If you assumed the type of actor known for playing James Bond might own an equally iconic home, you would be correct. Pierce Brosnan is best known for being the fifth actor to portray the titular character in the James Bond series. It seems as though he often brought the flair and style of his work back home with him. No one could blame him, of course. Who wouldn’t adopt the James Bond lifestyle if given the opportunity?
For example, Brosnan’s house is a $100 million, 13,000-square-foot mansion sitting pretty on Malibu beach in California. The outrageously expensive home was even inspired by the famous action franchise and Brosnan’s experience on set. You may be thinking, “What on earth could make a mansion worth $100 million?” It wouldn’t be crazy for you to think that at all! After all, it was listed as one of the world’s top 25 most expensive houses for sale in 2020. Paying nine figures for anything sounds absolutely absurd to most normal people. Yet the more you learn about this special home, the more that price tag might make sense.
Brosnan’s gorgeous home hasn’t actually been around for very long. Just 20 years ago, the plot of land upon which the mansion sits was not nearly as valuable as it is today. In fact, Pierce and his wife, Keely Brosnan, purchased the land for just around $7.35 million. At the time, the land included a quaint ranch-style house on the beach. As you might have guessed, though, the house was far too small for what the couple had in mind.
Amid all the adversity, Pierce Brosnan is lucky to have his soulmate stand by him through and through: his wife, Keely Shaye Smith. While their relationship spans over 26 years, the power couple remains as devoted and as in love as ever.
Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith first met in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 1994, at a party, and the two immediately became infatuated with one another.
“He was captivating,” Smith told People magazine in 2001, the year they married. “Tall, dark, and handsome–everything that everybody would immediately be attracted to. He had this mischievous sparkle in his eyes. I thought, ‘Wow! Wow!’”
Brosnan wasn’t looking for love at the time, as his late wife, Cassandra, the mother of his first three children, had passed away just two years earlier from cancer – but he was nevertheless captivated by Smith and knew she wanted to see her again. A few days later, Smith and Brosnan went out on their first date; a romantic night under the stars, where the two opened up and talked until 3 am as fireworks went off in the background and Kenny Loggins sang.
“I understand why women find him sexy, because he is an appealing man. He really likes and appreciates women,” Smith said.
Since then, the couple has been inseperable.
According to Brosnan, the actor struggled to get Smith out of his mind, even as his career took off in 1995 when he was cast as James Bond.
“Wherever I went in the world I missed her, and I’d send her tickets to come so we could be together. We just seemed to fit,” Brosnan told People.
Their first son, Dylan, was born in 1997, while his brother, Paris, was born in 2001 – a mere few months before their parents finally tied the knot. According to a Hello magazine exclusive, their fairytale wedding took place in the Ashford Castle Hotel, built in the 13th century, in Brosnans’ native Ireland. It was an intimate ceremony with just 120 guests, all the couple’s closest friends and family. His late daughter Charlotte, who died in 2013 following a battle with the same cancer her mom had died from 12 years prior, was over the moon for her dad.
“Just seeing the ultimate love that these two people have for each other was unbelievable,” Charlotte told People in 2001. “My dad found it again, and that makes me happy.”
The longer the couple would stay together, the stronger their relationship grew. In 2014, after the couple had already been together for twenty years, Brosnan told the German magazine, Meins, that Smith still made him “weak” every time she looked at him.
“I love her vitality, her passion,” Brosnan said. “She has this strength that I wouldn’t be able to live without.”
While both might lead hectic lives with their busy careers – Brosnan as an actor and Smith as a journalist and author – the two make it a point to make time for each other, no matter the scheduling obstacles. While describing his perfect day off to People magazine, he said:
“I painted in my studio, then I went down and sat on the beach, read and did some drawing — and then I had lunch with Keely.” And then, after picking up his son Paris from school and painting in his Malibu studio, he got a perfect ending to the perfect day with Smith by his side.
Once Pierce was no longer busy filming “Die Another Day” (2002), his last appearance as Bond, the couple decided to make some adjustments. Thanks to the success of the movie, they decided to build Keely’s “dream house.” The task of building the perfect Malibu mansion wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, of course. Every part of the home was painstakingly designed and thought out by Keely, and the process was expensive. It made every setback devastating, including when an accidental fire did serious damage to both the home and its contents in 2015. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the fire, but Pierce did lose his cherished Aston Martin from “Die Another Day.”
Despite the occasional obstacle here and there, Pierce and Keely succeeded in their mission. Once their perfect home was finished, they dubbed it the Orchid House and filled it with friends, family members and memories. One of the most striking things about the Orchid House’s appearance is the obvious Thai-inspired aesthetic. The Brosnan couple was inspired by the beauty of Thailand after Pierce filmed “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997) in the Southeast Asian country.
The mansion features nearly as much usable outdoor space as it does inside, with plenty of open entryways to really put an emphasis on nature. The main entryway of the home looks like a beautiful island paradise. The walkway is surrounded on either side by orchids, gardenias and other exotic flowers. After all, you can’t name a place the Orchid House without filling it full of orchids. Additionally, the front doors feature intricate, hand-carved designs heavily influenced by Thai art.
