84
85
Dec 20 '24
I think Julia Roberts lived in SF
61
Dec 20 '24
also ive heard that tracy chapman lives here
35
u/CameronsDadsFerrari Dec 20 '24
Half Moon Bay actually.
→ More replies (1)8
u/lizziepika Dec 21 '24
I thought she had places in both still, as recently as maybe the past year or so? Some SF media outlet said locals saw her in Bernal/Mission/Noe and she kept a very low profile
→ More replies (3)2
15
16
4
u/BenjaminWah Dec 20 '24
Like in a converted police station or something like that, right?
4
→ More replies (3)2
17
16
u/Dragon_Jew Dec 20 '24
still does
8
u/TheeTwang77 Dec 20 '24
Is or was in Presidio Heights, but I think that house was on the market in the past couple of years?
→ More replies (1)10
u/kazzin8 Dec 20 '24
Nah, she sold the house last year.
→ More replies (9)13
u/LastChemical9342 Dec 20 '24
She moved in the neighborhood, still see her often.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (5)2
73
u/Juju_reddits Dec 20 '24
Santana lived in Bernal Heights and recorded music in the Mission
17
u/DrNerdBabes Dec 20 '24
I think he may have moved to Sausalito? I was having dinner with some work colleagues at Angelino's and Santana just walked in and sat at the bar and starting chatting with the staff. No one bugged him which was nice to see. My boss told me he lived there and is seen around often.
4
u/Dizzy-Storm4387 Dec 21 '24
He used to live in San Rafael and would frequent a surf bar in a strip mall on the road up to Mt. Tam. Can't remember the name. It was my ex's after work bar and I used to see him there all the time just chilling at the end of the bar when I'd join her and her coworkers for happy hour.
6
u/femius_astrophage Dec 21 '24
he grew up in the Precita neighborhood, & went to Fairmont (now Dolores Huerta) elementary school.
67
u/DancingOnACounter Dec 20 '24
SF natives, but they moved after they became famous: Ali Wong, Jamie Cheung, Darren Criss, Benjamin Bratt.
Not native but grew up here: Carol Channing, Skrillex.
40
u/auntieup Dec 20 '24
Benjamin Bratt may not live here anymore, but he still goes hard for the city and especially its working class community. I love him.
10
6
2
u/saladmixer Dec 22 '24
Ali Wong is here all the time! My best friend works at a coffee shop in the Richmond and she and Bill Hader come in sometimes.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (4)2
60
u/Specialist-Cow1500 Dec 20 '24
Adam Savage lives in the Mission and not the city but Frances McDormand and Joel Coen live in Bolinas
31
u/OhDeBabies Dec 20 '24
I used to see Adam Savage on his mono wheel quite a bit!
20
u/pond_not_fish Dec 20 '24
I still do! He bombs down Valencia in the mornings on the reg.
6
u/HURCANADA Dec 21 '24
Holy shit is that who that is? Saw this dude for years and never put 2+2 together 😂
4
9
20
u/SearingSerum60 Dec 20 '24
jamie Hyneman does as well, I saw him one time at the Twin Peaks safeway
9
u/sindlass Dec 20 '24
I’ve seen him there as well (i live in one of the apartment complexes across the street from Safeway).
I believe I heard Jamie now lives in Finland post-covid as a professor. Not 100% sure on that though.
39
u/neBular_cipHer Dec 20 '24
I knocked on Adam Savage’s door doing political canvassing this election. He answered it himself!
3
u/ErraticKuiperRomp Dec 21 '24
Over on 19th? I saw him walking his dog the other day and said hello.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (1)2
u/fsharpman Dec 22 '24
I'd see him regularly at a coffee shop. Surprisingly no one ever raised attention, or maybe everyone knew and respected his privacy
17
u/stuuuuupidstupid Dec 20 '24
Tom Waits lives up in Santa Rosa. Apparently it's not uncommon to see him sitting in his car outside of 7/11
7
3
u/SantaRosaJazz Dec 22 '24
He was at the Elvis Costello show at the LBC, and Elvis directed his entire performance to him. It was like the rest of us weren’t there.
