She’s played everyone from a virgin queen to a CGI bunny, via an infamous figure skater and a comic book villain. Now Margot Robbie is about to make her debut as the world’s most successful, most recognizable, and most iconic blonde—Barbie But where did Margot come from? Where did she grow up? And where does she live now? Click or scroll as we take a tour through the life and homes of Hollywood’s latest leading lady…
The best-paid actress in Hollywood
Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld
Born in a small Australian town on 2 July 1990, Margot Robbie burst onto our screens as a feisty Brooklyn trophy wife in The Wolf of Wall Street and has since racked up several huge movie credits. Having set herself firmly among Hollywood’s acting elite, she was the highest-paid actress of 2022, earning a massive $12.5 million (£10.5m / AUD$18.9m) for her upcoming role in Barbie. In true feminist fashion, she was paid the exact amount her male co-star Ryan Gosling received to play Ken. Let’s take a look around Barbie’s dreamhouse and Margot’s dream homes…
Margot Robbie’s Barbie debut
Life’s fantastic, when you’re plastic – or at least when you’re playing the most famous plastic fashion icon there is. The new Barbie film arrives on 21 July 2023. Directed by Greta Gerwig, the live-action feature will star Margot as Barbie and Ryan as Ken. The iconic Barbie Dreamhouse takes center stage and in bringing it to life, production designer Sarah Greenwood took inspiration from Palm Springs’s mid-century modernism, including Richard Neutra’s 1946 Kaufmann House. Fun fact: in creating the “mad fantasy of gorgeousness” that is Barbie’s world, Greenwood used so much fluorescent Rosco paint that it caused an international shortage, and “the world ran out of pink.”
Where did Margot Robbie grow up?
Ray White Broadbeach
Barbie’s glamorous fantasy world is a far cry from the very normal Australian suburb Margot grew up in. Born in Dalby, Queensland, her family relocated to this home in Southport, on the Gold Coast, when she was 16. The promising young actress lived with her mother, Sarie, and three siblings in this classic suburban home, nestled away on a quiet cul-de-sac, which is remarkably similar to the iconic Ramsey Street of Australia’s most famous soap, Neighbours (more on that later).
Margot Robbie’s childhood home
Ray White Broadbeach
The family moved into the home in 2007, while Margot was still studying at one of Australia’s leading independent schools, Somerset College, which was reportedly paid for by her estranged father Doug, a former farm owner and ‘sugarcane tycoon,’ according to New Idea magazine. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom home on Mina Street cost the family AUD$488,000, that’s about AUD$754k (£400k / $498k) today.
Margot Robbie’s childhood home
Ray White Broadbeach
Margot’s parents split when she was just five and although she is tight-lipped on the topic of her father, she has said she’s “not like him at all.” She’s famously close to her mother though, saying she’s “the sweetest person on the Earth, and if I turned into her, I wouldn’t be that upset at all; in fact, it would be an honor.” So close are the pair that Margot even paid off the mortgage on Sarie’s Southport home, as a present for her 60th birthday in 2014.
Where does Margot Robbie’s family live now?
Ray White Broadbeach
Sarie put the home up for auction in October 2018, but it was snapped up by an early buyer for AUD$ 630,000 (£335k / $417k), netting the family an impressive 29% return on their investment. In August of that same year, Margot reportedly splashed a generous AUD$2.5 million (£1.3m / $1.7m) on two modern side-by-side homes for her mother and sister on the Gold Coast. “We have seen Margot here a couple of times, but she keeps her arrival very low-key,” a neighbor told the Daily Mail. “She blends in just like she’s a local, which she can do easily as she grew up around here, of course.”
Margot Robbie’s big break
Freemantle Media
Margot scored her first big TV role through typical Aussie grit. Determined to land a part in the legendary Australian soap, Neighbours, she called the production company every day. “One day, I got put through, by accident to the casting director,” she later recalled, and the rest is history. In June 2008, at the age of 17, Margot took up the role of schoolgirl Donna Freedman. The role was supposed to be a guest character, but Margot went on to play her for three years, even returning for the show’s finale in 2022.
Margot Robbie’s life-changing role
Entertainment One
Margot saved her wages from her stint on Neighbours, using the money to move to Brooklyn. She quickly scored her first role stateside, as a flight attendant in the US period drama Pan Am. The show was canned after one season but the Aussie newcomer had done enough to catch the eyes of Hollywood casting agents and she went on to land the role of “the hottest blonde ever” in Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. However, it was a small role in Suite Français that proved life-changing, as it was on the set of the wartime drama that she met her husband-to-be Tom Ackerley, the film’s third assistant director, in 2013.
