While award season dazzles with glittering gowns and flashbulbs, a surprising trend is taking root far from the Hollywood Hills. A growing number of A-list celebrities are consciously ditching the relentless pace of showbiz for the rhythms of the countryside, embracing farm life with its mud, manure, and menageries of animals.
Seeking Privacy and Purpose in the Pastoral
For many stars, the move is a deliberate choice for family and privacy. Amanda Seyfried, with an estimated net worth of $16 million, has shunned the typical Los Angeles mansion for a home in the upstate New York hamlet of Stone Ridge. She lives there with her husband, actor Thomas Sadoski, their two children, and a beloved collection of animals including a dog, goat, pig, chickens, a rooster, and rescued cats.
"Staying here was the best decision for privacy, peace and nature," Seyfried told Forbes. "It offers a more balanced life than the city does." She has spoken of the joy of feeding animals in muddy boots the day after a glitzy event, emphasising how farm pets teach her children care and responsibility.
Similarly, former JLS star JB Gill invested his pop earnings into a £1.5 million farm in Kent, where he raises his family alongside pigs, chickens, and turkeys—the latter famously provided to his showbiz friends at Christmas. "The farm has been fantastic when it comes to bringing up our family. The space in lockdown was invaluable," he explained, noting his lifelong passion for farming and food provenance.
Animal Sanctuaries and Rescue Missions
For other celebrities, the drive is a profound love for animals and rescue work. Millie Bobby Brown, who rose to fame in Stranger Things, now manages an animal rescue on a sprawling farm in rural Georgia with her husband, Jake Bongiovi. The farm is reportedly home to 62 animals, including donkeys, goats, horses, and sheep.
Brown is adamant her lifestyle is not for social media aesthetics. "If you're not picking up horse s**t or washing a cow with your bare hands, then that life is not made for you. At all," she told Vanity Fair. She has even used her own ultrasound machine to discover her donkey was pregnant.
Former glamour model Jodie Marsh has turned her back on fame entirely to run Fripps Farm in Essex, a sanctuary for over 250 rescued animals, from emus and llamas to deer and peacocks. To fund the sanctuary's operations, including £65,000 for perimeter fencing, she launched an OnlyFans account, earning up to £10,000 a month at its peak to cover costs and staff wages.
Escapism and a New Kind of Stardom
The trend also represents a form of high-profile escapism. Action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger has embraced farm life on his six-acre Brentwood estate, home to a donkey named Lulu, a pig called Schnelly, a mini pony, and four puppies. During the 2020 lockdown, he noted the fortune of having the space and time for his animals, sharing viral videos of them wandering his kitchen.
Kelvin Fletcher, the former Emmerdale actor and Strictly Come Dancing winner, stumbled into farming "by accident" after buying a 120-acre Peak District farm during the pandemic. He and his wife Liz now care for 100 sheep, 30 pigs, 10 horses, and more, documenting their journey in series like Kelvin's Big Farming Adventure.
Even within the world of high fashion and reality TV, the call of the land is strong. Supermodel Yolanda Hadid sought healing from Lyme disease on her Pennsylvania farm, a sanctuary she fell in love with eight years ago. The property, which spans several buildings and hosted the birth of her granddaughter Khai, was recently listed for $10.888 million. Her daughter, model Gigi Hadid, also owns a farmhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, Kendall Jenner has embraced ranch life at her $23 million Montecito property, complete with horses, olive groves, and trails, while Kelly Osbourne shares her 100-acre Iowa farm life—complete with cows, ducks, and chickens—with her fiancé and son, posting about early mornings and snowy scenes with her animals.
This collective shift from spotlight to soil highlights a growing desire among celebrities for authenticity, connection to nature, and a life measured in seasons and responsibilities, rather than box office returns and social media likes.
