Shonda Rhimes Unveils Her ‘Grown-up Fantasy’ Hollywood Home with a Secret Connection to “Scandal”
- - Shonda Rhimes Unveils Her ‘Grown-up Fantasy’ Hollywood Home with a Secret Connection to “Scandal”
Natalia SenanayakeJanuary 28, 2026 at 11:10 PM
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Shonda Rhimes unveils her new Hollywood home
Michael Mundy for VERANDA
Shonda Rhimes is unveiling her “elegant” Hollywood apartment in the latest issue of Veranda magazine
The TV mogul revealed her new home was previously used as the set for Olivia Pope’s apartment in the first few episodes of her hit series Scandal
Her “timeless” abode overlooks the Hollywood sign, features sweeping views of the city skyline and boasts multiple spaces where she can write
Shonda Rhimes’ new Hollywood apartment holds a deep meaning for her in more ways than one.
The Shondaland creator, 56, opened the doors to her stunning home for Veranda’s March/April 2026 Hollywood issue (available Feb. 12), and chatted with her longtime decorator Michael S. Smith all about the space. During their conversation, she tells Smith — who worked on her previous house in L.A. — why this property holds a very special place in her heart.
“I don’t know if we’ve talked about it,” she says, “This was actually Olivia Pope’s apartment. This is where we filmed the pilot and several of the first episodes of Scandal.” Referring to her “timeless” living room, she adds, “So if you watch the pilot, you see that room over there.”
The hit ABC drama, which ran from 2012 to 2018, is one of the many successful shows the TV mogul has under her belt.
Michael Mundy for VERANDA
In addition to her home's Scandal connection, Rhimes explains why the apartment is unlike any of her other residences.
“I feel like this one is sort of my grown-up fantasy apartment,” she says. “It’s the apartment that I imagined when I thought of what an L.A. life would be like.”
The Grey’s Anatomy creator goes on to share that her home — which overlooks the Hollywood sign and offers sweeping views of the city skyline — feels like a reflection of the “perfect me.”
“The living room has this very elegant, very grown-up, don’t-put-your-feet-on-the-sofa kind of vibe. It feels like the 'elegant me' I keep planning to be. Do you know what I mean? The 'perfect me' I keep planning to be. But it’s also really comfortable,” she says.
Michael Mundy for VERANDA
While explaining the feelings her new home evokes for her, Rhimes takes a moment to reflect on how far she's come since first arriving in L.A.
“I feel this incredible sense of gratitude. This is a life I never thought I would lead,” she tells Smith.
“Even the world of this apartment, this is a glamorous life that I never thought I would get to when I was young and struggling," she continues. "It's beyond my imagination. And that idea makes me feel like this place is both aspirational, but also very related to who I am.”
Michael Mundy for VERANDA
Rhimes commends Smith, who has also designed for the Obama family, for curating the place in a way that serves her writing.
“It’s very much about moving around,” she says, before telling the designer: “You’ve created five different spaces in here, including my bedroom, that I have been writing in, and I go to them in different moods, sometimes all in one day."
She also notes how the property is much different from her previous home. While the look was still “elegant,” it was “really about life with my daughters,” she says, referring to her children Emerson, Beckett and Harper.
Michael Mundy for VERANDA
“It had to function, really function,” she recalls. “The kids absolutely love being here, but my oldest is 23 and the younger two are 12 and 13, so this one is more for me.”
Smith notes that because the apartment is a “rented space,” it feels “younger because you don’t have to be here forever, and probably aren’t going to be here forever,” he tells Rhimes.
She agrees: ”It’s a space where you have to embrace the flaws.”
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Michael Mundy for VERANDA
Ahead of the season 4 premiere of her hit romance series Bridgerton, which streams on Netflix Jan. 29, the writer reflects on the intention she puts behind every one of her shows and how that translates into her new home.
“My goal with every show is to create a window and a mirror — a window into a world different from your own, and a mirror that reflects back to you. That creates empathy,” she says.
She notes her Hollywood abode is not something she wakes up to and thinks, “I’m owed this,” instead: “I wake up every morning and think, 'Look at how beautiful my apartment is.' I feel surprised.”
Read the full cover story and see more photos on Veranda.com or in the March/April 2026 Hollywood issue of Veranda, available Feb. 12.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
