Hollywood actor George Clooney is adamant he is isn’t “abandoning” his longtime home of Los Angeles since being granted French citizenship – insisting he’s keeping an apartment in the city so he can return regularly.
George Clooney is adamant he is isn’t “abandoning” Los Angeles since being granted French citizenship.
The former E.R. star lived in the Californian city for decades after moving there from his native Kentucky to pursue a career in Hollywood but he recently sold the LA home he has owned since 1995 and is now living full-time in France with his wife Amal and their eight-year-old twins.
Despite now holding a French passport, Clooney has retained a “big apartment” in California so he can return regularly. When asked by the Los Angeles Times if he is “abandoning” the city, Clooney replied: “No!”
He added of selling his longtime home in the Studio City area: “I’ve been there in that house for 30 years, and it was time to move.
“We got a place about four years ago in France, and we spent a good amount of time there, enjoying it. There’s an anonymity living there.
“That’s good for the kids. But L.A.’s still a big part of home for me too because it’s where I found success. It’s where I made all my friends. I know every back street. I know all the shortcuts.”
Clooney went on to add: “When I first moved there in 1990 from Hollywood, the big knock was, ‘Oh, ***, you moved to the Valley. You sold out.’
“And now the Valley’s really happening. I loved being in Studio City. They’re two or three of the best sushi bars in the world – literally, the world …
“I liked Studio City a lot, but listen, I liked Hollywood too. I lived there in the ‘80s when it was gritty, but it was fun. Melrose Avenue was crazy. It was all punk rockers. It’s changed, but there’s still a little energy to it.”
Along with their French properties, George and Amal also own an estate on Italy’s Lake Como, a manor house in England, a New York apartment and a property in Kentucky.
George recently revealed he was “worried” about raising children in Los Angeles and was happy with their family life on a farm in France.
He told Esquire: “We’re very lucky. You know, we live on a farm in France. A good portion of my life growing up was on a farm, and as a kid I hated the whole idea of it.
“But now, for them, it’s like – they’re not on their iPads, you know? They have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in.
“They have a much better life. I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life [in Los Angeles]. France – they kind of don’t give a s*** about fame.
“I don’t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids.”
George Clooney isn’t ‘abandoning’ Los Angeles
