#25. Johnny Depp And His Love For Barbie Dolls
We highly doubt anyone would be surprised to find out Johnny Depp likes collecting quite unusual items, since he has starred in many films portraying strange and peculiar characters. Some of his strangest roles include that of Edward Scissorhands in the famous film by Tim Burton, and that of Willy Wonka in the 2005 remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. These film and character choices, unsurprisingly, have ultimately made the actor gain a reputation for being somewhat of an oddball.
In spite of this, it’s very much unlikely someone would guess that the Pirates of the Caribbean actor owns an enormous collection of Barbie dolls. These widely known child’s toys aren’t the most uncommon collector’s item in the world, but for someone like Johnny Depp, the emblematic blonde seems a bit out of place. His reason for starting to collect them is very simple, and kind of sweet: he used to play with them with his daughter Lily-Rose. Eventually, she outgrew them, while Depp remained a fan.
#24. Kiefer Sutherland Rocking Gibson Guitars
The Lost Boys actor Kiefer Sutherland stated that he’s been fascinated with guitars since he was a child, so the fact that he started collecting them once he had the money to do so comes as no surprise. Sutherland, who is also a musician, enjoys playing the instrument and has even performed with his band on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote his first album, Down in a Hole.
Growing up as a young Hollywood actor, Sutherland had a lot of talented —yet broke— musician friends, to whom he was more than willing to lend some of his amazing guitar collection. Sutherland is particularly enthusiastic about Gibson guitars and, as a matter of fact, the Tennessee-based company crafted a custom guitar named Kiefer 336, encouraged by the actor’s fondness of their six-stringed instrument.
#23. Nicole Kidman And Her Interest In Coins
As most of the public knows, coins are one of the most commonly collected items in the world. Nevertheless, actress Nicole Kidman allegedly takes her coin-collecting hobby very seriously. It is rumored that Kidman possesses a big amount of coins from different periods and is especially involved with collecting ancient coins. One of the oldest and most interesting items in her collection are a variety of Judean coins, which she takes much pride in owning.
Most of the early Judean currencies date back to the BCE era, that is, thousands of years ago. However, they’re remarkably similar to the stamped coins we currently know and see on a regular basis. These archaic coins were, just like modern ones, often embellished with famous faces of politicians and carved with popular sayings and slogans. The difference is that regular coins won’t cost you thousands or even millions of dollars!
#22. Tom Hanks And His Typewriting Obsession
Renowned and beloved actor Tom Hanks has a profound liking and a long-lasting fascination with typewriters, which has continued throughout decades. For many years Hanks has come to acquire more than a hundred kinds of typewriters and slowly —but surely— added them to his collection. The actor purchased the first typewriter of his future collection in 1978, a few years before he made his film debut in the slasher film He Knows You’re Alone.
Since he bought his first typewriter back in the late ’70s, the search for uncommon and unique typewriters has become his favorite pastime. The Oscar-winning actor believes there is an unexplainable attraction to printed words, and that type-written notes have more weight to them, especially in this email and all-around virtual communication era. All the more, Hanks has written a collection of short stories named Uncommon Type in which the actor sneaks (sometimes in a more straight-forward way, and sometimes more indirectly) the machine that he’s fixated with: the typewriter.
#21. Rod Stewart And Model Trains
As someone’s bank account starts being flooded with cash, it almost seems as if their obsessions start to grow along like grass in rich soil. This appears to be precisely true for well-known musician Rod Stewart and his fascination with model trains. The British rocker, who is notorious for hit songs such as Maggie May and Do You Think I’m Sexy? is an unlikely collector, and has spent 23 years building his latest project— a model railway city inspired by New York and Chicago.
Throughout the years, the 74-year-old singer gathered and built a model train set that incredibly occupied an entire third floor of his Beverly Hills mansion. He would often spend up to four hours working on the structures and details of his scale railway transport, and has stated that he built most of the components of his colossal display while on tour. Stewart grew up in London, across the street from a railroad station and claims he’s been fascinated by trains ever since, also stating that he finds his unusual hobby to be extremely relaxing.
#20. Brad Pitt And Metal Furniture
In truth, world-wide famous actor Brad Pitt is keen on collecting any item made out of metal, but his preferred metallic objects are both metal art and furniture, in particular. Moreover, his interest in metal artifacts isn’t restricted to being a mere onlooker. Apart from curating his own collection of metal furniture, the golden-locked actor actually designed a good deal of the pieces in his collection. He stated he started doodling ideas for furniture back in the early ’90s, where he discovered the works of architects such as Charles R. Mackintosh and Frank Lloyd Wright.