Margot Robbie’s London flatshare
@margotrobbieofficial / Instagram
A year later, Margot relocated to London and moved into a house in Clapham with eight friends from Suite Français, including Tom, the son of an estate agent who grew up in Guildford, Surrey. Known as ‘The Manor,’ it was reportedly a party house that Margot used as a base to go clubbing at the famous Clapham nightclub, Infernos. In 2016, she told The Sunday Times that, inside the club “everyone is wasted and so sweaty… everyone looks a mess. By the time I make it to Infernos, I look so revolting that nobody’s going to look twice.”
Frugal by nature
@margotrobbieofficial / Instagram
In 2016, Tom and Margot moved into a flat with ‘just’ four others. “We’ve downsized,” Margot told news.com.au. “I like living with lots of people. It reminds me of the house I grew up in.” Living with roommates also appealed to Margot’s thrifty nature. “I’ve never spent money on staying anywhere beautiful and I’ve never paid a lot in rent,” she revealed. “I don’t spend much money at all. It makes me anxious, the idea of it. It seems crazy to spend a huge amount of money on things you don’t need. I’m pretty frugal.” Frugal she may be, but Margot and Tom were soon bitten by the property-buying bug…
Margot Robbie’s Hancock Park home
Engel & Volkers
In December 2016, the low-key couple got married in a secret wedding ceremony in Byron Bay, Australia. Just a month later, in January 2017, they managed to sneak one more thing under the radar when they stealthily bought their first US home, this gated house in the wealthy Los Angeles area of Hancock Park.
Margot Robbie’s Hancock Park home
Engel & Volkers
Shelling out a cool $2.73 million (£2.2m / AUD$4.2m), the pair moved into the five-bedroom, five-bathroom home the same year I, Tonya hit the screens, which saw Margot hit a whole new level of stardom when her critically acclaimed portrayal of scandal-plagued figure skater Tonya Harding won her an Oscar nomination. The film was co-produced by LuckyChap Entertainment, the ‘female-focused’ production company Margot owns with her husband, Tom Ackerley. Yet despite her Hollywood success, she told Australia’s Stellar in 2017 that she still felt “reluctant” to call LA her home.
Margot Robbie’s Hancock Park home
Engel & Volkers
Built in 2016, the 3,300-square-foot home blends New England charm with chic West Coast features, including imported oak floors, white wall paneling, and coffered ceilings. A Carrera marble kitchen, marble fireplaces, and statement chandeliers add to the high finish of the home, while a wooden rope swing hanging from the ceiling of the sitting room hints at the owner’s laidback character.
Margot Robbie’s Hancock Park home
Engel & Volkers
Outside, a gorgeous cabana features a wood-burning stove and a flatscreen TV that can be hidden behind a sliding wooden panel. Decorated in a beachy theme, it offers the perfect space for relaxing in the heat of the day or entertaining in the evening. Additionally, a tiny arched door leads from the garden into a specially designed pet room in the house, ideal for Margot’s adopted dog, Boo Radley.
Margot Robbie’s Hancock Park home
Engel & Volkers
Outside, a swimming pool and spa takes up most of the garden, and there’s also a colorful bar area to shake up some cocktails on the weekend. Margot and Tom called the gorgeous pad home for four years until they put it back on the market in May 2021, listing it for $3.47 million (£2.8m / AUD$5.3m). It sold one month later, just shy of the asking at $3.45 million.
Margot Robbie’s Hollywood Hills bungalow
Coldwell Banker
In February 2018, the year Margot starred in multi-Oscar-nominated Mary Queen of Scots, she bought another stateside home, this time as an investment. The Once Upon a Time in America star bought the charming Hollywood Heights bungalow from Dustin Lance Black, Milk writer and husband of Olympic gold medallist Tom Daley. Margot paid $950,000 (£766k / AUD$1.5m) for the cozy two-bed home and gave it an extensive facelift, refreshing the paintwork, refinishing the hardwood floors, and upgrading the kitchen.
Margot Robbie’s Hollywood Hills bungalow
Coldwell Banker
Just one month later, Margot listed the modest property for rent, first asking for $5000 (£4k / AUS$7.7k) per month, then dropping the price to $4200 in April, when, according to Dirt, a ‘non-famous’ couple leased the 945 square foot cottage.
Margot Robbie’s Hollywood Hills bungalow
Coldwell Banker
The master bedroom features French windows that open straight into a small courtyard and tiered garden, the perfect spot to enjoy a morning coffee. The white and blue aesthetic is repeated throughout the house, while numerous windows accentuate the light, airy feel.
Margot Robbie’s Hollywood Hills bungalow
Coldwell Banker
Built-in 1951, the attractive home has a second bedroom, which can be used as a chic office. There’s also a bright living room, a kitchen with shaker cabinets and stainless-steel appliances, and a small dining room.
