Australia has long set the scene for major Hollywood productions and blockbuster music tours, which give globetrotting celebrities an insight into our enviable lifestyle.
Award-winning actors, top musicians, famous supermodels, and even former world leaders have chosen to make Australia their home.
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From Byron to Bondi, Perth to Adelaide, a number of A-listers have permanently made the move Down Under. Picture: Getty / Instagram
Whether it’s a waterfront mansion on Sydney Harbour, a beachside compound in Byron Bay or a pared back home in Perth, VIPs have splashed millions on humble hideaways, trophy homes and sprawling rural estates.
We all know the household home grown Aussies who’ve made it big overseas, but choose to keep a home down under; the Hemsworths with their infamous estate near Byron, the Kidman-Urbans’ Sydney apartments and Southern Highlands homestead, Margot Robbie’s Gold Coast residences, or Rebel Wilson’s inner Sydney retreat.
But there is a growing group of international stars who’ve quietly embraced our big open spaces, beautiful beaches, wild bushland, and our relaxed “she’ll be right mate” attitude.
Zac Efron – High School Musical to hinterland hideaway
At the height of the pandemic and his acting career, Zac Efron left Hollywood behind for a more laid-back life in northern NSW.
Zac Efron is building his own Aussie dream in the Glenferrie area of the Tweed Valley. Source: Instagram.
In late 2020, Efron reportedly spent $2 million a 128ha rainforest property in the Tweed Valley, approximately an hour north of Byron Bay. A year later, he sold his Los Angeles mansion for $6.85 million (US$5.3m), making his move to Australia more permanent.
Efron’s Australian property, known as the “Futurecave” features natural creeks, waterfalls, ancient rainforest, and sweeping views.
The unfinished property will eventually have a luxury six-bedroom mansion made from hemp blocks, designed by architect Frank Burride and environmental innovator Joost Bakker.
Efron is working with “environmental innovator” and designer Joost Bakker and architect Frank Burride, who have been tasked with building the property, which has been nicknamed the “Futurecave. ”Instagram
It’s set to be an off-grid eco retreat, matching Efron’s passion for the environment shown in his 2022 Netflix series Down to Earth with Zac Efron: Down Under.
Tyra Banks – Australia’s next top neighbour
The former model, creator and host of America’s Next Top Model moved to Australia in late 2023 with her son York and partner, Canadian businessman Louis Bélanger-Martin.
Banks has said she fell in love with Australia while travelling down under to develop her ice cream brand, SMiZE & Dream, later choosing Sydney’s Darling Harbour as the headquarters for the company’s flagship retail store.
Tyra Banks chose Sydney’s Darling Harbour as the site for her flagship ice cream store after making the move down under permanent. Picture: Getty
Until the move, Banks had lived in a US$4.7 million oceanfront home in Malibu, California, which she purchased in 2021. Sadly, the property was destroyed in the California wildfires last year.
During an appearance on US talk show Today with Jenna & Friends, Banks commented on the lifestyle pivot saying, “Australia has been a dream come true for me and my family.”
Mel C – From pop icon to Sydney local (maybe)
Likely still on a honeymoon high after marrying her Aussie hubby – in a Sydney ceremony this June and a UK wedding in July – Melanie Chisholm, aka Sporty Spice or Mel C, could be calling Australia home anytime soon.
Mel C, aka Sporty Spice, recently wed Aussie Chris Dingwall in Sydney and spends considerable time down under. Picture: Getty
The multimillionaire British singer and mother of one has been in a relationship with Australian model Chris Dingwall since the pair met in Sydney in 2023.
Unlike many international celebrities – including her Spice Girls alum, Mel B – who visit Australia temporarily for extended work commitments, Sporty Spice has seemingly embraced our lifestyle for the long haul while continuing her global music career.
Charlize Theron – An Aussie move on the horizon
After filming her new Netflix thriller Apex in the NSW Blue Mountains, the Oscar-winner revealed in April that she could be planning a more permanent move to Australia.
The Mad Max: Fury Road star told 10 News, that Australia is an “incredible place”.
“Mark my words, I will live in Australia one day,” she said, adding that her children had also fallen in love with the country.
Charlize Theron has revealed she is planning a move to Australia. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
“I love the people. I love how feisty they are and the tenacity, and I just think the place is absolutely gorgeous,” she said.