In 2012, Brad Pitt made his enthusiasm for metal furnishings public by releasing to the community his very own line of metal appliances. The actor partnered with custom furniture designer and maker Frank Pollaro and his company, Pollaro Custom Furnishings Inc. In Pitt’s debut as a furniture artificer, he presented about a dozen pieces varying from tables to chairs, and even an extraordinary bed alongside approximately 45 works by his collaborator, whose company is noted for its reproductions of Art Deco furnishings.
#19. Harry Connick Jr. And His Cuff Link Craze
Sometimes people acquire lots of money and don’t really know how to spend it, so they decide to do some rather strange purchases. That’s the case of American performer, actor and TV host Harry Connick Jr., who has picked quite a singular item to collect in his spare time. Cuff links are somewhat ordinary accessories in men’s formal attire, and even though Connick Jr. considers himself a collector, he never really wears them.
The award-winning performer claims he can’t put his finger around the reason why he collects cuff links, yet owns several hundred pairs that sit unused in a wooden case —a present from his wife— on top of a dresser, in his room. Some of these male accessories are vintage and valued in thousands of dollars, some are custom-made, but what they all have in common is that the self-proclaimed collector doesn’t wear them. Well, we believe that if something is to be collected without having to ever use it, it’s best if the item is something as tiny as cuff links.
#18. Demi Moore And Creepy Porcelain Dolls
57-year-old actress Demi Moore collects all sorts of dolls, with a special emphasis on porcelain dolls. She owns a collection of roughly 2,000 vintage porcelain dolls. Her cumulation is so large that she even had to move many of the playthings to her guest house. Moore’s hobby started when then-husband Bruce Willis gifted her with her first toy pal —a vintage porcelain-faced doll made with human hair and lifelike features. She loved it so much that she began to collect them, and has been doing so for decades now.
Most people would agree that porcelain dolls are a bit of a creepy item to keep around the house, making others feel uneasy with their blank stares. Ex-husband Ashton Kutcher once stated that he felt very uncomfortable around the dolls —especially in the couple’s room. He would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night to move them away. However, the Ghost and G.I Jane actress doesn’t seem to be phased by her eerie collection of toys. In fact, she believes that the dolls remind her not to take life too seriously and remember the importance of play.
#17. Jay Z And Wristwatches
For any man that intends to spend tons of money on high-quality accessories, then it’s rather difficult to imagine something so meaningful —and expensive— than a fine wristwatch. Hip-hop superstar, entrepreneur and producer Jay-Z is one of these people, mirrored in the fact that he owns one of the most extensive and magnificent collections of luxury watches in the world. The rapper, born Shawn Corey Carter, grew up in a difficult neighborhood and once he became famous and started earning so much money, he began collecting the lavish items.
While luxurious timepieces have been a staple among rap and hip-hop artists, Jay-Z’s collection highly stands above the rest. For example, one of his watches, a Hublot Big Bang watch encrusted with 1,282 VVG diamonds that was given to him as a birthday present from wife Beyoncé, is valued in $5 million. Apart from occasionally name dropping his favorite timepieces in some of his songs, the rapper partnered in 2013 with the aforementioned Swiss company to launch a limited edition of luxury watches—Shawn Carter by Hublot. The edition consisted of two models made in either black ceramic or 18-karat yellow gold.
#16. Penélope Cruz And Coathangers
We mentioned that some celebrities are known for having quite odd interests and even reaching the point of turning those unconventional interests into very serious hobbies. Such is the example of Spanish actress Penélope Cruz, who is very hard to beat when it comes to quirky and random objects to hold on to since she’s very fond of collecting coathangers. Yes, coathangers. Allegedly, Cruz’s collection consists of over 500 coathangers of all sorts —except metal or wire.
Penélope Cruz is also the creator, alongside soap-opera actress and sister Mónica, of a women’s wear collection for fast fashion chain Mango. The Spanish duo started designing attires for Mango in 2008, first launching a 25-piece collection based on vintage items from their own wardrobes with a mix of red-carpet inspired outfits such as jeans, knits, eveningwear, and daywear. This could mean that Cruz is just exceedingly particular when it comes to keeping her articles of clothing in perfect shape.
