It all happened because of Robin Leach. When Tyrese Gibson was a kid in the Watts section of Los Angeles, he couldn’t imagine that fabulous wealth existed. “I grew up in poverty, with every form of public aid, while my mom worked multiple jobs and raised four kids on her own,” the five-time Grammy-nominated singer and star of The Fast and the Furious blockbuster film franchise recalls. That is, until that kid became a super-fan of the Australian personality’s television show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous . “My first instinct was like, I can’t believe human beings can actually own Rolls-Royces and castles!” he says with a laugh. “But eventually that TV show gave me the audacity to believe that it was possible to have these things, to break the cycle of poverty.”
Now Gibson’s circa-2000 French Chateau–style mansion could easily be featured on that 1980s and 1990s stalwart. Clocking in at some 25,000 square feet, with seven bedrooms (and two 16-foot-tall Transformer statues), the home base of this Hollywood triple threat exudes a tasteful majesty that is more welcoming than it is precious. Sure, there are gilded thrones, loads of shag carpets, and custom everything, but as a prominent entertainer, Gibson envisioned every room to be open to friends and guests who wouldn’t be afraid to lounge on a leather chair or make music with the golden microphone in his home studio. “I wanted guests to feel the regal energy, the regal vibe,” says the man behind the character Roman Pearce in the ninth installment of the hit car-racing films. “But it’s very livable. No one comes into my house and, I’m like, I’m sorry, you can’t sit here.”
The kitchen has three islands and countless refrigerator drawers for vegetables, fruit, meat, and whatever else Gibson’s chef plans to prepare. “I entertain a lot,” the actor says. A painting of Martin Luther King Jr. by Kadir Nelson (best known for his New Yorker magazine covers ) hangs prominently between two archways.
“That’s my main hangout room—that’s where guests always end up,” says the actor–singer–rapper–future studio head. Designer Mona Stephen says that her client wanted “a combination of comfort and grandness…and he got it.” He also doesn’t care about brand names and doesn’t like to wait, which meant his two designers did a lot of retail shopping. The coffee table and sofa were found at Cantoni , the mirrored wall pane is from Arteriors , the candles from Global Views candles, and the fur throws from RH . Eternity Roses by Venus et Fleur can also be seen. “He loves soft materials,” adds Stephen.
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Gibson surely had a clear vision, but he hired Sue Wishengrad, designer and owner of Los Angeles–based Sue Wishengrad’s Trade Secrets , to see that vision through—as she has done with some of Gibson’s other homes (including one for his mother). “He flew me to Atlanta, I had a tour with the previous owner and picked up the floor plans, then headed back to L.A., all in one day,” says the designer, who spent two months shopping for everything her client desired. She sent three semi trucks filled with furniture to Atlanta. Mona Stephen, owner of Atlanta-based M One Design Group , accessorized each room, also in a matter of weeks, to tie everything together. “He said, ‘Mona, I need you to make some magic happen.’”
When Gibson hosts post-pandemic parties—as he recently did for vaccinated guests in support of former Atlanta mayor and current mayoral candidate Kasim Reed—the magic is there. “As I pull up to my house every day, I am literally in disbelief that it’s mine,” says the 42-year-old actor. “People come over and they don’t want to leave. This place has been a gift that keeps on giving…and I will never, ever let it go.”
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