George Clooney and His Family Just Became French Citizens Joining Many Others Choosing France Over America

It seems as though I’m not the only one who thinks life in France is better than anywhere else. George Clooney will soon be calling France home as well, so I’m in good company. Although I don’t imagine I’ll be running into him at my local SuperU.

The Hollywood star and his wife, Amal, have officially traded their American passports for dual citizenship after making France their primary home. The move became official this week when a naturalization decree was published in France’s government gazette, confirming what George had been hinting at for months.

France has been calling the Clooneys back since 2021, when they bought Domaine du Canadel, a sprawling 18th-century wine estate in Brignoles, a small town in Provence. The property sits on 425 acres of olive groves, vineyards, and gardens, about a 30-minute drive from Brad Pitt’s Château Miraval.

George Clooney To Call France Home Rather Than Hollywood

The 64-year-old actor has been vocal about why they chose France over Hollywood, and it comes down to one thing: privacy for his kids. “Here, they don’t take photos of kids,” he told RTL radio in December. “There aren’t any paparazzi hidden at the school gates. That’s number one for us.”

France passed strong privacy protection laws in 2000, three years after Princess Diana died in a Paris car crash while fleeing photographers. It’s illegal to photograph someone in a private place or publish pictures of celebrities during their personal time unless they’re at official events. George, who held a press conference condemning the media’s role in Diana’s death back in 1997, has fought for this kind of protection for years.

His wife, Amal, a British-Lebanese human rights lawyer who speaks fluent French, was included in the decree along with their eight-year-old twins, Alexander and Ella. The family now holds dual citizenship, retaining their American, British, and Lebanese passports and adding French nationality.

Growing Up on a Farm (Again)

The irony isn’t lost on George. He spent part of his childhood on a Kentucky farm and hated it. Now he’s raising his own kids on a farm in the French countryside, and he couldn’t be happier about it. “A good portion of my life growing up was on a farm, and as a kid, I hated the whole idea of it,” he told the New York Times in February. “Now I find myself back in that life.”

He told Esquire in October that the farm keeps his kids grounded. “They’re not on their iPads, you know? They have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in.” France, he said, doesn’t care much about fame. “I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids.”

The Clooneys have been living mostly in France since 2021. However, they also own a historic manor in England, a property in Kentucky near George’s family, and the famous Villa Oleandra on Lake Como in Italy that George bought in 2002. They reportedly sold their homes in Los Angeles and Mexico over the past decade.

The move to France as their primary residence happened gradually. After the twins were born in 2017, George made it clear he wanted them raised away from Hollywood’s culture. By late 2024 and early 2025, the French estate had become a home base.

George told RTL that despite traveling often, their French home “is where we’re happiest.” He’s been taking French lessons for 400 days, though he admits “I’m still bad at it.” Amal’s fluency likely helps smooth over any linguistic embarrassments at the local boulangerie, where they’ve become regular customers.

The mayor of Brignoles, Didier Brémond, personally welcomed them to town in 2021 with a tweet and a photo. “George Clooney is another story!” he told Paris Match about the actor’s involvement in local life. “His presence is breathing new life into the town, both internally and externally.”

Unlike Brad Pitt, whom the mayor says residents “never see,” George has gotten involved in the community. He’s supporting a farm-to-table project that would feed 1,200 schoolchildren daily and donated 20,000 euros when nearby Le Val flooded in 2021.

The French Connection

According to Paris Match, George planted 172 hectares of olive trees around the property for privacy. The estate includes a 25-acre vineyard that currently sells its grapes to a local cooperative, though George hasn’t announced plans to start his own wine label.

Given his track record with Casamigos tequila, which he sold for $1 billion in 2017, locals wouldn’t be surprised if Domaine du Canadel rosé showed up on shelves someday.

The main residence spans about 10,000 square feet across three floors, with a 72-foot pool, tennis courts, a boules pitch, an ornamental lake, and formal gardens. The Clooneys have spent significant money modernizing the 18th-century property while maintaining its historic character.

Locals in Brignoles have embraced the family. Ganaelle Joly, who owns Lou Gourmandises, told the Daily Mail that Amal is “tall and fabulous and very, very beautiful” and that the couple is “down-to-earth and pleasant.”

They’ve come in for sandwiches and salmon with their dog. “If George puts on a hat and sunglasses, he can easily go unnoticed,” she said, though they’re happy to take photos when fans recognize them.

The twins attend a local school where French privacy laws mean no photographers lurk outside the gates waiting for a shot. They’re bilingual, speaking both Italian and French fluently, according to George’s comments on late-night talk shows. “I couldn’t be more excited to have kids who can speak three languages because they’re not even going to talk to me,” he joked to Jimmy Kimmel in 2020.

Not the Only Hollywood Star Choosing France

George isn’t alone in seeking French citizenship. Director Jim Jarmusch told France Inter radio the same week that he plans to apply for French nationality. “I would like a place that will allow me to escape from the United States,” he said, adding that French culture attracts him.

Natalie Portman has been living in Paris since 2014 (with a brief return to Los Angeles from 2016 to 2023) and recently bought a mansion in the 7th arrondissement with views of the Eiffel Tower. She moved back to France permanently after her 2024 divorce from French choreographer Benjamin Millepied.

Portman, who speaks fluent French, told Net-a-Porter in May that she prefers Paris over the United States. “They’re very good at privacy here,” she said. “I feel like the biggest compliment is ‘elle est très discrète.'”

She praised French cultural offerings and the fact that children here greet adults properly. “All the kids that come to my house are, like, ‘Bonjour Madame’ and give me the bise. And before they leave, they are, like, ‘Thank you for having me.'”

The cultural differences extend beyond politeness. Portman explained that returning to the United States now feels strange. “I would go into a store and not say hello to everyone there? It’s weird.”

Other American celebrities have planted roots in France over the years. Christina Aguilera lives in Paris with her French husband, singer Matt Pokora. Johnny Depp owns a village in the south of France.

The country’s combination of privacy laws, cultural offerings, and quality of life continues to draw Americans looking for something different from Los Angeles or New York.

For the Clooneys, France represents a way to give their kids a childhood that looks nothing like Hollywood. George has two Oscars sitting on a mantelpiece somewhere, one for best supporting actor in Syriana and one as a producer on Argo. 

He’s earned millions from Nespresso endorsements and his tequila sales. Now he’s spending his time driving a tractor, learning French badly, and raising kids who take their dishes to the sink after dinner.

France is where they’ve chosen to build their life, away from the paparazzi and the Hollywood machine that made George famous in the first place.