#15. Rosie O’ Donell And Her Happy Meal Interest
Collecting toys is, in all probability, one of the most common places in the collector’s community. Comedienne and TV host Rosie O’ Donell dedicates her free time to collecting all sorts of toys, hoarding a highly impressive amount of them. Some of the memorabilia in her collection include figurines from legendary shows such as Star Trek and I Dream of Jeannie. However, she’s very specific about a variety of toys she collects—Mc Donald’s toys that come with the delicious Happy Meal.
According to O’ Donell, her Happy Meal collecting obsession began in the mid-’80s while she toured the country as a new-coming stand-up comedian. The 57-year-old has said that these toys reminded her of her childhood and that she used to go to Mc Donald’s every week to get a hand on her precious toys. Eventually, the world-known fast-food chain —and sometimes fans—started to send O’Donnell the figures as soon as they were released, and since then she has collected an impressive amount of over 2,500 Happy Meal toys.
#14. Amanda Seyfried And Taxidermy Animals
The great majority of the public would probably be very uncomfortable with the idea of being surrounded by stuffed animals. It could even be compared to something straight out of an 80s horror movie. But, as always, there are exceptions. Don’t be fooled by her angelic looks, the beloved actress Amanda Seyfried has quite a morbid hobby regarding taxidermy animals. In a 2012 interview in the Jonathan Ross Show, Seyfried revealed she loves to be around these creatures and has come to have a fairly large collection of these, including foxes and even goats.
The Mamma Mia star considers herself to be an enthusiastic animal lover and explains that her fascination with taxidermy comes from the great love she feels towards animals in general. She has stated that they’re much easier to look after when they’ve been taxidermied, and that taxidermy —done well— is an amazing piece of art. The 34-year-old actress has even given names to many of the stuffed animals she owns, like a deer she named Sha’Dynasty and an owl she named Beatrix, among others.
#13. Reese Witherspoon And Her Antique Linen Collection
We assume it’s hard to imagine what it would be like to be involved in collecting antique linen and embroidery. However, actress and southern sweetheart Reese Witherspoon appears to be just the sort of lady who would be interested in collecting these types of fabric and being fond of such a graceful craft as embroidery.
The Legally Blonde and Big Little Lies star is a huge fine of liners, and she even designed her very own line of linen and lifestyle brand in 2015, which she named Draper James. The actress stated on the brand’s website that she was particularly inspired by her southern heritage and her grandparents’ sense of style. Additionally, Witherspoon also collaborated with other retail companies such as Crate & Barrell to launch her own designs. Clearly, with such a distinctive collection of antique cloths, the southern actress has quite a lot of material to help her create her designs.
#12. Quentin Tarantino And Pop Culture Board Games
Anyone who’s ever seen a film directed by Tenneesse’s celebrated director Quentin Tarantino can surely tell that the filmmaker has a profound and ever-lasting affection for anything pop-culture related. That being said, it’s really no surprise that the prolific director is a devoted collector of niche —and quite kitschy— pop culture artifacts. The filmmaker, who worked many years in a video store and cultivated his love for B movies, has a more precise interest in TV and movie-based vintage board games.
Quentin Tarantino’s attraction to these vintage board games may come off as a bit of a surprise. Mainly because the existence of board games from shows like The Dukes of Hazzard and movies like Dawn of the Dead is a surprise in itself. The 56-year-old director has been very open about his collection of board games and even discussed it in a 1994 Rolling Stone interview. He stated that his hobby goes back to at least the early ’90s and that it started while he was looking for something movie-related to collect —and he eventually settled for board games.
#11. Victoria Beckham And Birkin Bags
Victoria Beckham first broke out to international fame in the mid-’90s with the popular all-female group the Spice Girls, but these days the British lady is more likely known for being one of the world’s biggest fashionistas and trend-setters. The former singer and current fashion designer owns her company named Victoria Beckham and launched her first collection in 2008, having produced around 400 dresses. So her obsession over Hèrmes Birkin bags turns out to be quite understandable.
Hermès Birkin is one of the most famous and recognizable brands around the world, with bags varying from a couple of thousand dollars to over $200,000. Simply said, Birkin bags are a huge investment and getting your hands around one of these bad boys requires being placed in a waiting list for months and even several years. Nonetheless, the brand makes an exception when it comes to Victoria Beckham, who reportedly owns over 100 Hermès Birkin bags, and her collection’s worth is estimated at around a million dollars.
