It’s official: the American A-listers just can’t get enough of the Cotswolds. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi moved from their sprawling stone farmhouse to a minimalist hilltop mansion in Oxfordshire (the farmhouse is still on the market); Taylor Swift rented a house there while touring in the UK in summer 2024; Kourtney Kardashian has been spotted checking out the area on more than one occasion; Beyoncé and Jay-Z are said to have their eyes on a plot of land; and US Vice President JD Vance caused quite a stir while holidaying near Charlbury in Oxfordshire. It is in this very town – or close by – that Tom Cruise is now reportedly looking for his own piece of the Cotswold magic.
The Mail on Sunday reported that Tom Cruise has sent his personal assistant to this charming corner of the British countryside to look for a multi-million pound property or plot or land that he could call home (well, some of the time at least). If he does decide to take the plunge, he will be in good company, as Jeremy Clarkson and the Beckhams live within striking distance of Charlbury.
Perhaps Cruise has his sights set on a perfectly pulled pint or Sunday lunch at The Bull Charlbury – the popular local pub that is said to have turned down Vance on his recent visit to the Cotswolds. There’s also Daylesford’s The Bell at Charlbury, which offers a menu showcasing the freshest seasonal produce and 12 beautifully designed rooms. It might just be the perfect place to stay when Cruise pops over to look at potential properties himself.
This will not be his first foray into the UK property market. In 2006, he bought an expansive estate in East Grinstead, West Sussex, before selling it to Australian singer Peter Andre in 2016. He is then said to have been drawn to the picturesque town of Biggin Hill, which is one of the highest points in Greater London and is known for its small airport popular with private jets. So the Cotswolds might well be the natural next step for the actor as he searches for his next tranquil British retreat.
But what sort of house is Tom Cruise’s dream? Could he be after the same retro, Tuscan-style charm as his Hollywood home on Mulholland Drive? Or maybe he is drawn to the sort of amenities he had at his Beverly Hill mansion: swimming pool, tennis court and multiple guesthouses. His former country estate in West Sussexxc.combined a traditional aesthetic with every modern luxury you could hope for, so that might well provide the ideal template for his Cotswold house hunt.
Helen Kirwan-Taylor, a fellow American and longtime Cotswolds resident, has written in The Times about a designer friend of hers whose house Tom Cruise has actually been renting recently. ‘It’s just about the most modern house in the entire valley with expanses of glazing and cement reminiscent of a Mission Impossible film.’ Maybe this is his dream home, after all. Only time will tell…
