Home is where you can be your true self, away from the camera, away from public scrutiny, sans makeup, sans characters. For British actress Elizabeth Taylor, that home was her Bel Air ranch house. Bought in 1981, the six-bedroom property at 700 Nimes Road was previously associated with Nancy Sinatra. After Taylor bought it, she made it her home and lived there for three decades, until she passed away in 2011. A decade after the demise of Elizabeth Taylor, her Bel Air property came close to demolition, but in 2026, the estate not only got saved, but redeveloped for $47 million.
Why was Elizabeth Taylor’s Bel Air ranch house on the verge of demolition?
Elizabeth’s beautiful house was sold for $11 million in 2021 in an off-market deal, according to Architectural Digest. Ardie Tavangarian, a Los Angeles-based real estate developer known for building massive spec mansions, bought the late Hollywood icon’s home. According to Dirt, the new owner also had plans to raze the abode and construct a whole new dwelling. However, things took an interesting turn.
How was Elizabeth Taylor’s home saved from demolition?
Developer Ardie Tavangarian initially decided to demolish the Bel Air property, but later changed his mind and opted to preserve the structure. Instead of demolition, he planned to renovate the estate at a staggering transformation cost of $47 million.The New York Post reported that the estate’s 1.3 acres will undergo a renovation. The news that the estate will be preserved came recently, and the developers’ makeover plan includes adding a massive 12,000-square-foot subterranean and above-ground buildout. Meanwhile, the original home will be preserved as the “Elizabeth Taylor wing” of the revamped estate.Now to answer which area will be renovated and which will be refashioned and get a new structure – Taylor’s primary suite, her beauty centre, which included a shampoo station, and the room that held her gems will receive a makeover, while the rest of the home will transition into a new build. A gallery will be installed, while the sapphire-colored swimming pool, koi pond, and rose garden will remain almost untouched.Last but not least, the estate will also have a screening room, a “pajama room” for lounging, a 4,500-square-foot retractable roof for stargazing, and a spa. “We’re just modernising it from a point of view of functionality,” Tavangarian told the Post.
All about Elizabeth Taylor’s house and how it was an extension of her personality
The Bel Air house reflected Taylor’s own personality. The ‘Cleopatra’ actress had beautiful artworks in her house, including paintings by Camille Pissarro and Vincent van Gogh. Andy Warhol’s famous silkscreen portrait of Taylor, a gift from the artist himself, also hung in the house.Her dressing room and bedroom were equally personal. Costumes and sketches from her film career sat alongside family photographs and objects connected to the people she loved. One room displayed the countless awards she had received over the years, while another reflected the more private side of a woman known for some of the world’s most famous jewels.Even the gardens carried a connection to Taylor’s life beyond Hollywood. Her passion for flowers would eventually influence the perfume empire she launched in the 1980s.In the final months before her death, photographer Catherine Opie was given rare access to the home. Over a six-month period, she photographed its rooms and their contents, documenting an intimate side of Taylor’s life that had largely remained behind closed doors. The project resulted in thousands of photographs and eventually became the book, ‘700 Nimes Road’.
