Miami in the 90s: It seems celebrities moved to Miami in droves in the 90s. Why'd they leave? (Miami Beach: apartment, condo)

[Yeah I've been there]

Among them: pop singer Whitney Houston, Italian movie goddess Sophia Loren, rapper Vanilla Ice, Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias, Broadway impresario Harold Prince, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, designer Paloma Picasso, author Anne Rice and Bee Gees Robin, Maurice and Barry Gibb.

And most famously Sylvester Salone, Madonna, and Gianni Versace. Even Oprah had a big condo on Fisher Island during the 90s.

What was it that made them go there. Besides obvious reasons like weather and parties---because those things are still there.

And why is it not like that today?

And I say the 90s because based on old articles I've been scanning the internet on the subject it seems that they all moved there at the beginning of the 1990s and all suddenly just left around 1998/1999.


Example: Madonna buys her Coral Gables mansion in 1992 and sells it in 1998...among other celebs.

Any thoughts? Curious to see if Miamians have further insight in this.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/199...-miami-madonna

[WINTERFRONT]

Thalia and Ricky Martin too

[surfer778]

Originally Posted by WINTERFRONT

Thalia and Ricky Martin too

But why??

The mystery continues.........

[Escondudo]

Originally Posted by Yeah I've been there

Among them: pop singer Whitney Houston, Italian movie goddess Sophia Loren, rapper Vanilla Ice, Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias, Broadway impresario Harold Prince, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, designer Paloma Picasso, author Anne Rice and Bee Gees Robin, Maurice and Barry Gibb.

And most famously Sylvester Salone, Madonna, and Gianni Versace. Even Oprah had a big condo on Fisher Island during the 90s.

What was it that made them go there. Besides obvious reasons like weather and parties---because those things are still there.

And why is it not like that today?

And I say the 90s because based on old articles I've been scanning the internet on the subject it seems that they all moved there at the beginning of the 1990s and all suddenly just left around 1998/1999.


Example: Madonna buys her Coral Gables mansion in 1992 and sells it in 1998...among other celebs.

Any thoughts? Curious to see if Miamians have further insight in this.

Madonna Miami Home | Madonna joins galaxy of stars who call Miami home - Baltimore Sun

The bolded individuals are dead. Vanilla Ice was from South Florida and, to the best of my knowledge, still lives there. Other than that, there are plenty of celebrities who live in Miami for at least part of the year. Rappers Lil' Wayne and Birdman come to mind.

[WINTERFRONT]

I think he is talking about 80's/90's celebrities exclusively. Like, we all know there many celebrities in miami... but what happened in Miami that made figures from the 80's/90's move from the city in the early 2000's...? <<<I think that's what he's trying to ask.

[FlyMIA]

Julio still lives here, Vanilla Ice is at Heat games all the time, he is from Miami. Are you sure Oprah does not own an apartment still? Are you friends with her?

Anyway I get what you mean, Miami did become a hot spot and It still is. I just think back in the 90s we were more aware of who lived where because we did not have twiter or facebook etc.. So knowing where they lived or had places to live was important to ever see them. Also it was a big thing for Miami then because it was something new. Now it is not news when Lil Wayne have a home here, or Matt Damon etc..

Tons of famous people still live here, especially athletes and not just athletes who play for Miami teams, Athletes on other teams like Miguel Cabrera, Alex Rodriquez, Carlos Boozer, Half of the NFL, and many more who play in other cities but live here in the off season. Also celebrities move around so much, may have or had homes here but did not live here full time. Especially if they are in the movie business.

[Yeah I've been there]

Originally Posted by FlyMIA

Julio still lives here, Vanilla Ice is at Heat games all the time, he is from Miami. Are you sure Oprah does not own an apartment still? Are you friends with her?

Anyway I get what you mean, Miami did become a hot spot and It still is. I just think back in the 90s we were more aware of who lived where because we did not have twiter or facebook etc.. So knowing where they lived or had places to live was important to ever see them. Also it was a big thing for Miami then because it was something new. Now it is not news when Lil Wayne have a home here, or Matt Damon etc..

Tons of famous people still live here, especially athletes and not just athletes who play for Miami teams, Athletes on other teams like Miguel Cabrera, Alex Rodriquez, Carlos Boozer, Half of the NFL, and many more who play in other cities but live here in the off season. Also celebrities move around so much, may have or had homes here but did not live here full time. Especially if they are in the movie business.

Of course Miami will always be a place for the famous. It's sort of like St. Barths and Monaco. There was a time when it was truly a jet-setter location where the rich and famous congregated.
Now people just go, because they think its the place to be.
Sort of like going to a rodeo or a museum. You go to feel like you are part of the something from the past.
Nobody really needs to lasso a cow anymore so you go to a rodeo to watch it.
It's not about living here or buying a house here.
It's about being where the affluent feast is. Where the jet-set go. Not where people go to view the rodeo. You know........
I think this article shows EXACTLY what I am talking about. You're probably never going to read it in full. But I highly recommend it, it's novelly written and a nice fun read.

W Jetsetters | Culture > Travel | W Magazine

[unclealbertt]

I still hear Oprah has a place in Fisher Island, who knows? Miami just never became those celebrity's main home and eventually sold and moved on. Miami is a very transient place, it's not any different with famous people. But celebrities still live down here in droves. Can you even point to any of those people leaving? The Gibbs never left, it was just Madonna and Sylvester Stallone just made news for moving to the mainland.

Matt Damon, Lenny Kravitz, Christian Slater, Anna Kournikova, Pharrell Williams, Drake, Lil Wayne, every other athlete in this country. Fisher Island, Miami Beach and even Downtown Miami still have famous residents.

[FlyMIA]

Originally Posted by unclealbertt

I still hear Oprah has a place in Fisher Island, who knows? Miami just never became those celebrity's main home and eventually sold and moved on. Miami is a very transient place, it's not any different with famous people. But celebrities still live down here in droves. Can you even point to any of those people leaving? The Gibbs never left, it was just Madonna and Sylvester Stallone just made news for moving to the mainland.

Matt Damon, Lenny Kravitz, Christian Slater, Anna Kournikova, Pharrell Williams, Drake, Lil Wayne, every other athlete in this country. Fisher Island, Miami Beach and even Downtown Miami still have famous residents.

Agreed. After NYC and LA Miami is the place with celebs.

[UrbanCrossroads]

Originally Posted by Yeah I've been there

And I say the 90s because based on old articles I've been scanning the internet on the subject it seems that they all moved there at the beginning of the 1990s and all suddenly just left around 1998/1999.

Example: Madonna buys her Coral Gables mansion in 1992 and sells it in 1998...among other celebs.

Any thoughts? Curious to see if Miamians have further insight in this.

Yes, I remember all of that. I remember that several weeks after Hurricane Andrew, Madonna was interviewed by one of the local channels and she was asked if there was any damage to her home. I'd say Miami's celebrity heyday of the 1990s coincided with the rise and decline of the South Beach club scene. I remember that even Prince owned one of the clubs on South Beach.