#10. Shaquille O’Neal And Everything Superman
Most of us are familiar with Shaquille O’Neal —or Shaq, for short— as the NBA champion from 1992 to 2011. Some even know O’Neal from the 1996 box office flop Kazaam. Either way, ‘Shaq’ is one of the most famous basketball players in the world, and a major face in pop culture. However, few people know that the NBA superstar is unquestionably captivated by absolutely anything that has the Superman logo on it.
Apart from having a Superman tattoo on his left arm, the former sportsman’s South Florida mansion is flooded with paraphernalia and demonstrations of love for the Man of Steel. For example, the docking station built over Lake Butler has an embedded lifesize statue of Superman staring bravely at the lake. In the garage, there’s a Superman emblem above his car collection, and the walls of O’Neal’s house are filled with posters and memorabilia. Even his bed has a Superman symbol! So let’s just say the man takes his hobby very seriously.
#9. Swizz Beatz And His Art Collection
Art-collecting is probably one of the most common and popular hobbies of the rich and famous. However, for hip-hop artist, producer, and businessman Kasseem Dean —a.k.a Swizz Beatz—,the act of collecting art is much more than a mere way of spending one’s fortune —it’s a passion. In fact, he’s quite vocal about his dedication to collecting rare art. Furthermore, his art collection could easily compete with some of the best modern art museums in the world.
His personal collection includes the works of contemporary geniuses such as Andy Warhol and Jean-Michael Basquiat. He even has the largest collection of Gordon Parks photographs in his private hands, which are displayed in his New Jersey residence. In addition to being a passionate art collector, Beatz has become an advocate for up-and-coming artists with the art fair he started in 2006, named No Commission, with sponsorship from Bacardi. The hip-hop artist believes in the importance of supporting other artists and is willing to do almost anything in order to stay true to his philosophy.
#8. Jerry Seinfeld And Porsches
When someone has much more money than they actually need, it’s rather obvious they could afford to collect things that the average Joe could only dream of acquiring in a lifetime. And this certainly applies for billionaire and comedian —among other things— Jerry Seinfeld. It’s only to be expected that the supercar fan owns a car collection worthy of his billionaire status —and it mainly consists of Porsches. His collection is so big and expensive he even auctioned a portion of it in 2016 and fifteen cars were sold for over $22,000,000.
The New York funnyman himself has claimed on numerous occasions that Porsche cars are the epitome of sports car perfection, so naturally, over the years his collection has gathered dozens of Porsches that are worth thousands and some even millions of dollars. The sports cars in his garage range from the classic and antique to more modern models. Apart from Porsches, his collection also includes a few other brands such as Fiat and Volkswagen, except for Lexus, which he despises.
#7. Elton John And Sunglasses
Elton John has always been a unique person. From his extravagant costumes to his over-the-top performances, the British singer has managed to stand out from the crowd with grace and wit. While some celebrities enjoy collecting vintage cars, bags or other luxurious items, the award-winning performer preferred collecting something different, more ‘Eltonesque’, like sunglasses. He even stated that, rather than spending money on high-tech gadgets, he chooses to invest money on rare pairs of shades
For some stars, fashion is simply a way of expressing themselves while for others —such as Elton John— it’s a way of life. His fashion style has changed quite a bit throughout his 50-year-long career in showbusiness, but something has remained consistent —his unwavering love for sunglasses. John has admitted in many interviews that his massive collection includes over 250,000 pairs, and it’s still growing. In order to store his extensive amount of sunglasses, the legendary singer built his very own walk-in-closet solely dedicated to his eyewear.
#6. Scott Hamilton And His Passion For Pinball Machines
We’ve established that sometimes famous people spend their money on rather strange things. However, out of all the miscellaneous objects celebrities choose to collect, ex-figure skater Scott Hamilton’s pinball machine collection has to be one of the most uncomfortable alternatives since it most surely requires a boundless amount of space —particularly in this day and age.
The former Olympic-medal winner once mentioned he tries to add at least one pinball machine every year. Nevertheless, only a few of the aforementioned arcade games take up permanent residence inside Hamilton’s southern home, allegedly. Even though a pinball machine collection appears to be one of the most painful things to move or store, at least it’s an undoubtedly entertaining item to collect.
