Cate Blanchett rakes in millions with latest Australian home sale
Australian actress Cate Blanchett has walked away with a hefty profit after selling her home in Melbourne prior to auction.
The Oscar-winner and her husband, playwright and director Andrew Upton, reportedly pulled in more than $3 million for the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the upmarket inner-city suburb of Prahran.
Listed with Kay & Burton, 5 Trinian Street was scheduled for auction on March 9 however, a keen buyer swooped in with an offer that resulted in a successful sale.
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The property was listed with an auction guide of $2.25 million to $2.45 million.
According to a report in The Age, the agency said the undisclosed sale price surpassed “both our and our vendors’ expectations”.
It came almost two decades after the couple snapped up the property for $745,000 in 2006.
Set on 237 square metres, the two-storey property had undergone an ultra-modern redesign by Alwill Architecture.
The listing described the home as being positioned in a “tightly held, tree-lined cul-de-sac”.
Large sliding doors in the living room flow out to the deck and yard which has direct gate access to the adjoining two-hectare park, Victoria Gardens.
“The trees of Victoria Gardens almost within touching distance,” the listing said.
The open-plan space has polished concrete flooring in the dining room and sleek white and stainless steel kitchen.
The main bedroom includes a stylish tiled ensuite, full height windows and doors to the front verandah.
The ground level also has a European-style laundry and a powder room.
Upstairs has a loft-style living space that could be used as a children’s playroom or a lounge room with the inclusion of a study nook.
The remaining two bedrooms upstairs have built-in robes and a shared central bathroom.
The Lord of the Rings star has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes and multiple other gongs during her career.
In 2023, she won the BAFT’s Best Actress award for her portrayal of a classical music conductor in the film, Tar.
Cate Blanchett’s extensive property portfolio
Raised in Melbourne, Blanchett entered the property market in Sydney in 1996 when she bought a one-bedroom apartment in the beachside suburb of Coogee.
She wed Upton in 2007 and they now share four children together: Dashiell, 22, Roman, 19, Ignatius, 16, and Edith, eight.
She went on to upsize into a two-bedroom apartment in the same suburb with Upton, paying $441,000 in 1998 for the art deco residence.
It was sold in 2011 for $950,000.
Their next purchase was far more extravagant and co-incided with Blanchett winning her first Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2005 for her role portraying Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator.
The couple splurged $10.2 million on a Hunters Hill Gothic-style mansion which they renovated and extended.
The sprawling 1877-build mansion, known as Bulwarra, included a tennis court, swimming pool and water views.
Blanchett once called the property her “oasis” in an interview with The New Yorker, noting that it had “a feeling of being completely in the bush.”
They sold it in 2017 for $18 million.
In 2011, Blanchett and Upton cast their eye to Vanuatu where they purchased a luxury island retreat, Matanara.
The beach house comprised two pavilion-style buildings linked by a large timber deck, with a private strip of beach overlooking Undine Bay.
Eight years later, the couple listed the property for sale with a guide of $3 million.
International success led the couple to live in the UK where they purchased an English manor for $4.5 million in 2016 as their family home.
Set on 13 acres in East Sussex and known as Highwell House, the Victorian mansion was built in 1890 and previously belonged to Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The main house has seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms and five reception rooms, as well as a dozen antique fireplaces and a games room.
Back in Australia, the couple paid $1.495 million in 2014 to secure a waterfront home on the Hawkesbury River to use as a weekender in 2017.
The coastal-style property featured a deep plunge-style bath tub, masted bedroom with a private deck and jetty access.
It also included a fully self-contained suite on the ground floor for guests and a versatile studio space.
They reportedly sold the five-bedroom escape at Berowra Creek for a small profit in 2019.
Around the same time they bought the Hawkesbury River property, they spent $1.3 million on a waterfront apartment in Elizabeth Bay in Sydney as an investment for their children.
The art-deco block included a harbour-front garden, a swimming pool and a jetty.
In 2020, the couple offloaded a glam two-storey apartment in the landmark circa 1923 The Astor building in Sydney for around $12 million after purchasing it for $8 million in 2015 from Wizard Home Loans founder Mark Bouris.
With views of the Sydney Harbour, Sydney Opera House, and the Royal Botanic Garden, the property was also the largest apartment in the building.
One of their most recent purchases was a £1.6million home in Cornwall in England.
They bought and demolished the existing cottage in Mawgan Porth in 2020 to make way for a five-bedroom eco home at a cost of £5million.
The coastal getaway has become a hotspot for celebrities, with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, Aquaman star Jason Momoa and Hollywood actor Stanley Tucci also reported to have bought properties in the village.
The project has recently drawn criticism, with neighbours accusing the actress of destroying family holidays with the building noise from the property.
