In cities like New York and Los Angeles, where Hollywood bigwigs own property and work, celebrity sightings are almost a given.
But when it comes to hosting the rich and famous, South Florida holds a place of its own. From Jupiter to the outskirts of Miami, the Southeast Florida coastline is lined with celebrity-owned estates.
A growing number of A-list celebrities reside full- or part-time in South Florida: Tiger Woods, Gisele Bundchen, Pitbull, Jeff Bezos and Gloria Estefan, just to name a few.
In June 2024, it was reported that one of Hollywood's hottest stars, Sydney Sweeney, will purchase a $20 million beachfront mansion in South Florida.
It's only natural that celebrities are likely to be spotted near where they live, so it's no surprise that a South Florida town made it onto a recent ranking list of the world's top celebrity destinations for 2024.
Here are the South Florida towns where you're most likely to spot celebrities this year and why.
Where are you most likely to run into a celebrity?
A recent study from BetUS, the “original online sportsbook,” analyzed reported celebrity sightings from January 2024 to May 2024 and combined them with the population of each city in which they were reported. This created a weighted average of the possible number of sightings per 100,000 people in each city.
According to the survey, the most likely place to spot celebrities so far in 2024 is the town of Braemar in the Scottish Highlands, which was visited this year by Hollywood star Margot Robbie (Barbie, Suicide Squad) and is also a frequent destination for members of the British royal family.
Surprisingly, the small city of Palm Beach, Florida, came in at number 10 on the global rankings list, lower than Malibu, California, but well above Manhattan, New York.
Palm Beach ranked even higher at number 7 on the list of cities in the US where you're most likely to spot a celebrity.
According to BetUS research, here is the international list of the most popular cities for celebrity spotting in 2024, along with some of the celebrities spotted in each city:
- Braemar, Scotland, UK: Margot Robbie
- Ballard, California, United States: Ed Helms (The Office, The Hangover series)
- Bedford Hills, New York, USA: John Krasinski (The Office, Jack Ryan) and Emily Blunt (All Might, Mary Poppins)
- Park City, Utah, USA: Robert Downey Jr. (Marvel's Iron Man and Avengers series)
- Malibu, CA, USA: The Kid Laroi, Tate McRae, Travis Kelce
- Indian Wells, California, USA: Tom Holland (Spider-Man, Avengers: Infinity War), Zendaya (The Greatest Showman, Euphoria)
- Waiheke Island, New Zealand: Jason Momoa (Aquaman, DC's Justice League), Jack Black (Kung Fu Panda series), Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie series, White Lotus)
- Fernie, British Columbia, Canada: soccer star David Beckham and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham
- Big Sky, Montana, USA: Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy
- Palm Beach, Florida, USA: Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You, Madame Webb), Kris Jenner, and fashion icon Tommy Hilfiger
According to a BetUS survey, here's the nationwide list of the most popular cities for celebrity spotting in 2024:
- Ballard, California
- Bedford Hills, New York
- Park City, Utah
- Malibu, California
- Indian Wells, California
- Big Sky, Montana
- Palm Beach, Florida
- Aspen, Colorado
- Berkeley, New Jersey
- Brookdale, New Jersey
Why is Palm Beach, Florida so popular with celebrities?
“With its beautiful beaches, people, nightlife, ideal climate and numerous unique cuisines, Palm Beach, Florida is the perfect destination for A-list celebrities to enjoy a great vacation all year round,” the study said.
“If you fancy some French bistro fare at Le Bilboquet, you might even spot Sydney Sweeney enjoying Le Pilar de Poulet with friends.”
Le Bilboquet is also a favorite restaurant of Martha Stewart, who frequently visits Palm Beach, Florida.
“One of only nine restaurants worldwide, this incredible upscale bistro serves high quality traditional French cuisine,” Stewart wrote in an Instagram post in 2022. “I've known the owner for many years, Philippe Delgrange is the undisputed king of his restaurant group.”
Which celebrities live in Palm Beach, Florida?
Palm Beach, Florida is a relatively small town and as such has fewer celebrity residences than the surrounding towns of Jupiter and Delray Beach, but this affluent little town is home to some A-list celebrities.
“The Expendables” actor Sylvester Stallone and his wife Jennifer Flavin Stallone announced earlier this year that they were moving from California to Palm Beach. The couple has owned a Palm Beach home since December 2020, which they purchased for a record-breaking $35.38 million.
Tommy Hilfiger and his wife, Dee Ocleppo, once owned two homes in Palm Beach, but recently sold one of them. In 2021, the fashion power couple moved out of their Greenwich, Connecticut home and into an oceanfront home in Palm Beach permanently.
The list of celebrities who have lived near Palm Beach is much longer: Marilyn Manson, Adam Sandler, Burt Reynolds, Celine Dion, Alan Jackson, Guy Fieri, and Michael Jordan, to name a few.
