

The house has just two rooms and was handbuilt by the singer's father, grandfather and uncle. Presley's father took out a loan of $180 – around $4,200 (£3.2k) today – to buy the building materials needed to construct the timber property.

However, the family were eventually forced to move out due to their inability to repay the loan.

The house features wood-clad ceilings, a brick chimney breast, homely furnishings and patterned wallpaper. It may have been a simple space, but Elvis' parents clearly went to some trouble to turn it into a welcoming home for their young son.

Just around the corner from Presley's birthplace is the Assembly of God Church where he was first introduced to gospel music, which would heavily influence his music career.

The family lived in several homes in the Tupelo area, before moving to Memphis, Tennessee when Elvis was 13.

Elvis would, of course, go on to live in his famous Graceland home on the outskirts of Memphis. It cost him $102,500 when he bought it in March 1957 – that's about $1.2 million (£927k) today.

We can just imagine Elvis' mother rocking him to sleep on her lap on this charming porch swing.

Now a dedicated heritage site and museum, you can see Elvis' birthplace for yourself and discover where it all started for the King of Rock 'n' Roll.​

In January 2025, this pretty chocolate-box house hit the market for just under $4 million (£3.1m) with Ellis Sotheby's International Realty.

Known as the French Ivy House, it was once the childhood home of Nashville star Hayden Panettiere. The quaint property lies in Palisades, Rockland County, in the heart of New York state.

Panettiere was born and raised in Palisades, living in the house for much of her youth. She was even homeschooled here, working her education around her fledgling acting career.

Last sold in 2021 for $1.2 million (£927k), her former home has since undergone a flashy renovation – as we can see from this grand formal sitting room.

Built in the charming storybook style, the house features plenty of architectural focal points, including a mansard roof and a secondary wing. 

The property covers 3,500 square feet (325sqm) and offers four large bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms, making it ideal for a family.

This sumptuous sitting room is part of a large open-plan kitchen, living and dining area.

This brand-new kitchen features marble counters and top-of-the-line appliances, as well as quarter-sawn oak floors with radiant heating beneath.

In the celebrity property hotspot of Snedens Landing, the house is around the corner from Angelina Jolie’s childhood home and Bill Murray and Al Pacino are some of its famous former residents.

The lot offers one acre (0.4ha) of land and is surrounded by the hiking trails of Tallman Mountain State Park. The Hudson River is also just 10 minutes away, making the home ideal for lovers of the great outdoors. 

We'd love to lie back in this sunroom and look out of the French doors onto the beautiful countryside beyond. 

The Beatles may have been the best-selling music act of all time, but their enormous success grew from humble roots.

Founding member John Lennon started the band while living in this house in Woolton, Liverpool in the late 1950s.

251 Menlove Avenue or Mendips, as the house is known, belonged to John's Aunt Mimi and Uncle George. He went to live with the pair following his parents' separation in 1946.

While this quaint kitchen looks old-fashioned to us, fellow Beatle Paul McCartney remembers Mendips as "one of the almost posh houses" in the Woolton area.

The pair met at a local church fete. McCartney lived less than a mile away in social housing on (the now famous) Forthlin Road. 

Mimi kept their home immaculately tidy and Lennon remembered his time living there as generally happy. John's mother Julia would regularly visit Mendips and take tea with her sister.

Sadly, in 1958, Julia was hit by a car and killed after leaving the house to catch her bus home.

Years later, Mimi would take pity on John's fans and welcome them into her home, giving them tea and sandwiches.

Lennon and McCartney began playing and composing songs here in John's bedroom. While Mimi approved of Paul's good manners, she disliked the noise and made them move to the porch.

Eventually, the boys decamped to Paul's house and they developed their soon-to-be-famous songs in the parlour, while Paul's father was out.

Aunt Mimi left Mendips in 1965 and the house was sold. It wasn't until 2002 – long after Lennon's murder in 1980 – that his widow Yoko Ono bought the house and donated it to the National Trust.

Today, the Trust preserves both Mendips and 20 Forthlin Road and runs public tours of the historic homes.

Back when she was known only for her sweet television alter ego Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus lived in this luxe mansion in California.

