Take a celebrity tour of the Garden State
By Brent Johnson, Erin Petenko and Yan Wu
Welcome to New Jersey, home of every celebrity that ever lived.
Actually, not exactly. But sometimes it seems that way.
Sinatra. Springsteen. Whitney. Wow, wow! Carly. Meryl. Jacobo. Jonas (Kevin, Joe and Nick, all three). The Garden State isn't just a breeding ground for household names, it's also a place where some of the most famous people on the planet settle or buy second homes.
It is reasonable. New Jersey is the most populous state in the country. And it's dotted with a mix of urban and suburban communities, all between New York and Philadelphia.
But where exactly did these celebrities grow up? And where do they live now?
presenting itStar map of New Jersey. It's like those maps they hand out in Hollywood that show the homes of the rich and famous. Only this time it's a guide if you want to take a celebrity tour on the Turnpike or Parkway.
We have divided it into three categories:real jersey(the childhood homes of celebrities who grew up here and the former homes of those who spent a lot of time here)New Jersey(the current homes of celebrities who have moved here from abroad), andStill Jersey(the current homes of celebrities who grew up here and remain).
The list may surprise you. Did you know where on the Jersey Shore Taylor Swift vacationed as a child? Or which South Jersey town did a young Steven Spielberg once call home?
The Beginnings of Bruce Springsteen
Don't argue: Bruce Springsteen is quintessentially New Jersey. And you could spend the whole weekend visiting the places where the rock legend lived here. Like his former garage apartment on Fifth Avenue in Bradley Beach, where he lived in 1973. Or the baby blue Long Branch cottage on West End Court, where he wrote the song "Born to Run" while "sitting on the edge of my bed."
But as far as childhood homes go, there are three in his hometown of Freehold. The first is his grandparents' house on Randolph Street, where Springsteen lived as a child. (It has since been demolished for a church parking lot.) The second is the small two-family house on Institute Street where his family moved, where he was 5 and lived until high school. Springsteen didn't like the place, which last sold for $255,000 in 2018. "Whenever I could, I would go back to stay with my grandparents," he wrote in his autobiography. "It was my real home."
Boss's third and final home is a two-family house on South Street (pictured). It's the last place his family lived and where a teenage Springsteen picked up the guitar and joined his first band. Springsteen said he and his gang turned it into a "hippie house" when his father, mother and little sister left for California in 1969 (the house was most recently valued at $337,000).
Springsteen graduated from Freehold Borough High in 1967, but he didn't fit in. He also briefly attended Ocean County College, but dropped out. Instead, he made a name for himself in various Jersey bands, until Columbia Records signed him in 1972. The future of rock 'n' roll was on the way.
Wealthy Districts of Bergen County
If MTV ever wanted to reboot "Cribs" and focus an episode on New Jersey's rich and famous, it should start in Bergen County. Four exclusive neighborhoods (Alpine, Cresskill, Franklin Lakes and Saddle River) are home to a host of wealthy celebrities who live in luxurious mansions, sometimes right down the street. It helps that the area is relatively secluded, but still a short drive from NYC.
Despite having fewer than 2,000 residents, Alpine is especially packed with celebrities, including many music and hip-hop stars (such as Lil Kim, Ja Rule, Rev Run and Stevie Wonder). Comedians Chris Rock and Tracy Morgan also live there. So does CC. Sabathia and Kellyanne Conway, who are unlikely neighbors who live on the same street. Past residents include Jay-Z, P. Diddy and Eddie Murphy. In 2012, Forbes ranked Alpine as the most expensive zip code in the United States, with a median home price of $4.25 million.
But Bergen – with its 70 municipalities – was also a starting point for future household names. People as diverse as Jason Biggs, James Comey, Tom Cruise, Richard Lewis and Bill Parcells grew up here. The Jonas Brothers and Tara Reid hail from Wyckoff. The small neighborhood of Tenafly produced Ed Harris, Lea Michele, Lesley Gore and Mira Sorvino. And the Dwight-Englewood School boasts alumni that include not only Gore and Sorvino but also Anthony Bourdain, Dick Button, Karen O of the alternative rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Brook Shields.
NY
New Jersey's most populous city has of course produced its share of celebrities in many media as well. Author Philip Roth and comedian Jerry Lewis grew up in Newark. So does basketball star Shaquille O'Neal (and his cousin, comedian Bill Bellamy). Music stars Whitney Houston and Queen Latifah grew up in Orange. And then there's Columbia High School in nearby Maplewood, where students include singer Lauryn Hill and actors Roy Scheider, Elisabeth Shue and Zach Braff.
