From Hollywood royalty to actual royalty, these American-born celebrities chose to call other countries home. Join us as we explore famous figures who traded the stars and stripes for new horizons abroad! Our countdown includes Johnny Depp's London life, Grace Kelly's Monaco monarchy, Richard Gere's Madrid move, and more! Which celebrity's international relocation surprised you most?
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00:00I'll try to make my love story with Switzerland short.
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:05And today we're looking at famous figures born in the United States
00:09who decided to take up residence elsewhere.
00:12According to TMZ, she has moved two hours outside of London.
00:18Johnny Depp.
00:20Johnny Depp was born in Owensboro, Kentucky before making it big in Hollywood.
00:24Mrs. Vernon Williams, I hear you're having a talent show out at your charm school today.
00:28I can barely imagine what you would call music.
00:32I can sing pretty good.
00:33But he's spent much of his life living abroad.
00:36In the 90s, the actor moved to France, the home country of then-partner Vanessa Paradis,
00:41saying he was disappointed in the direction of the U.S. in a 2001 interview.
00:46I came to France in 1998 to do a movie.
00:53However, he was living in the States during his marriage to actress Amber Heard.
00:57During their highly publicized defamation trial, Depp was living in London with famed guitarist
01:03Jeff Beck, who died the following year.
01:06Depp has since remained in London with a source telling people he really feels London is a home.
01:12His ex-herd has also left the U.S., moving to Madrid.
01:16Grace Kelly was already Hollywood royalty, but her marriage to Prince Rainier III in 1956 made her actual royalty.
01:29And then, an announcement that set the world back on its heels.
01:33A press conference was told that the Prince of Monaco had chosen his princess, and his bride-to-be never looked lovelier.
01:40The Philadelphia-born Kelly became Grace of Monaco.
01:44This, of course, necessitated her saying goodbye to her life as a screen star.
01:49But she very much remained in the public eye, particularly with her extensive philanthropy.
01:55It's very busy, isn't it?
01:56Well, it is busy and full, but I like it that way.
02:01She didn't completely cut ties to the entertainment industry, either, becoming one of the first female board members at the 20th Century Fox Film Corporation in 1976.
02:12She and Rainier even worked together on Rearranged, an independent film that received interest from the ABC network.
02:19Tragically, Kelly died following a car accident in 1982 at the age of 52.
02:26I would like to be remembered as trying to do my job well, of being understanding and kind.
02:37Richard Gere.
02:39Wait.
02:44I have to talk to you.
02:50Yeah, me too.
02:52From American gigolo to an American abroad, Richard Gere was also born in Philadelphia.
02:58He performed on stage in the U.S. and London before breaking out into Hollywood films.
03:04Though the politically outspoken Gere has made many remarks criticizing the U.S. and other governments,
03:10he, his wife, Alejandra Silva, and their two sons have been living in Connecticut for several years.
03:17That is, until 2024, when he moved to Madrid.
03:22Gere told Vanity Fair Spain that this allowed Silva to be closer to her family, calling the country a beautiful place.
03:29She grew up in a very big Spanish family, like a big Italian family, a big Spanish family.
03:34Yeah.
03:35And her grandmother was kind of the glue that held that all together.
03:39He hasn't lost his knack for political activism, either.
03:42In February 2025, while accepting an honorary award from the Spanish Film Academy,
03:48he spoke out against the rise of authoritarianism and President Donald Trump.
03:54Authoritarianism takes us all over.
03:56We have to be vigilant.
03:57We have to be alert.
03:59We have to be energetic.
04:00We have to be brave.
04:02Rosie O'Donnell.
04:03Rosie O'Donnell has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, with their public feud starting
04:09in 2006.
04:10There he is, hair looping, going, everyone deserves a second chance, and I'm going to give
04:18him a second chance.
04:20While the New York-born comedian and talk show host didn't leave the U.S. during Trump's
04:25first term in 2025, just days before Trump's second inauguration, O'Donnell moved to Ireland
04:32with 12-year-old child, Clay.
04:35In a TikTok posted in March, she said this was the best decision for them.
04:39It's been pretty wonderful, I have to say.
04:43O'Donnell, who has Irish grandparents, is currently working on getting her Irish citizenship.
04:49While she expressed hopes of eventually returning to the U.S., O'Donnell also has much praise
04:54for her new home city of Dublin and its inhabitants.
04:58And the bickering between her and the President of the United States shows no signs of slowing
05:03down.
05:04Do you know who she is?
05:05Yeah.
05:06I'm joking.
05:07You're better off not knowing her.
05:10George Clooney
05:10George Clooney was born and raised in Kentucky, and even tried out for the Cincinnati Reds in
05:16hopes of becoming a professional baseball player before becoming a star of TV and film.
05:21Well, this is your game I've never played before.
05:23It's not a game.
05:24It's not something you play.
05:25The famously politically-minded Clooney and his wife, international human rights lawyer
05:30Amal Clooney, have owned homes around the world, including Los Angeles, New York, Mexico,
05:36Italy, and London.
05:38However, their home base since 2021 is reportedly the Provence region of France.
05:45Not only that, but Amal and their seven-year-old twins are also allegedly fluent in French.
05:57Yeah, I'll be like sitting there and the kids will look at me.
05:59You'll be like, hey, Papa, there's Franzo, and I'm like, what?