Bought in 2007, the singer's parents, country singer Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus, paid $5.8 million for the property when Miley was just 14 years old. That's about $8.9 million (£6.9m) today.

In 2015, the palatial villa was back on the market for $6 million (£4.6m), with its value barely increasing despite its famous former occupants.

Built for privacy, the six-bedroom, seven-bathroom Tuscan-style mansion is enclosed by a boundary wall and a security gate for maximum protection.

The luxurious pad is in the Toluca Lake neighbourhood of LA (an A-list area that stars love to buy in), covering 8,700 square feet (808sqm) of interior space.

In addition to this luxurious living room, the family enjoyed a grand entrance foyer with a sweeping curved staircase and a large chef’s kitchen with ogee-edged granite countertops, as well as multiple fireplaces inside and out.

The property is the perfect place for big kids, with skate ramps, a cinema room and an alcove dedicated to guitars – fitting given the family's musical background.

Upstairs, the primary suite features a fireplace, a large sitting room, a terrace, a bathroom and a dressing room with double closets. Five further bedroom suites provide more than enough room for friends and family.

Outside is an enviable swimming pool, manicured lawns and a three-car garage, while an olive tree-lined driveway leads up to the prestigious property.

With an estimated net worth of $160 million (£124m) as of 2025, a now grown-up Miley has since dropped $7.9 million (£6.1m) on a six-bedroom mansion in Malibu, California.

In June 2016, James Taylor's architectural childhood home landed on the real estate market, granting fans access inside the singer's formative life. 

The 3,172-square-foot (295 sqm) dwelling was auctioned off for a touch under $1.7 million (£1.3m). Once you see inside you'll totally understand why...

The property can be found in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where Taylor's family moved when he was just five years old.

They bought a 24-acre (10ha) plot in the heart of town and commissioned architects to build them a modernist home that would be easy to maintain.

Inspired by the works of Frank Lloyd Wright, the residence was designed to be spacious enough to accommodate a family, as well as lavish parties.

Bright, stylish and open-plan, the interior worked so well that they stayed the same for 20 years. 

Many of James Taylor's songs were inspired by his childhood home, including 'Carolina In My Mind', which he penned in 1968.

The perfect place to grow up, the property also offers a children’s playhouse, where Taylor no doubt spent a lot of time.

The mid-century modern design takes full advantage of the surrounding scenery and boasts walls of glass and plenty of subtle nods to nature, including stunning timber floors, wood-panelled walls and granite-lined fireplaces. 

In the garden, you'll also find a small guesthouse, which is said to have been a favourite hangout spot for the 'How Sweet It Is' singer and his friends.

In fact, Taylor's initials can be found carved into the cabin's outside deck.

This picture-perfect house lies in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and is where iconic Hollywood star Judy Garland was born in 1922.

Garland's parents purchased the home in 1919 and the family lived here for seven years until October 1926. 

The Wizard of Oz sensation was born here on 10 June 1922 and spent much of her formative years enjoying the idyllic landscapes of Minnesota.

The house was constructed from white clapboard and is surrounded by well-preserved memorial gardens, which now honour the actress.

The house dates to 1892 and, thanks to salvaged photographs, was carefully restored to reflect its appearance back in 1925 when Garland lived here as an infant. 

Now a museum dedicated to the life of Judy Garland, the house is one of America's first celebrity birthplace attractions, opening its doors to the public in 1975.

Throughout the home, framed family photos, antique furniture and childhood mementoes are on display for visitors to get a feel for what it was like for Judy and her two older sisters to grow up in the little white house. 

Judy made her first stage debut at just two and a half years old, performing with her sisters before signing up with the Hollywood studio MGM in 1935.

The famous time-capsule home also holds the world’s largest collection of Garland's personal effects and Wizard of Oz memorabilia, making it the perfect destination for movie buffs.

In 2005, the museum was the scene of a high-profile crime when a pair of ruby slippers Garland had worn in the film were stolen while on display.

Thankfully, the FBI tracked them down in 2018, much to the relief of Judy fans everywhere!

