16 Hollywood Stars Who Have Left the U.S. — Citing Trump, the Need for 'Serenity' and More
Amanda Edwards/Getty; Stefanie Keenan/Getty; Pablo Cuadra/Getty While many think of New York City or Los Angeles when it comes to where the biggest names in Hollywood rest their heads, these stars looked for for a place away from the bright lights — even oceans away, in some cases. Whether it'sRosie O'DonnellorEllen DeGeneres' recent decision to move overseas in the wake of the 2024 election orRichard Gere's relocation with his family to Spain to be closer to his wife's loved ones, see which stars have decided to live abroad. Kelly Sullivan/Getty In late 2024,PEOPLE learnedthatEllen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossihad moved to the English countryside after finding a house the former talkshow host "loved." The pair now live in a farmhouse in theCotswolds region. During a live conversation on on July 20, 2025,DeGeneres confirmed reportsthat she and de Rossi made the move to live abroad permanently in response to Donald Trump's second presidency, theBBCsaid. During the chat, DeGeneres explained the pair had arrived to the U.K. "the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, ... And we're like, 'We're staying here.' " As far as their new life in the countryside, DeGeneres said, "it's just a simpler way of life." "Everything here is just better — the way animals are treated, people are polite," she said. "I just love it here." Pascal Le Segretain/amfAR/WireImage for amfAR AfterSuitswrapped in 2019, Gabriel Macht and his family left the United States, though don't expect to find out where anytime soon. "I don't tell anybody where I live because I like to keep that under wraps,"he told PEOPLEearlier this year, adding: "I got out of town and we're exploring the world." Before reprising the role ofHarvey Specter onSuits LA, Macht had taken a "long break" from acting to focus more on his family. The actor shares two children, daughter Satine and son Luca, with his wifeJacinda Barrett. Stefanie Keenan/Getty Rosie O'Donnellconfirmed she had moved to Ireland withher 12-year-old child Clayin a TikTok video shared in March 2025. She said she's working on getting her Irish citizenship and suggested that her move was motivated by America's current political landscape. "I was never someone who thought I would move to another country, that's what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child. And here we are," she said,explaining that they've been in Ireland since January. "You know, I'm happy. Clay is happy," she added. "I miss my other kids. I miss my friends. I miss many things about life there at home and I'm trying to find a home here in this beautiful country and when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that's when we will consider coming back." "It's been heartbreaking to see what's happening politically and hard for me personally as well," she continued. "The personal is political, as we all know." Months later,Trump threatened to revoke O'Donnell's U.S. citizenship, calling her a "threat to humanity." "I'm good, I'm safe here in Ireland,"O'Donnell said via TikTokin response to the president. "I'm out of the reach of the Tangerine Mussolini." Daniele Venturelli/WireImage Six months after sharing that he wanted to relocate to Spain with his wife, Alejandra Silva, and their two young sons, Richard Geresold his $11 million New Canaan, Conn., homein October 2024. "For Alejandra, it will be wonderful to be closer to her family, her lifelong friends and her culture," Gere toldVanity FairSpainof his wife, who was born in Spain. "She was very generous in giving me six years living in my world, so it is only fair that I give her at least another six living in hers." Despitethe big moveand sale of his Connecticut home, Gere told the outlet he still has a house "in the countryside near New York." More recently, Gere said that after a "few years" in Spain,the family plans to "come back" stateside. Julien Hekimian/Getty Images ThoughCourtney Lovehas lived in London since 2019, she recently shared that she's taking her move one step further andgetting her British citizenship. According to theDaily Mail, Love said in an interview with Todd Almond at London's Geographical Society in early March that she expects the citizenship to come in six months. She didn't specifically link her move to Trump's presidency, she has been outspoken in the past about her dislike of the President and described the current political situation in the U.S. as "frightening." "In terms of Trump, and particularly this group… it's like emperor-core. Like, wearing million-dollar watches. Emperor-core is going on at Mar-a-Lago," she said, per theMail. Taylor Hill/FilmMagic While speaking withMarie Clairein November 2024,Eva Longoriashared that she and her family had been splitting time between Spain and Mexico for the last few years. She clarified, though, thatthe move was not a product of her opinion on President Trump. "I'm a proud American. I've always been a proud American. Proud Texan, proud American," Longoria toldAna Navarroduring an episode ofThe View'sBehind the Tablepodcast. "I didn't want it