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Michelle Obama rents Hollywood Hills home, possibly scoping out L.A. move, report says

For a couple days, the former first lady rented a $23 million home that’s known as the ‘Shark House’ because it features a ‘pond’ filled with swimming sharks

  • A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as...

    A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the "Shark House." (Redfin)

  • A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as...

    A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the "Shark House." (Redfin)

  • A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as...

    A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the "Shark House." (Redfin)

  • A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as...

    A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the "Shark House." (Redfin)

  • A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as...

    A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the "Shark House." (Redfin)

  • A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as...

    A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the "Shark House." (Redfin)

  • A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as...

    A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the "Shark House." (Redfin)

  • A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as...

    A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the "Shark House." (Redfin)

  • A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as...

    A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the "Shark House." (Redfin)

  • A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as...

    A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the "Shark House." (Redfin)

  • A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as...

    A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the "Shark House." (Redfin)

  • A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as...

    A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the "Shark House." (Redfin)

  • A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as...

    A $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the "Shark House." (Redfin)

  • WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: Former President Barack Obama and...

    WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama hug Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden following the inauguration of President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 2017. President-Elect Donald Trump was sworn-in as the 45th President. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch - Pool/Getty Images)

  • First Lady Michelle Obama (R) hus US President Barack Obama...

    First Lady Michelle Obama (R) hus US President Barack Obama as daughter Malia looks on after the President delivered his farewell address in Chicago, Illinois on January 10, 2017. Barack Obama closes the book on his presidency, with a farewell speech in Chicago that will try to lift supporters shaken by Donald Trump's shock election. / AFP PHOTO / Nicholas KammNICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

  • Michelle Obama hosts a roundtable discussion with students at Ballou...

    Michelle Obama hosts a roundtable discussion with students at Ballou STAY High School in Washington. (Chuck Kennedy)

  • US First Lady Michelle Obama (L) and daughter Malia listen...

    US First Lady Michelle Obama (L) and daughter Malia listen to the national anthem before President Barack Obama delivered his farewell address in Chicago, Illinois on January 10, 2017. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

  • LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 10: Alicia Keys (L) and...

    LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 10: Alicia Keys (L) and Michelle Obama speak during the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

  • Former First Lady Michelle Obama takes the stage at the...

    Former First Lady Michelle Obama takes the stage at the SAP Center during her "Becoming" book tour stop in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. Obama's memoir was released on November 13th. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

  • Former US President Barack Obama and former US First Lady...

    Former US President Barack Obama and former US First Lady Michelle Obama attend the unveiling of their portraits at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, February 12, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

  • Former First Lady Michelle Obama arrives for a leadership workshop...

    Former First Lady Michelle Obama arrives for a leadership workshop lead by nonprofit Public Allies at the Seven Trees Community Center in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. Obama ran the Chicago chapter of Public Allies in the 1990s and has been a supporter since. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

  • Former first lady Michelle Obama responds to questions as she...

    Former first lady Michelle Obama responds to questions as she is interviewed by actress Sarah Jessica Parker during an appearance for her book, "Becoming: An Intimate Conversation with Michelle Obama" at Barclays Center Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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Martha Ross, Features writer for the Bay Area News Group is photographed for a Wordpress profile in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Thursday, July 28, 2016. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)Author
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Michelle Obama spent a couple of days enjoying the Los Angeles views and amenities of a new, exclusive $23 million home in the Hollywood Hills known as the “Shark House” because one of its unique features is an “open-air aquarium” filled with several types of small swimming sharks.

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama attend the unveiling of their portraits at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington in 2018. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images Archives) 

TMZ, citing a well-connected Los Angeles real estate source, reported that the former first lady rented the home to possibly scope out the neighborhood for her and former President Barack Obama if they decide move to Los Angeles at some point in the future.

TMZ pointed out that the political superstars have become empty nesters since their youngest daughter, Sasha, graduated from high school in Washington, D.C. She’s reportedly starting her gap year before heading off to the University of Michigan, while older daughter Malia is a student at Harvard University.

That means there may be nothing keeping the couple in the nation’s couple, TMZ said. In addition, the Obamas’ production company has a deal with Netflix, which has a gleaming new Hollywood office, to produce several documentaries and a feature film.

There was “incredible security” for Michelle Obama’s stay at the “Shark House,” though the security cameras had to be turned off, TMZ said.

Curbed Los Angeles reported that the “ultra modern, glossy and boxy” home is a spec house, built for ultra-exclusive clientele to rent or buy. The three-story home has seven bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, two pools, a “wellness center,” a massage room, a movie theater, a wine room and a special freezer for tequila and vodka.

As for the shark “pond,” real estate agent Sam Real of Nest Seekers International told Curbed Los Angeles that it is an uncovered 300-gallon tank, filled with stingrays, starfish, small houndsharks and other types of sharks. Behind the pond rises a living wall. Several stepping stones cross the tank, so that homeowners can watch their fish, “do yoga or read a newspapers and whatever you want to do,” Real said.

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