06:03In 2024, they sold their L.A. home to model Olivia Culpo and her husband, NFL running back
06:10Christian McCaffrey.
06:11Though he may be primarily living in France, Clooney is still fiercely outspoken regarding
06:17American politics.
06:19It's part of democracy, and we'll get, you know, and there's the people who agree and
06:23people who disagree.
06:24Kevin Spacey.
06:26The New Jersey-born Kevin Spacey was working steadily in Hollywood prior to allegations of
06:32inappropriate conduct in 2017 permanently altering his reputation.
06:37He says he's seeking unspecified treatment as new accusations surfaced.
06:41However, he spent much of his time in the public eye living in London.
06:46In 2003, Spacey moved from New York to London, where he served as artistic director of the
06:52famed Old Vic Theatre.
06:54And all of the work that I do at the Old Vic through our Old Vic New Voices program to support
06:58emerging actors and writers and directors and producers has been of enormous impact to me
07:04and incredible satisfaction.
07:06Even when he was making the American politics-focused House of Cards, he stayed loyal to the U.K.
07:13Amidst ongoing financial troubles, he put his London penthouse on the market in 2024.
07:19The same year, he also made headlines for refusing to leave his Baltimore mansion following its
07:24foreclosure.
07:25So I have to go back to Baltimore and put all my things in storage.
07:30Ellen DeGeneres.
07:32After her daytime talk show ended in 2022, Ellen DeGeneres mostly retreated from the public eye.
07:38Twenty years ago, when we were trying to sell the show, no one thought that this would work.
07:43Not because it was a different kind of show, but because I was different.
07:46In 2024, she announced she would be leaving Hollywood following the end of her comedy tour.
07:52If they like you, you're in.
07:53And if they don't, you're out.
07:55Though DeGeneres, born in Louisiana, had long had a public image as a beacon of kindness,
08:01her reputation took a major hit following reports of a toxic workplace on her set.
08:06In 2024, she and her wife, retired actress Portia de Rossi,
08:12reportedly moved from California to the Cotswolds in the English countryside.
08:17Though they may not have spoken publicly about the matter,
08:20there has been speculation it was due to Trump's re-election.
08:24This is not necessarily because of Trump, but I think the shift,
08:29they wanted the house previously, but I think the shift full-time is because of Trump.
08:33Eva Longoria.
08:34Eva Longoria was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, to Tejano parents.
08:40We are both from Texas.
08:41I know.
08:42Do you miss it?
08:43I do.
08:44She earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Texas A&M University, Kingsville, in 1998.
08:50That same year, she was also named Miss Corpus Christi, USA.
08:54After entering a talent contest, she caught the attention of an agent,
08:58leading to a newfound career in Hollywood.
09:00Fine.
09:01I'll go.
09:02But I'm keeping my back pressed against the wall the entire time.
09:06In 2016, the Desperate Housewives star married media mogul Jose Antonio Pepe Baston Patino in Mexico,
09:14with whom she has a son.
09:17Towards the end of 2024, she announced that she and her family had left the U.S.,
09:21splitting their time between Mexico and Spain.
09:24Though she's been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, she did stress that the decision wasn't politically motivated.
09:32Yeah, one time we drove to Disney World in Orlando, so we went to Texas.
09:37From Texas?
09:37Yes, from Corpus Christi, Texas.
09:39It was like the Gulf of Mexico.
09:41And you go.
09:42Tina Turner, the queen of rock and roll?
09:47Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock in Brownsville, Tennessee.
09:51The wheel keep on turning.
09:53Darnin'.
09:54Loud, Mary, keep on burning.
09:56Following her tumultuous marriage to Ike Turner, as well as the end of their musical partnership,
10:02she kept her married name and reinvented herself as a solo star.
10:05What's love got to do, got to do with it?
10:10Turner took up residence in Zurich in 1994, and in 2013, she became a citizen of Switzerland,
10:17even renouncing her American citizenship.
10:19I found my home, my dream house.
10:22I'm at home finally, and I'm happy about it.
10:25Among the requirements for obtaining her Swiss citizenship was demonstrating a strong knowledge
10:30of the German language.
10:31She died at her home a decade later, in 2023.
10:52Lindsay Lohan
10:54Even before her breakthrough dual roles in The Parent Trap,
10:58Lindsay Lohan, born in New York City, had amassed plenty of showbiz experience,
11:03appearing in numerous commercials, soap operas, and on Sesame Street.
11:08A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P
11:15While she stayed in the public eye as she transitioned into adulthood,
11:19it soon became less about her movie roles and more about her personal struggles.
11:23Are those flowers for me?
11:25Yeah.
11:26Thanks.
11:29However, while Lohan has made a comeback in recent years,
11:33you might not know she's been living in Dubai since 2014.
11:37The 36-year-old who is expecting her first child took to her Instagram story on Friday
11:42to share some footage from their trip to a lavish resort in Dubai.
11:46Since moving there, she's married her husband, financier Bader Shamas,
11:51and given birth to their son.
11:53Speaking to Flaunt magazine in 2024,
11:56Lohan said her daily routine consisted of
11:59the same things that any normal mom would do in their daily life.
12:04He's more verbal, and he's running a lot, and it's just, it's like, he's like a little boy now.
12:10Did we miss any stars who left America?
12:12Let us know in the comments.
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