Real estate is perhaps the only area where the decidedly less-than-famous can realistically live like celebrities.
It doesn't require talent, charisma or camera time. It just requires money, and usually a star trailer full of it at that. If you've got a face for radio and a dearth of god-given talent that makes long-forgotten Real World cast members look like Hollywood Walk-Of-Famers by comparison, throwing enough money at the right property could help boost your Q rating.
We teamed up with the folks at Zillow and found five properties being sold by celebrities. Living in one of these homes won't make you a celebrity, but it'll help you live like one without having to chase the paparazzi away every few days or so:
Ryan Murphy's Malibu digs
Location: Malibu, Calif.
Price: $6.995 million
The Glee creator just held a fundraiser for President Barack Obama at his Beverly Hills home, but Murphy's looking to recoup a little cash for himself by selling this beachfront property that he just bought from actress Charlize Theron last year. The house may have been drained of its original glee after Theron's split from husband Stuart Thompson forced its sale last year, but it still has enough amenities to coax a smile out of Sue Sylvester. The 2,095-square-foot home has three bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths as well as beachfront perks including an oversized waterfront deck with lounge, cabana, spa, fire pit and outdoor shower.
Gianni Versace's Miami mansion
Location: Miami Beach, Fla.
Price: $125 million
What makes the late fashion designer's estate worth nine figures, besides the Versace label? How about Casa Casuarina's 18,838 square feet, 10 bedrooms, 11 baths and a 54-foot mosaic pool lined in 24-karat gold? Versace paid $10 million for it 20 years ago before making another $33 million in upgrades.
It was last bought by telecom mogul Peter Loftin for $20 million in 2000 and converted into a boutique hotel back in 2009. Loftin's kept the place in exquisite condition, but some buyers may still have misgivings about buying the place where Versace himself was killed on the front steps 15 years ago.
Michael C. Hall's Hollywood Hills home
Location: Los Angeles
Price: $1.995 million
The star of Showtime's Dexter would have had plenty of space for plastic-cloaked kill rooms and a "dark passenger" in this 3,535-square-foot home. Designed by famed Los Angeles architect Hal Levitt -- who designed homes for Olivia Newton-John, Dean Martin, Debbie Reynolds and Lionel Ritchie -- Hall's home has four bedrooms, five baths, a downstairs gym with guest room with its own bath, extensive patio space and canyon views. Hall has owned the home since 2008, but it's been a bit emptier since his divorce from Dexter co-star Jennifer Carpenter.
Claire Danes' Soho apartment
Location: New York City
Price: $6 million
Danes has come a long way from playing sullen, disaffected Angela in the ever-so-'90s drama My So-Called Life to winning this year's Best Actress Golden Globe for her role in Showtime's Homeland. Her taste in real estate is apparently evolving as well. Danes and husband Hugh Dancy are parting with their 4,000-square-foot loft and its high ceilings, 16 windows, exposed brick and hardwood floors. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom home on quiet, cobblestoned Wooster Street also includes a wood-burning fireplace and direct elevator access. Only Danes knows what the next step is from there, but that foundation's nothing to sulk about.
Zsa Zsa Gabor's Bel-Air home
Location: Los Angeles
Price: $14.9 million
It's kind of tough explaining Zsa Zsa Gabor to people these days. Was she Paris Hilton with better breeding and acting talent? Were she and her sisters more presentable Kardashians? In either case, the woman perhaps most famous for being famous and never pronouncing the "r" in "darling" is in ill health and selling off her sprawling 26-room, 8,878-square-foot home. The estate's seven bedrooms, seven baths and several indoor/outdoor entertaining spaces hosted Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and presidents Ronald Reagan and both Bushes. Sitting on more than an acre overlooking Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean, the estate is a near-perfect statement on Gabor herself: Lavish and a bit gaudy, but an enduring reminder of a Hollywood that's slowly fading away.
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