Theron, a mother of two, currently owns a three-bedroom home in Studio City, Los Angeles, a primary property in Outpost Estates in the Hollywood Hills, as well as an acreage in Ojai in Ventura County, California.
Jacinda Ardern – PM moved across the ditch
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is the only former world leader to call Australia home after leaving office.
After quitting the top NZ job in 2023, Ardern has worked with Harvard University, been appointed a trustee to The Earthshot Prize by Prince William, and released her memoir, A Different Kind of Power in 2025.
Ex-New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has moved to Australia. Picture: Getty
She has said the move to Australia will allow her to be close to family in New Zealand while being better placed to continue her international work in public policy, leadership and philanthropy.
Although there is no official record that Ardern and her husband, Clarke Gayford, have purchased an Australian property, local sources confirm they are actively looking.
The Kiwi couple has been seen house hunting in Sydney’s sought-after Northern Beaches suburbs, including in Curl Curl and Freshwater.
Kate Walsh – Practicing Perth local
Grey’s Anatomy and Emily in Paris cast member, Kate Walsh, arrived in Western Australia in early 2020 for a holiday and has never looked back.
After getting stranded in the Margaret River region due to Covid border closures, the Hollywood actor stayed on in WA, even when restrictions eased.
Kate Walsh lives in Cottesloe, Perth. Picture: Getty
Walsh has publicly stated that Perth is “100% home”, has confirmed she bought a “little place in Cottesloe” and even brought her cats over from New York. She has credited Perth’s slower pace – compared with Los Angeles – for giving her a healthier work-life balance following a life-changing brain tumour diagnosis in 2015.
Walsh has been a vocal advocate for the West Australian film industry, and also let slip in a 2022 interview that she has a local fiance, farmer Andrew Nixon, who she met on an expedition to Antarctica.
Dev Patel – From Slumdog to South Australia
British actor Dev Patel, perhaps best known for his breakthrough role in Slumdog Millionaire and Lion – the remarkable true story of an Indian boy who used Google Earth to find his birth family – has been quietly building his connection with Australia since meeting his Aussie partner, actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey.
Dev Patel and his Aussie partner, actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey, live in Adelaide. Picture: Getty
The pair met on the set of the 2016 film Hotel Mumbai and have since divided their time between international film projects and Adelaide.
While there has been no confirmation that Patel is a homeowner, his long-standing ties to Australia suggest he’s here for the long haul.
Ben Elton – British wit, Aussie life
British comedian, author and playwright Ben Elton has a had a decades-long love affair with Australia, raising his family between London and Perth’s suburbs.
Best known for creating and writing hit shows, including Blackadder and The Young Ones, Elton married local saxophonist Sophie Gare in 1994. The couple settled in North Fremantle, purchasing a period property in North Fremantle’s John St for $1.7 million in 2000.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 06: Sophie Gare and Ben Elton attend a special screening of “Twiggy” at Vue Leicester Square on March 6, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage)
Passionate about the environment, Elton was involved in a dispute with the City of Fremantle over rooftop solar panels on his heritage-listed property, arguing that “heritage and sustainability have to live together”. Ultimately, Elton won the war against the coastal council.
Elton has been a citizen since 2004, often commenting that Australia provides an ideal balance between creative inspiration and family life.
Miriam Margolyes – Hogwarts to the Highlands
Known by a generation as Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter films, or to a whole other generation as Lady Whiteadder in Blackadder, British actress Miriam Margolyes has embraced her Australian life on and off the screen.
Margolyes moved to Australia in the late 1980s after touring several stand up shows. For decades, Margolyes has divided her time between Australia and the UK. Her partner of more than 50 years, Heather Sutherland, is an Australian academic and historian.
Miriam Margolyes has lived in Australia for decades. Picture: Ian Gavan/Getty Images
By 2013, the performer became an Australian citizen and has often described Australia as home.
Their property has featured in interviews where she has spoken about her love of Australia’s landscape, wildlife and relaxed way of life, openness, and humour.
Margolyes’ country hideaway, a 62ha bush estate in the NSW Southern Highlands, was listed for sale earlier this year.
Her country hideaway in the NSW Southern Highlands is currently on the market. Picture: realestate.com.au
Yarrawa Hill is an architect-designed retreat on Lees Rd in Robertson has been on the market since January with a price guide of $3.95 million to $4.2 million.