Celebrities and Their Starchitects

Welcome to Origin Story, a series that chronicles the lesser-known histories of designs that have shaped how we live.

When it comes to the places celebrities call home, we’re a nosy society. Before celeb YouTube home tours, we had shows like MTV’s Cribs, and glossy magazine spreads showcasing A-listers’ mansions date back to Hollywood’s golden era. We’ve long loved to see where the rich and famous lay their heads and to meet the architects who have designed extraordinary homes for them. Here, Dwell looks back at a century or so of remarkable talent whose California homes for the stars shaped the everyday taste of their times.

Julia Morgan

It’s hard to imagine a more intimidating celebrity client than William Randolph Hearst, the 20th-century media magnate and Citizen Kane inspirer. Julia Morgan, the first licensed female architect in California, however, learned to speak Hearst fluently.

Starting in 1919, Morgan spent nearly 30 years working on his ostentatious San Simeon, California, estate, Hearst Castle, which included a private zoo to house camels and zebras, a pool evoking the baths of ancient Rome, and Greek-columned terraces.