Reese Witherspoon Wanting to Buy Brangelina's $14 Million House

What was Reese shopping for?

In late August 2011, 35-year-old Reese Witherspoon was spotted house-hunting in California — and only the best would do for the Legally Blonde star. Fresh off her March wedding to talent agent Jim Toth, she toured a $14 million Malibu home then inhabited by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, reportedly spending close to 45 minutes inside with Toth and her two children, Ava (11) and Deacon (7), from her marriage to Ryan Phillippe.

What was the house?

The four-bedroom Jolie-Pitt property was set into a Malibu hillside overlooking the Pacific: two separate houses, a pool, a tennis court, lush gardens, private beach access, and a long private driveway off the Pacific Coast Highway. It would have been an upgrade from the $7 million Los Angeles estate Witherspoon shared with her new husband.

Where were Brad and Angelina?

The power couple were reportedly renting in Richmond, England, at the time, while Pitt filmed World War Z. Their property portfolio already spanned Los Feliz, New Orleans, the South of France, and Italy — the Malibu house was one asset among many in the Brangelina real-estate carousel.

Why does celebrity house-hunting fascinate?

Because it collapses the distance between the audience and the fantasy. A $14 million listing is abstract; Reese Witherspoon walking through Brad Pitt's living room with her kids is a story. The tabloid real-estate beat exists to let readers mentally move into houses they will never own — and in 2011, with the US housing market still on its knees, the spectacle of stars trading $14 million homes carried an extra charge of unreality.