Margot Robbie’s Hollywood Hills bungalow
Coldwell Banker
Outside, the highest level of the tiered terrace gives wonderful views of the canyon beyond. After almost three years of life as a landlord, Margot sold the Camrose Drive home for almost $1.2 million (£967k / AUD$1.8m), making an impressive 23.7% profit.
Margot Robbie’s Venice Beach compound
Compass
Quietly snapped up in an off-market deal for $5 million (£4m / AUD$7.6m), Margot added this impressive compound to her collection of homes in 2019. The home stands in a prime spot in Los Angeles’ Venice Beach neighborhood. A pricey but relaxed seaside community with new-age vibes, it has a distinctly Aussie feel, which might be what attracted Margot to the area.
Margot Robbie’s Venice Beach compound
Compass
At the time Margot bought the double-wide lot, it comprised three separate structures, including a loft-like live/work space above a three-car garage, a separate two-bed bungalow, and a further cottage. The home has an airy feel, with white walls, high timber ceilings, and an open-plan layout.
Margot Robbie’s Venice Beach compound
Compass
With a kitchen, living area, day bed, and office all flowing into one, this space feels like the perfect place for Margot and Tom to entertain friends, host creative meetings for their production company or simply chill out together in peace.
Margot Robbie’s Venice Beach compound
Compass
As lovely as the space seemed, it appears Margot and Tom were looking for something different. In August 2021, TMZ reported that the couple was carrying out major construction work on the property, with ‘dirt, debris and Caterpillar machinery’ filling the plot. The report estimated the property will be worth over $15 million (£12m / AUD$23m) when the reno’s completed.
Margot Robbie’s Venice Beach compound
Compass
The outside space originally featured a lawn with a lap pool, shielded from view by the various buildings as well as high walls and hedges to maintain the privacy of the low-key couple. We can only guess how they’ve redesigned the garden since their extensive renovations, but it’s a safe bet they will have kept a pool of some kind. Margot loves to kick off her day with a swim, as she revealed to Vogue’s 73 questions in June 2019.
Margot Robbie’s Byron Bay dream home?
amir prestige
In May 2023, Margot and her husband Tom touched down in Brisbane and headed straight to Byron Bay for a spot of house hunting, Australia’s Daily Telegraph reported. After a day spent meeting up with friends and family, the couple toured this amazing estate in the exclusive Newrybar area, which is also home to actors Chris and Liam Hemsworth.
Margot Robbie’s Byron Bay dream home?
amir prestige
Cedar Hill is described as ‘Australia’s most beautiful home’ in the listing, and it’s hard to argue. Surrounded by five acres of lush gardens and boasting ocean views, the eight-bedroom, eight-bathroom estate is made up of two residences, the ‘sleeping barn’ and the ‘living barn,’ which features an enormous open-plan living space with retractable glass walls, high ceilings with exposed timber beams, a floor-to-ceiling natural stone fireplace and polished concrete floors.
Margot Robbie’s Byron Bay dream home?
amir prestige
There’s plenty of room for guests in the two-story sleeping wing, with six large bedrooms, each with ensuite bathrooms clad in rumbled-marble tiles and finished with aged-copper taps. A sun-filled yet cozy TV room and atrium offers a quiet space to relax away from the heart of this potential party pad.
Margot Robbie’s Byron Bay dream home?
amir prestige
A sleek glass-lined walkway links the two barns, giving glimpses of the carefully landscaped gardens. Nestled among the lush greenery, away from the main structures, there’s an additional ‘charming’ two-bed, one-bath cabin with a kitchen, living area, and deck, which could be the perfect spot for Margot and Tom’s families to stay for a long visit. However, it’s the outside space that sets this home apart…
Margot Robbie’s Byron Bay dream home?
amir prestige
Not only is there an enormous all-weather terrace with relaxation and entertaining zones, but there’s a huge wet-edge mineral pool and mosaic-tiled spa, as well as a circular firepit for open-air gatherings, perfect for a couple who likes to party. Although the price has not been made public, it’s rumored to be around AUD$20 million (£10.5m / $13m). It last exchanged for just AUD$2.415 million (£1.269m / $1.611m) in 2019, and according to records, the property’s substantial redevelopment has cost around AUD$3 million. But whether Australia’s ‘most beautiful home’ has done enough to wow frugal Margot remains to be seen…
What’s next for Margot Robbie?
Phillip Faraone / Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
With Hollywood at her feet, it seems obvious that Margot is set to become a star. The only person who doesn’t find it quite so obvious is Margot herself: “I feel like I have peaked and maybe it’s all downhill from here,” the Suicide Squad star reflected in 2021. “…Maybe I’m at the top and it can’t get any better. I hope that’s not the case because I still feel like I have a lot to give… And, you know, I’m just going to keep climbing as long as I can.” We can’t wait to see the dizzy heights she reaches, the movies she makes, and, of course, the incredible real estate she buys along the way.