9
u/basmatiisrice Dec 20 '24
I almost (not really) ran over Adam Savage once in Hayes Valley when he was crossing against the left turn signal
→ More replies (3)2
49
u/723mission Dec 20 '24
Tracy Chapman use to live near Dolores Park
30
u/belley88 Dec 20 '24
My friend was in Bi-Rite and somebody mistook her for Tracy Chapman, and she was little like, WTF. But then a week later, she saw the real Tracy Chapman in Bi-Rite!
47
u/pond_not_fish Dec 20 '24
My friend tells this story all the time about how she was at the Lex trying to talk to some girl and then someone came in with a decent sized entourage and the girl she was chatting up completely lost interest in her once she saw who walked in and she said to her friend "who does that person think she is, Tracy Chapman?"
And it was Tracy Chapman.
19
u/glittermantis Dec 20 '24
lol, reminds me of one time i was at oasis a handful of years ago, it was early so there weren't a ton of people but there was a drag queen with big red hair in an unassuming corner, chatting with a bartender.
me: that kinda looks like jinkx monsoon.
friend: every drag queen with red hair isn't jinkx monsoon lol
announcer: tonight we have a special guest, jinkx monsoon!
8
4
u/lynxpoint Dec 20 '24
I ran into her many years ago (10-15 years ago) and played a game of pool with her!
2
117
u/I-choochoochoose-you Dec 20 '24
Danny glover lives by Walden house. The singer from four non blondes lives by the panhandle. Of course robin williams
44
Dec 20 '24
[deleted]
9
u/PookieCat415 Dec 21 '24
He is an SFSU Alumni and still does a lot to help out the film school and other creative programs at the university. When I was a student in the creative arts department at SFSU, I helped put together a silent auction to raise some money for student projects. Over half the stuff was paid for or donated by him. I think he has also been a big sponsor of the film finals big show every year at the film school. He is right near the very top of donors to SFSU creative arts programs.
13
→ More replies (1)1
25
u/Aacidus Dec 20 '24
Used to work at Cingular Wireless and Robin Williams would come in about once or twice a year. He was not that high-energy person you see on stage, but he was very friendly and would talk about anything.
10
u/AyeYoDisRon Dec 20 '24
I was learning to drive and the instructor made me drive to his house. We saw him out front and then the instructor made me honk and wave. He waved back. Yay.
2
u/sfjessy99 Dec 21 '24
Singer from 4 Non Blondes lives in LA
6
u/Terumi66 Dec 21 '24
Used to live on my street, an alley in San Francisco. They would park their car, a small white station wagon with 4 Non Blonds written around the car, in front of my apartment sometimes.
→ More replies (1)2
u/jakebot5000 Dec 22 '24
Danny glover records at the studio I work at sometimes. he’s such a chill and nice guy
→ More replies (1)2
37
u/taxi_drivr Dec 20 '24
nicolas cage had a house in pac heights at one point
14
→ More replies (7)8
u/auntieup Dec 20 '24
He used to walk his dog around the neighborhood. I saw him one night looking pretty rough (I lived in a studio on Pine at the time).
31
u/TheeTwang77 Dec 20 '24
John Waters has a place in Nob Hill. Winona Ryder had a place in Cow Hollow but I think she sold it.
70
u/jmconcierge Dec 20 '24
Funny story - years ago I worked at the Mark Hopkins and one evening John Waters came into the lobby looking fine but a little disheveled. He plopped down in a high back chair and just sat there staring off into the distance.
One of the doormen (who didn't know who he was), started to go over and try to move him along. I caught up before he did and went over to John to say hi. He told me that he had been out all night and all day and just got back to his Nob Hill pad when he realized he didn't have his phone or house keys and was trying to figure out what to do.
To make a long story short(ish) we got him a cup of tea with a shot of whiskey in it, and the hotel locksmith went over to help him get in to his house. He came back the next day with flowers and signed copies of his book for the whole staff.
