While swimming pools have been around since the days before the Hanging Towers of Babylon, in modern history, private backyard swimming pools really started to make a big splash after World War II. And guess who owned pools, were photographed in and near them, and unofficially sparked the trend that continues to grow more than 60 years later? Celebrities -- as in "Swimming pools, movie stars" (and Jed Clampett, Jethro, et al).
Enjoy a look at celebrity pools -- past and present -- from the pages of Architectural Digest.
Architectural Digest's photo gallery of celebrity swimming pools is a thrilling peek into the backyards of luminaries present and past. It's a collection from a diverse group that includes Jack Benny, Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest, Jean Harlow and Esther Williams. The real icing on the cake is the Valentine-shaped pool of Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargetay (parents of actress Mariska Hargetay), with the swimsuit-clad couple proudly showing it off.
The photos -- especially the vintage ones -- are priceless.
Enjoy these links to photos of celebrities' homes featured throughout the years in Architectural Digest, with special attention paid, of course, to the movie stars' pools. Hollywood is where the modern-day pool got its start.
Postwar modernism is in full swing at this home in Riviera, CA. Designed by esteemed Midcentury Modern architect Paul R. Williams, the swimming pool is a classic kidney shape. Note the simple, uncluttered landscaping that was popular with homeowners who wanted to showcase their prized inground swimming pool. This photo was featured in a 1949 issue of
Architectural Digest.Lance Armstrong opens the doors of his Austin, Texas, home to
Architectural Digest in the July 2008 issue. One of the highlights: Armstrong's turquoise swimming pool and cabana with fireplace and Gothic-style lanterns.
Actor Alan Ladd's backyard and swimming pool, which was located in Holmby Hills, California, near Beverly Hills. Architect: Gerard R. Colcord. From a 1949 issue of
Architectural Digest.
Ryan Seacrest, the busy host of
American Idol and producer of all sorts of other things, apparently uses his swimming pool for exercising rather than entertaining. His rectangular lap pool is peaceful and serene, and hopefully he silences his cell for a focused and relaxing swim session. Featured in the January 2008 issue of
Architectural Digest.
The late actress is shown relaxing in the 40-foot-wide pool she shared with husband Mickey Hargitay. Her friends? Dozens of Jayne Mansfield Hot Water Bottles, a novelty item from 1957. She demanded “a heart-shaped house with a heart-shaped pool” as a precondition for her marriage to Mickey Hargitay," according to
Architectural Digest, where the iconic photo can be found.
Designer Ralph Lauren and his wife, Ricky, are shown at their fabulous home on Jamaica. Check out the very large swimming pool and lush landscaping, photographed for the November 2007 issue of
Architectural Digest.
Cher's longtime friend, designer Ron Wilson, decorated her Italian Renaissance–style house in Malibu. “I’m comfortable here,” said the singer-actress in a 2005 issue of
Architectural Digest. “This house wraps its arms around me.” Check out two views of the amazing swimming pool.
From the March 2006 profile of actress Joan Fontaine in
Architectural Digest,“The pond-sized pool with an island in the middle, waterfalls cascading into it from rocks above, a tropical garden, an orchard reminding me of La Paloma—all these things beguiled me,” the actress wrote in her 1978 autobiography,
No Bed of Roses.
