Brad Pitt let his elderly neighbor live on his property rent-free, reveals Elvira

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on April 7, 2023. It has since been updated.

Brad Pitt’s sprawling Los Angeles estate once had a unique resident. The 59-year-old Academy Award winner bought the 1.9-acre property in 1994 from “Elvira: Mistress of the Dark” star Cassandra Peterson for $1.7 million. After owning it for 30 years, he sold it for around $40 million in March 2022. Peterson recently shared stories about selling her home to Pitt, becoming his neighbor, and the unexpected tenant who lived on the property.

 According to Peterson, Pitt gradually expanded the estate by purchasing adjacent properties. “I think there were like 22 houses that were contiguous to the edge of the property. And every time they came up he bought one,” she told PEOPLE. One of these properties was owned by an elderly man in his 90s, and Pitt made a deal allowing him to stay in his home.

“He was very, very kind to the husband. His wife passed away and the husband, John, lived there,” explained Peterson. “I know that Brad allowed him to live there without paying anything until he died.”

The deal lasted longer than one might have expected. “It was kind of funny because John lived to be 105,” she said. The actress joked that John “just kept living forever,” adding, “I imagine Brad was thinking well, you know, he can live there till he dies, which might be any minute now.” 

Peterson, who became Pitt’s neighbor after selling her property to him, shared her own experience with the actor throughout the years, and described him as “always kind and sweet.”

She revealed that she once came across him preparing for the 1999 movie, “Fight Club.” As she took her dog for a stroll on the street, she recalled, “I go past Brad’s garage and he’s in there wearing only sweatpants. He’s got on boxing gloves and he is punching a bag. I swear I almost fainted. I remember he goes, ‘Hey, how are you?’ and I’m like, ‘Huh?’ I couldn’t talk. I was turning red. I felt like I was fainting. He’s just so stunningly, stunningly handsome — and nice, to top it off.”

Peterson added that having the superstar as her neighbor sometimes left her friends in awe. “One of my favorite stories,” she shared, “I was in a little restaurant down at the bottom of the street there, and I had a little meeting for a fundraiser for my child’s school. I was there with about four or five other moms, and we were sitting there having coffee, and all of a sudden I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and it’s Brad. He goes, ‘Cassandra!’ and he gives me a big hug.”

She added, “I’ve gotta tell you, these other mothers I was with, their mouths were hanging open and they could not shut their mouths. Living next to him was a great experience.”

The home, sold last month, is where Pitt and his ex-wife Angelina Jolie raised their six children — Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne. The couple parted ways in 2016.