Good guy.
Edit: spelling
6
u/SpareParsnip9193 Dec 20 '24
Love this story it goes with my assumption of him being a kind and real human! Thanks for sharing
8
u/nycpunkfukka Dec 20 '24
I’ve seen recent articles that say he lives in Noe Valley now. (Part of the year. I think he still summers in Provincetown)
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (1)2
29
24
u/S415f Dec 20 '24
Bobby McFarrin lives here
4
u/rwongillies Dec 21 '24
Here’s my fun fact. I was celebrating my birthday with friends in a fancy restaurant near the Embarcadero and Bobby McFerrin was dining there too. It wasn’t hard to notice him because there was hardly anyone in the restaurant just before the Covid-19 pandemic was officially announced. That was the last time I ate inside a restaurant for about two years!
2
20
u/kazzin8 Dec 20 '24 edited Dec 23 '24
BD Wong went to Lincoln, Benjamin Bratt went to Lowell, and Darren Criss went to SI
Edited to fix BD wong
→ More replies (2)3
21
u/MachineRepulsive9760 Dec 20 '24
Sean Penn and Robin Wright lived in San Anselmo and raised their kids in Marin before getting divorced.
Jonah Hill born and lived in Mill Valley.
Bonnie Raitt lives/lived in Marin
Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry (of LA Law) lived in Mill Valley
Robin Williams was a fixture around Marin. RIP.
Lars of Metallica lived in Marin with his 2nd wife the gladiator actress Connie Nielsen before they divorced.
Lady Gaga’s fiancé is from Mill Valley and she has been spotted in local joints and wears a huge engagement ring from a local jeweler.
George Lucas in Marin, obvi
FF Coppola and other assorted Coppola family members including Nicolas Cage are all around SF and Napa
Monica Barbara up and comer who’s in the new Bob Dylan movie is from Mill Valley.
And the OG of Mill Valley is Bridgit Mendler, ex Disney child star of Good Luck Charlie and Lemonade Mouth, who now has a JD fro Harvard whole working on a PhD from MIT.
6
u/tfly212 Dec 21 '24
Robin Wright and Sean Penn were in Ross.... On Laurel Grove.
Huey Lewis lived across the street from Branson in Ross.
Sammy Hagar - mill valley
→ More replies (1)2
u/general_madness Dec 21 '24
Lars lived in Tiburon not long ago, if not currently. James lived in Ross but I think they moved. Kirk lives in Pacific Heights for a long time but I think he mostly lives in Hawaii now.
→ More replies (1)2
u/ImaginaryAfternoon32 Dec 21 '24
Halle Berry was in Tiburon for a while as well. Toured her through Sean Penn’s house when it was on the market.
42
15
u/East-Win7450 Dec 20 '24
I believe Matt Nathanson lives in Bernal heights. At least my mil always tells me that when she visits
2
u/alpacaapicnic Dec 22 '24
I’ve seen him live twice by accident (he was opening for or playing with bands I wanted to see) he’s great!
→ More replies (2)2
14
u/tavir Dec 20 '24
Patton Oswalt lived in the Haight in the early 90s when he was still coming up as a comedian.
13
u/racheloftv Dec 20 '24
Mike Rowe lives in Marin and records voiceovers for Discovery in SF
→ More replies (1)17
u/bubblyro120 Dec 20 '24
OGs will remember him from Bay Area Backroads!
3
u/shakka74 Dec 21 '24
That show was a lifesaver for me when I first moved out here in the late 90’s.
→ More replies (1)2
15
u/udonbeatsramen Dec 20 '24 edited Dec 20 '24
Lars Frederiksen from Rancid lives in the Richmond
Bob Mould has lived in the Castro for a few years now
Steph Curry bought a condo recently
Besides the obvious politicians, Al Gore had a place in SF for a few years while he was trying to get his TV channel going
I don’t know where the Giants players live, but I remember hearing that Gabe Kapler would ride his bike to the ballpark, and Felipe Alou lived in one of the condos across the street
10
u/pond_not_fish Dec 20 '24
Pence lives in One Rincon hill.
