This week in celebrity real estate: Rihanna escapes real estate purgatory, Kristen Bell and Dax Shephard have a party … & more

Rihanna, Sunset Strip home, Dax Shepherd, Kristen Bell and Los Feliz estate (Wikipedia/Getty Images/MLS)
Rihanna, Sunset Strip home, Dax Shepherd, Kristen Bell and Los Feliz estate (Wikipedia/Getty Images/MLS)

There’s never a dull moment in the world of celebrity real estate, and this week had its own housing drama — starting with Rihanna escaping purgatory.  

For a while, party queen Rihanna just couldn’t catch a break. In her quest to find the perfect home, she faced legal issues, flooding and stalkers. But the singer finally found her moment of zen when she purchased a Hollywood Hills home for $6.8 million this week. The 7,130-square-foot home is right above the Sunset Strip and has six bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. There’s also a movie theater, spa, guest house with a fully equipped gym and an infinity pool. James Harris and David Parnes of the Agency had the listing. Jackie Smith of the Agency represented Rihanna.   

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Actress Kristen Bell and her husband, actor Dax Shepherd, are getting the party started in Los Feliz. The couple snagged a 4,048-square-foot home for $4.3 million. The four-bedroom and four-bathroom estate is also among the largest properties in the Laughlin Park enclave, second to the Cecil B. DeMille estate purchased by Angeline Jolie this year for $24.5 million. Louise Leach and Juan Longfellow of Deasy/Penner & Partners represented the buyer and seller.

Meanwhile, Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker and his wife, Keisha, are saying goodbye to their longtime Hollywood Hills compound, listing it with an asking price of $5.9 million. The private estate consists of two separate homes totaling 8,396 square feet. The main residence has six bedrooms and five bedrooms with a 750-square-foot game room. The three-story guest house is equally large with five bathrooms and six bathrooms. Liz Gottainer and Jeeb O’Reilly of Douglas Elliman have the listing.  

Once tangled up in a mother-daughter legal fight, the former Beverly Hills home of “The O.C.” star Mischa Barton has hit the market asking $13.9 million. Barton spent years trying to sell the private estate and it even became the center of a 2015 lawsuit against her estranged mother, Nuala. The actress finally sold the 9,900-square-foot home last year and it’s now back on the market. The European villa-style property has seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms with two separate guest houses and an automobile turn table. Joshua and Matthew Altman of Douglas Elliman have the listing.

While the honeymoon ended for good between actress Reese Witherspoon and actor Ryan Phillippe, their former Bel Air home lives on. The 8,772-square-foot home has listed with an asking $15.9 million, after selling in 2015 for $6.5 million. It has four bedrooms and five bathrooms with a guest house and swimming pool on site. Architect Gerard R. Colcord designed the medieval-inspired home in 1969 for an insurance executive. Rick Ojeda and Tim Mullin of Partners Trust have the listing.