#5. Lou Ferrigno And Beanie Babies
Beanie Babies were created in 1993 by American businessman H. Ty Warner, and around the mid-90’s the stuffed toys’ fame exploded and became one of the most collectible items available on the market. Beanie Babies are soft, big-eyed, cute-looking child’s toys, so no one would ever expect former Incredible Hulk and fitness trainer Lou Ferrigno to be amongst the devoted collectors.
As surprising as it may seem, Ferrigno and his family have gathered an amazing collection of hundreds of Beanie Babies, and the former green giant’s family enjoy hunting different brand-new stuffed animals to add to their ever-growing collection as some sort of family activity. Lou Ferrigno collects other diverse toys and memorabilia as well, and he also understandably owns a pretty solid collection of Hulk memorabilia, yet his lasting love for Beanie Babies is definitely the most unexpected.
#4. Nicolas Cage And His Comic Book Collection
Oscar-winning actor and internet’s favorite meme Nicolas Cage is a man famous for his eccentric interests and antics. So the actor’s obsession with comic books comes as no surprise, and he’s very open about his huge attraction to the genre. Cage, who is a nephew of critically acclaimed director Francis-Ford Coppola, didn’t want to be associated with his family since he didn’t want them to be accused of nepotism when he got into acting, and so he changed his last name to ‘Cage’ after Marvel’s own Luke Cage.
The actor also almost played Superman in an unreleased Tim Burton movie about the Man of Steel and even named his second son ‘Kal-El’, which is the DC’s superhero Kryptonian name. Cage was such a comic fan that he owned the treasured Action Comics #1, where Superman made his first appearance. The comic edition was stolen from his house in 2000 alongside other highly sought after editions, but luckily, years later the comic was found in a storage locker and then auctioned for over an incredible $2 million dollars
#3. Carrie Fisher, The Animal Portrait Lover
Late Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher was sincerely open about her adoration for animals, and the adorably eccentric Hollywood actress found a collectible match for her quirkiness. Fisher had an earnest affection for her pets and was inseparable from them. She demonstrated her love to her four-pawed friends by making a hobby out of accumulating an art gallery’s worth of animal portraits.
Carrie Fisher first started to use the distinctive pieces of art to decorate the walls of her living room, but after some time her collection increased so much that almost every corner of the actress’s house was covered with the unique paintings. Some, if not most of them, were portraits of her beloved (and almost equally famous) French Bulldog, Gary. Without a doubt, Fisher owned a fair amount of interesting artifacts and Star Wars memorabilia, but her animal portraits are the most weirdly original elements in her collection.
#2. Claudia Schiffer And Insects
German supermodel Claudia Schiffer is undoubtedly an international beauty and fashion icon. She appeared in countless magazine covers and walked the runway in hundreds of fashion shows, so one would guess that someone as good-looking and graceful as she would develop an interest in something fashion-related. But as the old saying goes, ‘looks can be deceiving’ and the European beauty proves this, as she sees beauty in something that most people would find terrifying—like insects.
The supermodel declared that her fascination with bugs began when she was a child, being captivated by the morning dew that appeared in spiderwebs outside her German home, and she believes spiders to be an example of nature’s beauty. Although her interest began with these eight-legged insects, it quickly grew to other species. Schiffer allegedly owns quite a solid collection of dried and framed insects that she used to decorate the interior of her residence. Fortunately, after a house fire, her collection mostly remained intact.
#1. Whoopi Goldberg And Bakelite Jewelry
People from younger generations have probably never heard of Bakelite jewelry, and it’s fairly understandable because the antique fashion accessories were hugely popular between the roaring 1920s and 1940s. Since then, the fashion products have fallen a bit into oblivion, except for antique jewelry fans such as comedienne and The View‘s host, Whoopi Goldberg. Though the New York lady was born in 1955, she has apparently inherited the taste of the previous decade and is often seen wearing Bakelite bangles.
Although Bakelite jewelry is made from non-flammable and (once) revolutionary plastic, the prize of any of the antique accessories can actually be rather expensive because of their collectible status. Some of the cheaper models can cost around a hundred plus dollars, while other more unique and highly sought-after pieces can cost up to thousands of dollars. Goldberg’s interest in dolls, fine art, and rare books doesn’t surprise us, but her fascination for vintage plastic jewelry is indeed something a bit out of the ordinary.