Another labor of love for the house is the spectacular green tile roof. Keely had to work for over three years to achieve the perfect Thai-inspired color. The resulting contrast of the roof with the white walls and wooden accents seems like it was well worth the wait. Other spectacular features in the architecture include tall scissor truss ceilings and gorgeous teak floors. The result is a warm atmosphere with plenty of space.
The bathrooms and kitchens are adorned with luxury crystal countertops, and it seems almost every room contains a quartz crystal fireplace. The house is so extensive that Keely and Pierce even have their own fully equipped bathrooms attached to the primary bedroom! With the open layout and so much outdoor access, this designer home makes you feel like you are already on vacation. Floor-to-ceiling windows and doors opening up to the wrap-around patio provide a constant view of the beach. With an abundance of natural light throughout the entire house, it is practically a work of art.
It is clear that so much thought and care went into building this dreamy, exotic mansion. That being said, is it really worth the unfathomable price of $100 million? The finished Orchid House contains four massive, airy bedrooms in the main house in addition to an entirely separate guest house. Additionally, there are a whopping 14 bathrooms, three kitchens, and multiple covered outdoor seating areas. The outdoor areas are particularly special considering how much money someone would be spending for that location! The seating areas are covered with strong glass to block windy days and have convenient fire pits for gatherings.
If that wasn’t enough, the limestone flooring of the patio in the back of the house is heated!
There are also beautiful places to work from home in the Orchid House, which makes it especially relevant for buyers in 2021. Pierce has both an art studio and a production office full of natural light where he can get things done. If you are worried about Keely having enough personal space, don’t fret! The two walk-in closets she had built for the master bedroom are bigger than some houses! True to its relaxing Asian theme, the Orchid House has plenty of areas to relax and detox. It even contains a home spa with outdoor access. The spa itself includes a dual sauna, a steam room, and two plunge pools — the perfect place to clean up after a day on the beach.
The mansion doesn’t stop there! No Malibu experience would be complete without a spacious indoor theatre, a fully functional gym, a soundproof music room and a wine cellar.
Back outside, there is a luxurious saltwater pool with a waterfall in the backyard, in case you aren’t in the mood to walk out to the beach. Surrounded by Keely’s intricate landscaping, this part of the house sparkles like a magical oasis. The neighboring pool house has everything you need to ensure your every desire is met, too. It has its own bar, fireplace, full-sized kitchen and lounge area. The guest house with the additional bedroom and a private balcony is on the second floor of the pool house.
Lastly, at the end of the day, the view from the Orchid House is absolutely unbeatable. Having so much real estate — just over an acre of land — on Malibu Beach is an extraordinary luxury very few have.
To have so much free open space, with immediate access to the water, makes the property worth so much more than other Malibu houses. Some would argue that the view and space alone in such a coveted location makes the Orchid House priceless.
With all that being said, if the house is so perfect, why did Pierce and Keely put it on the market in 2020? The move came as a surprise to many, considering that the mansion took over 10 years to completely finish. In addition to that, this is only the second time the property had ever been put on the market. After all of that work over the years, why let it go? It is no wonder that many want to know why someone would sell their dream home.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the filmmaking couple are grateful to have been able to raise their family in Malibu for so long. After 18 years, however, they are ready to move on and have decided to move to another beautiful beach in Kuaui, Hawaii. “(Malibu) has my heart,” Pierce told The Wall Street Journal, but “home is very much here on the islands. We have a new dream now.”
“It’s time to move on,” he said in the same interview. “It’s time to change.”
With all the success that Pierce has earned, it’s no surprise to see him moving from one paradise to another! Of course, whenever they need a break from Hawaii, they can always go visit their homes in Dublin and County Meath in Ireland. When you are one of the stars that played the legendary 007 and own a $100 million mansion, there are no limits to where the world will take you. It is a relief to hear how happy and positive Keely and Pierce are after nearly 20 years of marriage together. It also makes sense that they would always be gravitated towards living on beaches together, considering they met on one in Mexico in 1994!
It looks like the Brosnan family is destined to be near the beach! It is no understatement to say that the Brosnan’s Orchid House is truly a one-of-a-kind piece of real estate. It manages to capture all the desires of a domestic residence while also feeling like a private get-away. One could almost say it is a Thai-themed, family-sized resort!
Viewers on YouTube are a bit more skeptical of the house, especially when it comes to the mansion’s expensive price tag. In one highly rated comment on the video below, a user calls the $100 million listing “Insanity!”
“There is no way I am paying anything more than $35m for that,” the commenter continues. “Do you take me for a fool?!?”
Surprisingly, however, the $100 million valuation isn’t uncommon for southern California mega-mansions. According to a Business Insider report on the most expensive homes from the 2010s, a 25,000-square-foot home in Los Altos Hills, California, sold for $100 million in 2011. Only time will tell whether the Brosnans will be able to fetch a similar price tag.
What do you think of the Orchid House? If you had $100 million to spend on your next house, do you think you would buy this luxurious beachfront mansion? Who do you know who would love to live somewhere like the Orchid House? Let us know — and don’t forget to pass this story on to friends, family members and James Bond fans!
