Meryl Streep has spent decades playing characters of extraordinary complexity on screen. Off screen, her real estate choices tell a quieter but equally revealing story — one defined by a consistent preference for architectural integrity, long-term ownership, and privacy over spectacle. Across Connecticut, New York City, and California, Streep has assembled a portfolio of homes that reflects her character: selective, purposeful, and grounded in something more lasting than trend.
This article covers every major property Meryl Streep has owned, sold, or currently holds — including the purchase prices, design details, and what each home reveals about how she actually lives.
The Connecticut Estate: Where She Raised Her Family
In 1985, roughly a decade after graduating from the Yale School of Drama, Streep and her husband — sculptor Don Gummer — paid $1.8 million for a sweeping estate in Salisbury, Connecticut. The town sits in Litchfield County, a rural corner of the state that, at the time, had almost no celebrity footprint and minimal media presence.
The property is substantial: a 47-acre spread that includes a former sheep farm and a private lake. The main house is a gray contemporary structure, deliberately unassuming from the outside. It sits behind high stone walls with multiple smaller buildings around it — a pair of barns, a caretaker’s cottage, and a dedicated art studio built for Don Gummer’s sculptural work.
The couple reportedly poured several hundred thousand dollars into renovating the property after purchase. They raised all four of their children here.
What matters architecturally is what Streep chose: not a showpiece, but a compound designed around function and seclusion. The property is still in her possession today, making it one of the longest-held assets in her portfolio — and the closest thing to a permanent home base she has maintained.
The Greenwich Village Townhouse: A Historic Landmark in Private Hands
In 1995, Streep and Gummer paid $2.2 million for a five-story redbrick townhouse at 19 West 12th Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The building was originally constructed in 1845 in the Greek Revival style — meaning when they purchased it, it was already 150 years old.
The scale here is significant: 6,585 square feet spread across five floors, with six bedrooms and six fireplaces. The ground floor kitchen was built for serious use — two ovens, two dishwashers, a wine cooler, and warming drawers. The dining room could seat up to 16 people.
The architectural highlight is the fifth floor. The entire top level functions as the primary suite, capped by a 25-foot skylight that pulls light through the full width of the space. The primary bathroom spans 450 square feet and is finished in Italian Calacatta marble.
From a preservation standpoint, this is notable: Streep renovated the interior while reportedly keeping the building’s original structure and street-facing character intact. For a home built in the mid-1800s, that kind of custodial stewardship is uncommon. The 12-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling French windows were preserved as core features, not removed for convenience.
Streep and Gummer held the townhouse for a full decade. In 2005, they sold it for $9.1 million — a strong return on a $2.2 million purchase, though hardly a flip. The buyer was Johnson & Johnson heiress Elizabeth “Libet” Johnson. The property later resold in 2021 for $17.25 million, illustrating how well it had held and grown its value over time.
The Tribeca Penthouse: Her Most Talked-About New York Property
Shortly after the Greenwich Village sale, Streep and Gummer paid $10.3 million for a penthouse at 92 Laight Street in Tribeca — inside a building known as River Lofts. They purchased around 2006.
The numbers: 3,944 square feet on a single floor, with four bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms. The unit is accessible only via private elevator. Three sides of the apartment open onto a 10-foot-wide landscaped terrace, with floor-to-ceiling windows providing unobstructed views of the Hudson River.
Inside, the aesthetic is restrained and modern: white walls, white kitchen cabinetry, a butcher-block island, and Brazilian walnut hardwood floors throughout. The living and dining area centers on a wood-burning, freestanding fireplace — an unusual feature in a high-floor urban penthouse. There’s also a media room and access to an outdoor kitchen on the terrace.
In 2018, they listed the unit for $24.6 million. The price was reduced over several months, and the penthouse finally sold in early 2020 for $15.8 million. The gap between the ask and the sale price reflects the volatility of the luxury Manhattan market during that period, not any deficiency in the property itself.
The Hollywood Hills Research House: An Architectural Footnote
Streep’s first California purchase came in 2013, when she paid $4.5 million for a 3,700-square-foot home in the Hollywood Hills, just above the Sunset Strip. The property was built in 1954 and carries a specific architectural designation: the Honnold & Rex Research House.
The backstory is worth understanding. The firm of Honnold and Rex designed the home as part of a program sponsored by Architectural Products magazine, which commissioned architects to build homes using experimental or showcase materials. The result was a structure built almost entirely from concrete, wood, and glass — materials chosen for their relationship to natural light and indoor-outdoor flow.
The plan is open, the ceilings are double-height in the main living area, and a two-story stone wall anchors the central fireplace. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls look out onto fountains, walled courtyards, and a pool. Four bedrooms and four bathrooms all face trees and sky.
Streep did not hold this property long. In 2014 — roughly a year after purchase — she sold it to former MLB player Alex Rodriguez for $4.8 million. The property later sold again in 2019 for $4.4 million, suggesting the market had cooled relative to what Rodriguez paid.