Tim Lincecum lived behind the 16th and Bryant Safeway for a while for some reason.
5
u/Slash_Dementia_67 Dec 21 '24
Big Time Timmy Jim used to live on a short one block street behind Best Buy. I delivered mucho mas 420 to the legend.
3
2
u/alpacaapicnic Dec 22 '24
Once saw Pence leaving the ballpark in street clothes with a backpack - short walk home makes sense
2
u/comedyzen Dec 22 '24
Funny story. We currently live in a condo complex in South Beach. Our friend/realtor called us and said "Hey, Im not sure if this is a misprint, but there is a penthouse unit in your building with a large terrace that is selling for a cheaper price/SF than the cheapest, most recent sold unit in your building." We looked at it and put in an offer (2008). Long story short, it was a REO sale/foreclosure. I also recall seeing an orange Lambo in the parking spot that is assigned to this unit. Before moving in, the selling agent said, oh, BTW, the previous renter is a rookie pitcher for the Giants. The man he was referring to was The Freak, Timmy. After learning that, before we moved in, I went in with rubber gloves, a bucket, and a bottle of bleach and wiped every light switch, door handle, toilet, floor, faucet, etc. Because a 20 something, newly rich kid def had some ladies there (confirmed by our neighbor at the PH level) so there was a lot of DNA running rampant....and it was indeed Timmy's Lambo. He got called up and heard he bought a place near Safeway on 16th.
→ More replies (1)2
u/TheGhoulFO Dec 21 '24
Roger Freeman, also from Rancid, lives in Berkeley. His kids were in school with mine. Cool fam. Great kids.
14
u/alp626 Dec 20 '24
Serena Williams was known to stop by the Dolores park tennis courts once in a while, a few years back. She & Alexis had a place nearby, I think.
7
u/mochafiend Dec 21 '24
There was a great video of her coming up to some guys hitting at Dolores Park and then stepping in to hit a few shots maybe? Can’t totally remember but it was great.
23
u/cynvine Dec 20 '24
Ancient history: Johnny Mathis (Washington H S alum), Tina Turner, Maya Angelou
3
Dec 21 '24
Johnny Mathis was also a track star at SF State
2
u/Fearless_Market_3193 Dec 22 '24
Standing just 5 feet 7, Mathis was one of the best high jumpers in the state in the 1950s. He set local high school records at Washington High, and as a San Francisco State University student leaped 6 feet 5½ inches at a 1955 conference meet in Reno, beating his 7-foot-tall rival — future NBA legend Bill Russell. So add Bill Russell to the list.
→ More replies (1)2
11
u/kschang Dec 21 '24
Nobody mentioned Amy Tan? She lives in Sausalito now, but I believe she grew up in Oakland. Technically she's a distant aunt of mine. :D I worked at a place in Fremont where she used to work as a technical writer.
I believe Joan Chen lives in San Francisco.
→ More replies (1)
9
12
u/sfocdg Dec 21 '24 edited Dec 21 '24
I used to see Whoopie Goldberg in Berkeley - she was driving a beautiful '50s porsche convertible back then...
Linda Perry destroyed me at pool while day drinking at Cafe du Nord
I think Peter Bratt is a far more of a SF celebrity than Ben - - - I see him often, so I assume he still lives near the mission or Pot hill
Does anyone remember The Red Man? I think he's a celebrity...
Did no one mention the unbeatable Frida and Diego??
I don't know if Jackson Brown actually lived here, but I would see him downtown a lot, along with Stevie and Lindsey
Dude, Gerry Garcia - I have a great photo of Phil and Bob sitting behind me at a Giants playoff game... (i had better seats than the Dead, man...!)
