How Hidden Hills, California, Became a Celebrity Hotspot

For a city with a population that hovers around just 2,000 residents, Hidden Hills, California, has more than its fair share of lore. Located roughly 30 miles from Downtown Los Angeles, Hidden Hills first gained broader name recognition in the aughts, itself and the neighboring city of Calabasas riding the Kardashians’ coattails to fame. The first three seasons of Keeping Up With the Kardashians (which aired from 2007 to 2021) were filmed at Kris and Caitlyn Jenner’s 3,900-square-foot family home in Hidden Hills, per the LA Times, but the attention on the area grew as Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner personalized their own pads in the city in the ’10s. (Over the years, various members of the famous family have bought and sold numerous dwellings in both Hidden Hills and Calabasas.) In the years since, the city’s popularity among A-listers has only grown, along with its notoriety among their fans.

Hidden Hills was developed in 1950 and incorporated in 1961, making it legally a city of its own, though it is without shops, offices, or anything other than houses and community spaces. For the first few decades, the development’s big draw was its emphasis on rural living. All of the lots are at least an acre, giving homeowners space for a barn or a stable for horses. As is still the case now, there was an abundance of bridle trails, and in place of cement sidewalks, dirt paths lined the streets. According to the LA Times, there were no security gates early on, only traffic control gates on the weekends. For decades, the houses themselves were secondary to the lifestyle, and most structures were relatively humble ranch style homes. Providing more stylish dwellings was key to attracting high profile clientele, according to realtor and Hidden Hills resident Marc Shevin, who’s been selling in the area since 1990.

“The public perception many years ago when I started selling there, was that it was a very, very rural, very equestrian, very ranch-y [area, with] lots of old houses,” says Shevin. Though the city has strict guidelines to maintain the traditional look and feel of the neighborhood, ultimately it was the changes—like replacing smaller homes with 10,000-square-foot mansions and implementing more security—that attracted more celebrities each year. While neighborhoods like Bel Air and Beverly Hills have historically been the flashiest options in Los Angeles, it’s hard for those areas to compete with the acreage and privacy of Hidden Hills. “There isn’t anything comparable that will give you that kind of acreage, unless you go way out further further west into Thousand Oaks, Westlake,” says Emil Hartoonian of The Agency, who’s been working in the area for nearly 18 years.