Judy Garland married Hollywood director Vincente Minnelli in 1945 and a year later had a daughter, Liza. Liza Minnelli is famous in her own right as an actress, singer and dancer but during her childhood, her parents stole the spotlight.

Their high-profile divorce in 1951 led to young Liza splitting her time between her parents' homes. Vincente Minnelli bought this Spanish Revival mansion in Beverly Hills after the divorce and Liza spent much of her time here with her doting father.

The house on North Crescent Drive was filled with ornate and undoubtedly expensive furniture, like this Japanese screen and elaborate chandelier. 

While some of the ornaments and furniture are timeless, the enormous TV in the corner is decidedly dated, even though this photograph was taken in 2002.

Vincente went on to marry three more times after he split from Garland. He died in 1986 and while he left this house to Liza, he stipulated that his fourth wife Margaretta 'Lee' Anderson should be allowed to live in their home for as long as she liked.

This large master suite is the bedroom they shared during their six-year marriage.

Lee Minnelli was photographed standing in her late husband's painting room in March 2002. She hit the headlines that year after Liza, the home's official owner, sold the house.

Liza had reportedly offered Lee a condo to live in, but Lee refused to move – even when the new owners took possession. 

Here, Lee poses by the mansion's pool, which Liza might have enjoyed splashing about in as a child.

Lee filed a lawsuit against her stepdaughter, but she dropped it after Liza agreed to pay the new owner's rent on her behalf.

The six-bedroom mansion was left to languish for many years after Lee died in 2009 before it finally got a much-deserved makeover. 

After British singer, actress and style icon Jane Birkin moved to Paris in the late 1960s, she met and married French singer Serge Gainsbourg. The pair moved into this maisonette at 5 bis rue de la Vernueil – a quiet street in the chic Saint-Germain neighbourhood.

They lived in the Left Bank home with Kate Barry, Jane's daughter from a previous marriage, and Charlotte (pictured), Jane and Serge's daughter who was born in 1971.

Charlotte Gainsbourg was pictured here with her parents and half-sister in Serge's music room in May 1972.

Charlotte famously went on to become an actress and singer like her mother. She has starred in films like Lars von Trier's Melancholia and 21 Grams, alongside Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. She's also appeared as herself in French TV hit Call My Agent! 

In 1969, Jane was photographed posing in the maisonette's carefully curated sitting room.

The image reveals a lot about the couple's taste in interior decor. They seem to have eschewed the broader trends of the 1970s, instead opting for a mix of antique and modern pieces. Elsewhere in the home, patchwork quilts and cosy corners spoke to Birkin's English roots.

Birkin and Gainsbourg split in 1980, but the Frenchman stayed on in the 1,400-square-foot (130sqm) apartment. This photo taken in 1986 shows the singer-songwriter in his music studio.

The dark-painted walls turn the grandly proportioned room into a cave-like space, where the music takes central focus.

Charlotte Gainsbourg took over the care of the historic home after her father died in 1991, aged 62. In 2023, she opened Maison Gainsbourg to the public.

Fans can wander through Serge's home, which has been left just as it was when he died, and then cross the road to visit a museum dedicated to his work, featuring letters, clothing and broadcast interviews.

Birkin lived in Saint-Germain for the rest of her life, until she died in 2023.

In 2011, the childhood home of Arnold Schwarzenegger opened as a museum dedicated to the former bodybuilder's long and varied career.

As a boy during the 1950s and early 1960s, the star lived in an apartment in the yellow building, which stands in the village of Thal, near Graz in southeast Austria.

The apartment is located in a former forester's lodge and it was the official home of the armed police – or gendarmerie – in Thal. As a gendarme, Arnold's father Gustav Schwarzenegger was entitled to live there with his family.

Despite its charming exterior, the home didn't have electricity or running water. Arnold's mother would have had to bring jugs of water into this 1950s-style kitchen to cook and wash dishes and clothes.

At 14, Schwarzenegger began lifting weights and began training with local bodybuilders. The museum houses some of his early dumbbells, trophies and photos from his early career.

In light of these humble beginnings, few could have imagined that Schwarzenegger would go on to win Mr Universe a record-breaking five times.