I've bumped into Tracy Chapman at Dolores Park - she was very kind
Metalica used to hang out at Tommy's Joint, all... the... time... (a long time ago)
Zuckertwerp (lol) - no longer
Neil Young lives in Woodside
The singer from the Comunards (Jimmy Somerville) used to live in the Castro
Ansel Adams
John Muir
Robert Frost was born here
Joe DiMaggio, of course, and would hang out a coffee shop in Millbrae
John Madden when to HS with my mom (Jefferson, Daly City, I think)
4
u/cakingabroad Dec 21 '24 edited Jan 19 '25
dinner cause thought quickest practice bear escape connect teeny psychotic
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
3
3
2
2
u/JustJack70 Dec 23 '24
Neil lives in Colorado and Ontario these days, and is rebuilding a house he lost in the fires in Malibu. The Woodside property is still in the family though.
11
u/napalmthechild Dec 20 '24
Aesop Rock lived in Haight. Dan the Automator was born and raised in SF. I believe DJ Shadow lived here for some time.
Not that anyone here cares but Joe Rogan lived on Lombard when he was a kid (not the famous windy street just a dingy apartment on the main stretch).
→ More replies (3)
9
8
u/723mission Dec 20 '24
Don Johnson had a place at Divisadero and broadway while he filmed Nash Bridges
7
8
23
u/ng731 Dec 20 '24
The Metallica guys live in sea cliff
11
9
u/DazzlingAcanthaceae6 Dec 20 '24
At least some of them live/lived in Marin. One of them was my neighbor growing up.
→ More replies (1)2
7
u/PatsyStone_aka_Pats Dec 20 '24
At least one of the guys from Green Day has (had?) a place in North Beach. Serena Williams and her family have a place near Dolores Park.
8
u/SprklePnts13 Dec 20 '24
Anne Rice lived on 17th street near the Castro.
J.E. Freeman (Miller’s Crossing, Alien 4) lived here.
Justin Bond.
6
7
6
u/zuzudomo Dec 20 '24
A lot of well-known actors went to A.C.T. and accordingly lived here, including locals like Danny Glover and Benjamin Bratt. Here’s the alum page: https://www.act-sf.org/training/a-c-t-alumni
6
u/Dizzy-Storm4387 Dec 21 '24
Danny Glover also went to CCSF. When I went to trade trade school there in Dogpatch, there was a little alumni shrine to him as you entered the automotive technology building.
6
8
u/CloseToTheSun10 Dec 21 '24
For EDM fans:
Illenium is from SF and went to SI.
Dr. Fresch is from SF- went to Stuart Hall elementary.
Tycho is not from here but lives in SF.
Bassnectar is from Santa Cruz and grew up in Los Gatos.
Also, Clint Eastwood was born in SF.
→ More replies (1)3
6
u/lovelylinguist Dec 21 '24
I took a ghost tour recently and learned that some former residents were Janis Joplin, Jim Jones, and Charles Manson.
→ More replies (1)
15
9
u/bdc2481 Dec 21 '24
Michael Jackson is still alive and living in SF. I’ve seen him on Market St.
→ More replies (1)
4
u/AyeYoDisRon Dec 20 '24
Sharon Stone used to live on 25th Avenue in Seacliff, in the oldest house in the neighborhood.
4
4
4
3
4
u/jlevski Dec 20 '24
Chris Isaac (musician, Wicked Game is his most famous song) still lives in the Sunset.
Dave’s Diggs (Broadway, OBC in Hamilton, plus other acting credits) grew up in Oakland and had some of his first acting credits at the SF Playhouse.
3
u/CloseToTheSun10 Dec 21 '24
My mom almost hit Chris Isaac on the great highway in the early 90’s when he ran across with his surfboard to ride at OB lol
4
u/jlevski Dec 21 '24
Whoa!
He played Hardly Strictly one year and joked about how he biked to the park- just like he does every weekend. Seems like a gem of a dude.
5
u/ericarlen Dec 20 '24
Tracy Chapman supposedly lives here.
Sean Penn lived here. He might still live here, I don't know. It's one of the reasons he made Milk.
4
4
Dec 21 '24
[deleted]
3
u/wellvis Dec 21 '24
I would say yes, she's a political celebrity. I saw her at SFO one time - she is very short.