The Pasadena Home: Her Current California Base
In 2017, Streep purchased a 3,087-square-foot home in Pasadena, California, for $3.6 million — approximately $500,000 below the asking price, a notable negotiating outcome for a high-demand area.
The house was designed by architects Whitney Smith and Wayne Williams, a firm based in South Pasadena that worked primarily in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Before Streep’s purchase, the home had not changed hands in nearly 50 years — a rare quality for a California property.
Built around 1959, the home has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Design details include exposed cinder block walls, terrazzo and wood flooring, a raised-hearth fireplace, skylights throughout, and a common area enclosed by two full glass walls. The property sits in a position that frames views of the San Gabriel Mountains — a daily presence from most rooms in the house.
Outside, a swimming pool is positioned behind natural boulders, giving it the appearance of a lagoon rather than a typical suburban pool. There’s also a detached studio, which would be useful for someone whose former husband is a working sculptor, though the couple confirmed their separation around the same time Streep purchased the home.
As of the most recent available information, Streep still owns this property.
What Her Real Estate Choices Actually Tell You
Most celebrity real estate coverage treats properties as status symbols. Streep’s portfolio resists that framing.
A few patterns stand out when you look at her buying history as a whole:
She buys for architecture, not address. The Greenwich Village townhouse was a protected 19th-century building. The Hollywood Hills property was a magazine-sponsored research project. The Pasadena home is a relatively obscure example of late 1950s California modernism by architects who never reached wide name recognition. None of these are purchased for prestige alone.
She holds for years. The Connecticut estate has been in her hands since 1985. The Greenwich Village townhouse lasted a decade. The Tribeca penthouse stayed in her portfolio for roughly 14 years. In a market where wealthy buyers frequently flip properties within two to three years, her long hold periods are unusual.
She prioritizes privacy structurally. Stone walls in Salisbury, private elevator in Tribeca, a long private driveway in Pasadena — in each case, the property’s layout creates physical distance from public visibility. That’s a design preference, not an accident.
She values natural light above most other features. Skylights, floor-to-ceiling glass, open plans oriented toward views — across all five properties, the single most consistent thread is the relationship between interior space and available light.
Current Properties: What She Still Owns
Based on verified transaction records and publicly available information:
- The Salisbury, Connecticut estate (purchased 1985 for $1.8 million) — still in her possession
- The Pasadena, California home (purchased 2017 for $3.6 million) — still in her possession
The Greenwich Village townhouse sold in 2005. The Tribeca penthouse sold in 2020. The Hollywood Hills Research House sold in 2014.
Meryl Streep’s real estate history is notable for what it doesn’t include: speculation, rapid flipping, or the kind of trophy-property acquisition common among celebrities at her level of fame and income. Instead, the portfolio maps cleanly onto her stated values — a preference for privacy, a genuine interest in architectural history, and a willingness to hold onto something of quality long after the initial excitement has passed.
That approach has also served her financially. The Greenwich Village townhouse purchased for $2.2 million sold for $9.1 million after a decade of ownership. The Tribeca penthouse, even at a reduced sale price, returned more than $5 million above the original purchase cost. Her real estate record, like her career, appears to be built on patience and good judgment rather than spectacle.
FAQs
Where does Meryl Streep currently live?
Meryl Streep currently owns two properties — a long-held estate in Salisbury, Connecticut, purchased in 1985, and a mid-century modern home in Pasadena, California, purchased in 2017. Both are confirmed to still be in her possession based on publicly available transaction records.
How much is Meryl Streep’s house worth?
Her Pasadena home was purchased for $3.6 million in 2017 and, given California’s real estate appreciation over that period, is likely worth considerably more today. The Connecticut estate was bought for $1.8 million in 1985 and spans 47 acres with a private lake — its current market value would be substantially higher than the original purchase price, though no public appraisal is available.
Did Meryl Streep sell her New York penthouse?
Yes. Streep and Don Gummer listed their Tribeca penthouse at 92 Laight Street for $24.6 million in 2018 and sold it in early 2020 for $15.8 million — well below the original ask, reflecting a softer luxury Manhattan market at the time.
Who designed Meryl Streep’s Pasadena home?
The Pasadena property was designed by architects Whitney Smith and Wayne Williams, a South Pasadena-based firm that worked primarily in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The home was built around 1959 and had not changed ownership for nearly 50 years before Streep purchased it.
How many homes has Meryl Streep owned in total?
Streep has owned at least five documented properties: the Connecticut estate in Salisbury, a Greek Revival townhouse in Greenwich Village, a penthouse in Tribeca, the Honnold & Rex Research House in the Hollywood Hills, and her current Pasadena home. She sold the Greenwich Village, Tribeca, and Hollywood Hills properties at various points, retaining the Connecticut and Pasadena homes.