A pink-carpeted staircase, painted cherubs and an attic gym. Of course it was. Some celebrity homes are designed to impress. Others are designed to delight. The best of them feel exactly like the person who lived there, down to the last cushion.
Richard Simmons, the fitness icon who got America moving with Sweatin’ to the Oldies, lived for decades in a colonial-style house in the Hollywood Hills. After his death in July 2024, it went on the market in June 2025 at around $7 million. It has now sold for $3,827,500.
Inside the House, Room by Room
The home covers about 4,100 square feet, with four bedrooms and five bathrooms, on just over half an acre. A column-supported portico greets visitors. Inside, a double-sided fireplace is shared with a music room, and a pink-carpeted staircase is lined with painted cherubs, which is about as Richard Simmons as a staircase can get.
Upstairs, the double-height primary suite opens onto a balcony and a Juliet balcony. Up in the attic is a home gym with Simmons’ own Keiser equipment, which was reportedly included in the sale. Outside, there is a circular pool with a pool house and a detached two-car garage.
From $7 Million to $3.8 Million
The road to a sale was bumpy. A deal at $5.889 million fell through, the asking price was cut to $5.799 million, and another buyer went under contract before the final sale. The buyer is real estate investor John Rohan, who reportedly plans to spend about $3 million restoring the house to its 1930s character and then move in to entertain. “The perfect buyer found this home,” said listing agent Rachelle Rosten of Douglas Elliman.
It is a familiar story in Los Angeles, where a famous name can lift interest without lifting the price, especially when a house needs work. Céline Dion saw a very different outcome when her former Florida mansion sold for $12.5 million.
Why It Feels So Personal
Simmons spent the last years of his life largely out of public view, and the house became part of the mystery around him. Seeing it now, cherubs and all, is a reminder of the man fans remember: theatrical, warm and wildly committed to making exercise fun. A home that holds a life for decades tells you more than any interview, much like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell’s Colorado hideaway.
What to Steal for Your Home
You do not need cherubs, but you can borrow the spirit. Let one bold color run through a space you use every day, like a staircase runner or a hallway. Give a corner of the house, even a small one, to movement: a mat, a few weights, a speaker. Choose one statement piece, a fireplace, a mirror or a vintage chandelier, and build the room around it. The lesson worth borrowing is that personality beats perfection.
The Bottom Line
Richard Simmons’ Hollywood Hills home just sold for $3.8 million after listing at $7 million. Its next chapter is a restoration, but its pink staircase and attic gym will always tell the story of the man who lived there.