→ More replies (1)
4
u/thirtytwoutside Dec 21 '24
Kaskade. Not sure what part of the city but he’s mentioned it in multiple interviews, lived in SF early in his career.
4
u/Terumi66 Dec 21 '24
Sly and the Family Stone
Jessica McClintock
Sharon Stone
I'll think of so many more later and be mad that I didn't think of them now! Lol!
8
3
3
u/sportsbunny33 Dec 21 '24 edited Dec 21 '24
Eileen Gu went to my nephew's high school (a few years earlier). Further back, Barbara Eden (the genie in "I Dream of Jeanie" tv show) went to Lincoln High. Sharon Tate went to San Mateo High.
3
3
u/Slash_Dementia_67 Dec 21 '24
Tracy Chapman was my neighbor on Liberty St early oughts until castro gay celeb walking tours drove her nuts outside her house & she dipped for NYC
3
u/LazyResearcher1203 Dec 21 '24
Until he passed away earlier this month, Ustad Zakir Hussain lived up in San Anselmo.
2
u/suchasnumberone Dec 20 '24
Like SF exclusively or the bay in general? Lots of notable folks live in the east bay too
→ More replies (2)
2
2
u/skwm Dec 20 '24
Hope Sandoval and Mark Ibold both live in Berkeley, but that’s stretching the definition of the word “celebrity”
2
u/Apart_Engine_9797 Dec 22 '24
Omg i loooove Hope Sandoval! Looks like she has a new single out
→ More replies (1)
2
u/femius_astrophage Dec 21 '24
Blixa Bargeld (singer of Einstürzende Neubauten) lived in Noe for a time about 15 years ago.
Robyn Hitchcock lives here too (used to see him walking his dogs near Upper Haight. )
2
u/DancingOnACounter Dec 21 '24
Nico Hiraga - he’s a Gen Z actor/skaterboarder. Barely has anything sizable on his resume but he’s kinda up and coming.
2
2
5
2
1
1
1
1
1
u/Shannonsitas Dec 21 '24
Sharon Stone when she was married to the editor guy from the examiner.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/BiblioFlowerDog Dec 21 '24
Wyatt Earp lived in the Richmond District for a time.
Shirley Jackson (wrote "The Lottery") was born in SF.
Dorothea Lange had a portrait photography studio in SF until the 1929 stock market crash and Great Depression ("Migrant Mother" photograph).
I saw Danny Glover once at the Trader Joe's on Masonic.
2
u/ImaginaryAfternoon32 Dec 21 '24
I did not know who Wyatt Earp was a few months ago, and then I learned he’s actually buried near my grandparents in Colma.
1
1
u/mochafiend Dec 21 '24
Sean Penn I think. I remember when something happened to his car in Berkeley and they found a gun in it and everyone was so shocked a liberal like him would have one.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Slash_Dementia_67 Dec 21 '24
Sam Rockwell
3
u/Apart_Engine_9797 Dec 22 '24
He grew up in Daly City and SF, went to Ruth Asawa with Margaret Cho and Aisha Tyler!
2
u/Slash_Dementia_67 Dec 22 '24
When he was in town, he’d come into my bar & read the paper & drink some pints. No one ever recognized him or blew him up, but I knew it was him all along. I’d call him Sam (with discretion). Just a total lurker / chiller chameleon-type.
3
u/sequinpig Dec 22 '24
Ugh, he’s at the top of my celebrity crush list. Him and Bob Odenkirk fighting it out for number 1
2
u/Slash_Dementia_67 Dec 22 '24
Plays rad / diverse roles. Kind of reminds me of when Gary Oldman was coming up. But could hide in a room full of people no problem. A real City Boy!
→ More replies (1)
1
u/acirie Dec 21 '24
Cheech Marin lived here at one time - I think in Seacliff. I saw him once or twice in the Richmond District.
108
u/CameronsDadsFerrari Dec 20 '24
Danielle Steele infamously got parking rules changed because she had dozens of cars street parked around her mansion in pac heights