Meals at this tiny kitchen dining table must have been a squeeze for the Schwarzeneggers and their two athletic sons. Meanwhile, a replica of their outhouse gives us an idea of just how basic Arnold's life was back before he found fame.

In 1966, Schwarzenegger left Thal for Munich and from there he moved to Hollywood, where he made his name starring in films like Terminator, Twins and True Lies.

Arnold's childhood bedroom still contains his bed and the posters that inspired him as a boy.

In 1985, Schwarzenegger proposed to journalist Maria Shriver while boating on a lake a short walk from his boyhood home. As the niece of President John F. Kennedy, Shriver was perfectly placed to help her husband succeed politically.

In an unlikely career move for the bodybuilder and action hero, Schwarzenegger served as the Governor of California from 2003 to 2011.

The eldest child of Italian actress Lucia Bosé and legendary bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguín, musician Miguel Bosé enjoyed the trappings of celebrity from an early age. 

In 1958, when Miguel was two years old, his parents built this home on a large estate in Somosaguas, which is near Madrid. The 10,800-square-foot (1,000 sqm) concrete bunker-style mansion stands on 2.5 acres (1ha) of land and was extensively renovated by Bosé in 2011.

This touching photo shows Lucia Bosé with Miguel and his younger sisters Lucía and Paola in their sitting room in 1966. Sadly, Lucia and Luis's youngest son Juan Lucas died when he was just a month old in 1962.

Art and culture were the cornerstones of the Spanish pop star's childhood – along with a hefty dose of glamour. 

His parents hosted some of the most high-profile stars of the day at their villa, including Audrey Hepburn, Salvador Dalí and 'Uncle' Pablo Picasso.

This 1965 photo shows Miguel and his sisters sorting through boxes of Christmas decorations with their mother at their richly-furnished Somosaguas home.

The family also had another famous home, Villa La Paz in Cuenca, Castilla La Mancha, where Miguel would ride ponies with his father, a keen equestrian.

In 1970, Lucia, Miguel and Paola were filmed eating together during the filming of Spanish TV show Doble Image, which was shot in their home.

It may have given Miguel a taste for the limelight. He became a dancer and actor, appearing in numerous films and TV shows before turning his attention to music and releasing his first album in 1977.

Luis and Lucia split in 1968 and Miguel eventually took on the family home, which he kept even after he moved to Mexico City. However, the Grammy winner was forced to sell the mansion in 2023 to clear tax debts. Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois snapped it up for a reported €6,000,000 ($6.6m/£5m).

This 1967 photo could be any normal family snap if it weren't for the young leopard lying in Miguel's lap – a symbol of just how unusual his childhood and his childhood home really were.

Eunice Kathleen Waymon was born in this home in Tryon, North Carolina in February 1933. 

The three-room clapboard house was home to Eunice, better known as the legendary singer and pianist Nina Simone, her Methodist minister mother, handyman father and seven siblings.

They lived in the house until 1937.

Simone's parents had moved into the home in 1929.

The modest dwelling covers just 560 square feet (52sqm) and while it must have been quite a squeeze for a family of 10, they still found room for a piano.

This period-style piano and Nina's sheet music remain in the house today.

At the age of five, Simone became the official pianist of her local Methodist church. Three years later, her mother's employer paid for Nina to have a year of piano lessons and her piano teacher set up a fund to support her education through high school.

In 1950 she studied piano at the prestigious Julliard School in New York.

Simone then applied for a scholarship at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, but her application was rejected, which she believed was due to her race.

In 1954, the 'I Put a Spell on You' singer made her way to Atlantic City, where she performed in a nightclub, using the name Nina Simone for the first time.

Despite its link to the famous soul singer, the home was abandoned and largely forgotten until it was put up for sale in 2017.

In severe disrepair and facing demolition, the house was rescued by four African American artists who raised $95,000 (£73k) to buy the historic home. Today, it has been restored to its 1930s bones and will be preserved for years to come.

Historical research revealed the home would have been surrounded by a swept yard, kitchen garden and a workshed. The latter will be rebuilt to give future visitors a glimpse into what life was truly like for Simone and her family.

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