Jersey may not be as prestigious of a cultural hub as its sister state, New York. Nevertheless, it still has a decent track record of boasting deep ties with talented people from all walks of life, and here are five examples of super famous individuals who have a soft spot for the Garden State.
Steven Spielberg
Did you know that one of the biggest directors in the past fifteen years and one of the most prominent figures of the New Hollywood era, Steven Spielberg, resides in a house near the Ivy League University, Princeton? One of the most recognizable names in cinema lives in New Jersey because he spent much of his childhood in Haddonfield, a borough in Camden County.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Spielberg family moved to Haddon Township in 1952 when the RCA hired Steven’s father. A young Steven attended Edison Elementary and has a deep bond with Jersey, as evidenced by his The Fabelmans, a semi-biographical coming-of-age drama about Spielberg’s childhood in Haddon Township.
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius Rock, better known as Chris Rock, gained worldwide stardom in the late 1990s despite performing as a stand-up comedian since the 1980s. Audiences first saw Rock in minor roles in Beverly Hills Cop II, the famed TV show Miami Vice, and the blaxploitation parody – I’m Gonna Git You Sucka. All of these were bit roles, and it wasn’t until the mid-1990s that he got more screen time in movies like Sgt. Bilko and Beverly Hills Ninja before exploding into stardom with supporting parts in Lethal Weapon 4 and Dogma.
As his movie career was getting off the ground in a big way, Rock decided to move to an upscale Alpine neighborhood in New Jersey, only a forty-five-minute drive from NYC. He purchased a four-bathroom, four-bedroom home in this fancy suburb, called America’s most expensive ZIP code, in 2001, which has an estimated value of around $3 million and would get ranked as a modest abode for a global celebrity. Today, Rock does not live in the colonial-style property stretching ten thousand square feet situated on two acres of land, as he gave it to his wife as a residence in their 2016 divorce. However, he frequently visits and has a home nearby to look in on his two daughters.
Bruce Springsteen
The Boss, America’s heartland rock pioneer, Bruce Springsteen, also lives in New Jersey, which should not come as a major shock to many, given that he is a Long Branch native and lived in NJ until he was twenty years old.
The man who warmed Americans’ hearts with his combination of poetic and socially conscious lyrics with rock tunes has many luxurious properties to his name. Yet, his main place of residence is his mansion, situated in Monmouth County, in Colts Neck. That is an exclusive slice of the county, a piece of land on which many Celebes have built mansions. Springsteen’s 378-acre property features a tennis court, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and a main house with six bedrooms. It has high-end furnishing, a lake, a caretaker’s cottage, and a horse barn.
It should be noted that Bruce also has a house in Rumson, New Jersey, that he bought in 2008, which is an eight thousand square-foot structure with a home theater, a chef’s kitchen, a wine cellar, five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and two half baths. It boasts high ceilings and a modern interior.
Stevie Wonder
The man who influenced a wide range of musical genres in a big way, Stevie Wonder, made headlines again in 2024 via an appearance in the Netflix documentary – The Greatest Night in Pop, where he helps a confused Bob Dylan sing his verse in the hit song – We Are the World.
What many people do not know about the blind musical genius from Saginaw, Michigan, is that he has loads of history with the Garden State. Wonder has an honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Rutgers University, a past home in NJ, and he even has his handprints immortalized in the Atlantic City Boardwalk near the gaming district of Jersey.
Wonder’s past New Jersey residence is in the same area as Chris Rock’s mansion, Alpine. It is a sight to behold, with its sixty-five-foot outdoor pool, a sports bar, nineteen bathrooms, and eleven bedrooms. Its previous owner list features names like Lil Kim and Sean P-Diddy Combs.
Kevin Smith
Anyone who has watched Kevin Smith movies likely knows that the American writer, director, producer, and actor sets most of his films in New Jersey. Smith, born in Red Bank, grew up in the Highlands, attending Henry Hudson Regional High School. As a young adult, he left Jersey to study in New York and then Vancouver but moved back after not finishing his education in both cities, getting his old convenience store job, where he shot Clerks, and the rest is history.
In 2022, Smith bought the Highlands’ Atlantic Moviehouse, a movie theater in Atlantic Highlands. It is the place that fed his childhood love for films, and apparently, he recently tried to buy out the legendary Leonardo’s Quick Stop, the setting of his three-film Clerks franchise.