to be taken that I left because of Trump — absolutely not — or because of the elections." Vianney Le Caer/Deadline via Getty In 2023,a source told PEOPLEabout the reasoning behindAmber Heard's move abroad the previous year with her young daughter Oonagh Paige. Following her defamation trial with ex-husbandJohnny Depp, Heard felt like she had to "just had to get out of the U.S." in the wake of receivingdeath threats and becoming the subject of vicious Internet memes. While she first moved to the Spanish island of Mallorca, she later settled in an upscale neighborhood of Madrid where, the source explains, "she gets more privacy." VALERIE MACON/Getty Lily Collins and her husband Charlie McDowellmoved to Copenhagen, Denmark in 2023,Voguereported. That year, she was asked byElle Danmarkthe best part about life in Copenhagen. The answer? "Everything!" "Life here is just so wonderful and so calm and bright. What I love so much is that there's so much color and, yet, it's so calm. I love being able to bike everywhere. It feels like a big city but also very intimate, and everyone is so nice." PerArchitectural Digest,she and her husband still have property on the West Coast. Kevin Winter/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty In 2019,Josh Lucasopened up about living in Indonesia where his son, then 7, was enrolled in an environmentally focused school. TheSweet Home Alabamaactor described it as "such a special place." "I have this very special 7-year-old child, and I think all of us are trying to figure out how to have an impact in the world, and for myself, the best thing I could do is give my son this extraordinary experience," he explained onJimmy Kimmel Live!"Being on the other side of the world and looking back at this madness is amazing." Of his son's school, he added, "He loves it. It's magical. It's deeply in the jungle. It's likeSwiss Family Robinson— they grow their own food, they make their own buildings out of bamboo." Joshua Sammer/Getty Pamela Andersondecided tomove back to Vancouver Island, British Columbia— where she was born and raised — around the start of the pandemic in 2020. As she toldBetter Homes & Gardensin August 2024, the decision was in part due to her feelings about how she felt the public perceived her. "A few years back, I kind of gave up at some point and needed a change," Anderson said. "I thought, 'Well, I guess that's just what people think of me.' I was not in a good space when I moved back to Canada." "I don't know what happened over the last few decades, but I feel now so far removed from the image of who I was," she continued. "I felt very sad and lonely. I didn't feel just misunderstood, I felt like I had really screwed up, that my whole life was a bundle of mistakes. I was hard on myself, and I thought I put my family through a lot and put my kids through so much." Her move to Canada was not her first move abroad as an adult; she previously lived in Marseille, France. Arnold Jerocki/Getty In 2017,Lindsay Lohanopened up about living in Dubai after she began residing in the city in 2014, tellingEntertainment Tonight, "I love living in New York, but I do love the serenity and peace that I find living in the Middle East because there are no cameras in Dubai and I can actually focus on what I want to do in life." Later, Lohan welcomed her first son, Luai, in Dubai, where she is raising him withhusband Bader Shammas. Gary Gershoff/Getty Tina Turnermoved to Kusnacht, Switzerland in 1998 with her partner Erwin Bach. While she initially rented the home, known as Villa Algonquin, due to Swiss restrictions, after becoming a citizen in 2013, she bought the estate for a reported $76 million, according to theAssociated Press. The home on the shore of Lake Zurich is where the iconic singerdied at age 83 in 2023. Terry Wyatt/Getty Also making a home in Switzerland isShania Twainwhose main residence is near Lake Geneva,Homes & Gardensreported in 2023. After living in the country for 10 years, the singer had one of Switzerland's Golden Pass Express trains named in her honor: the "Shania Train,"CNN reported. Jon Kopaloff/Getty Christina Milianshared on an episode ofThe Jennifer Hudson Showthat after years of splitting time between France and the U.S., she and her husbandMatt Pokora, who is French, "decided to commit"to living overseas as their kids were now of school age. "I love it out there!" she said. "So our children, they're 3, 4, and of course Violet is 14, they're all going to school in Paris. What better an opportunity than that?" Milian shares sons Isaiah, 5, and Kenna, 3 with Pokora and daughter Violet, 15, with exThe-Dream. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty In 2016, Melissa George moved to Paris from New York City with her two sons,The New York Times Magazinereported. Since 2020, she has had a home in Provence which she recentlyshowed off for the outlet.The 17th century home is five stories tall and filled with intricate furniture and custom touches she's added along the way. Read the original article onPeople
16 Hollywood Stars Who Have Left the U.S. — Citing Trump, the Need for 'Serenity' and More Amanda Edwards/Getty; Stefanie Keenan/Get...