Suburbs of Philadelphia
South Jersey has produced several local star athletes: Mike Trout (Millville) in baseball, Carli Lloyd (Delran) in soccer, Joe Flacco (Audubon) in soccer and Carl Lewis (Willingboro) in track. But it's also the adopted home of many Philadelphia professional sports team players, who buy fancy homes in suburban Jersey City and make the 20- to 30-minute drive across the Delaware River to get to work. Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz lives in rural Medford. Former Eagles Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb were once Moorestown residents. And former Phillies star Jimmy Rollins had a home in Woolwich, where he and his wife also opened an animal hospital.
Middletown and Red Bank
In Middletown, you'll find the tree-lined Navesink River Road along the Navesink River, with beautiful views of downtown Red Bank and some of the most expensive, often foreclosed homes in the state. Governor Phil Murphy lives there. So is his lifelong neighbor, Jon Bon Jovi. (Well, for now. The rock star recently put his house up for sale.) And Debbie Harry has a house just miles away.
Journalist Connie Chung and her husband, talk show host Maury Povich, owned the historic Middletown Locustwood mansion for years until they sold it for $1.4 million in 2011. Another journalist, Geraldo Rivera, owned a 19th century mansion called Rough Point overlooking the Navesink. And across the river is Jon Stewart, who still owns adjacent homes in Red Bank.
Princeton
It's one of the most recognizable mailing addresses in the state, if not the country: home to Princeton University, beautiful apartment buildings and many famous names. Famous authors Toni Morrison and Joyce Carol Oates not only taught at the university but also lived in the town. So did Albert Einstein. Among those who grew up here are Trey Anastasio, John Lithgow, Bebe Neuwirth, Christopher Reeve and Paul Robeson. Former President Grover Cleveland is buried here. As did former Vice President Aaron Burr. Additionally, United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito grew up in nearby Hamilton, comedian Jon Stewart in nearby Lawrenceville, and actor Ethan Hawke in nearby West Windsor.
from the numbers
This list includes:
19music artists with a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 (Mary J. Blige,Jon Bon Jovi,Cardi B.,Gloria Gaynor,Leslie Gore,Halsey,Debbie Harry,Lauryn Hill,Whitney Houston,and rule,Tommy James,the cool and the gang,Lil Kim,Frank Sinatra,Taylor Swift,John Travolta,Frankie Vallee,Dionne Warwick,Stevie is awesome)
(Honorable Mention forBruce Springsteen, who never recorded a No. 1 hit, but did write one: Manfred Mann's Earth Band's "Blinded by the Light")
11Oscar winners (Whoopi Goldberg,Anne Hathaway,Jack Nicholson,Joe Pesci,Susan Sarandon,Frank Sinatra,Mira Sorvino,Steven Spielberg,Bruce Springsteen,Meryl Streep,Stevie is awesome)
11Olympic gold medalists (rooster button,Bill Bradley,Milton Campbell,Anna Donovan,Tobin Heath,Laurie Hernandez,Carlos Lewis,Carli Lloyd,Shaquille O'Neal,Heather O'Reilly,Christy Pierce Rambonet)
11Super Bowl Champions (Harry Carson,Victor Cruz,joe skinny,Franco Harris,Malcolm Jenkins,Eli Manning,Bill parcels,Phil Simms,Joe Theismann,David Tyre,Carson Wentz)
7presidential candidates (Cory Booker,Bill Bradley,Christian Christian,Grover Cleveland,Steve Forbes,Donald Trump,Woodrow Wilson)
4Pulitzer Prize Winners (junot diaz,Toni Morrison,Felipe Roth,Guillermo Carlos Williams)
HOW WE CHOOSE THE LIST
Of course, not all celebrities who have lived in New Jersey are on the map. For children's homes, we stay with people who spent a lot of time here or left a significant mark on the state. We skip those who lived here as young children, like Jayne Mansfield of Phillipsburg, Paul Simon of Newark and Kevin Spacey of South Orange. We include people like Kirsten Dunst or Steven Spielberg, who you may not have realized spent much of their childhood in the Garden State.
For current homes, we stick with people who own property here now or have recently owned property here. And as for the Still Jersey celebrities, these are the people who grew up in the state and decided to stay, albeit in new homes.
But that doesn't mean we haven't forgotten someone. Who are we missing? Let us know.
CREDITS
History: Brent Johnson | New Jersey Advanced Media.
Design and development:Erin Petenko and Yan Wu | Data and interactive from NJ.com.
Research:Vinesa Erminio | Data and interactive elements from NJ.com.
Image credit:Associated Press, Getty Images, Nueva Jersey Advance Media
Special thanks tomap boxfor map service and forBruno Babicfor the minimap plugin.