Welcome to Utah! Glad to have you here. If you’re famous, let us know!
OK, if you’re famous, you’ll never do that. But chances are we know who you are and that you are here.
As for you newbies, you’re probably wondering why people are talking about Ty Burrell. The “Modern Family” guy. What the hell does he have to do with Utah?
Well, he married a woman from Utah. He lived here part of the 11 seasons he filmed “Modern Family.” He is co-owner (along with several family members) of Bar X and Beer Bar in Salt Lake City, Eating Establishment in Park City, and Cotton Bottom in Holladay.
He’s also a really good guy who has worked really hard to help food service workers get through the pandemic.
He’s not the only celebrity who lives in Utah. The list includes:
Post Malone • Yes. The tattooed rapper (born Austin Richard Post) lives in Cottonwood Heights. In a small 12,000 square foot home on 7 acres.
He has referenced the state in several of his songs and displayed his Utah driver’s license in a Doritos commercial.
Malone moved here to escape the Southern California crowds, leaving Beverly Hills for a suburb of Salt Lake City. Some of you can no doubt relate.
Robert Redford • He first purchased land in Utah in 1961, before most of the state’s current residents were born. When he wasn’t making blockbuster films, he bought the old TimpHaven ski resort and renamed it Sundance after his star role in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” Then came the Sundance Institute, the Sundance Film Festival, the Sundance Catalog Store and SundanceTV.
Redford sold the resort in 2020. And he’s put the 30-acre Horse Whisper Ranch, about 15 miles north of Sundance, on the market – so keep that in mind if you have an extra $4.9 million to spare.
Redford didn’t seek the spotlight in Utah – he lives here to escape it. But no celebrity is more important than the two-time Oscar winner.
Katherine Heigl • The former “Grey’s Anatomy” star and her husband, singer and musician Josh Kelley, have long lived on a 25-acre ranch in Oakley, about 45 miles east of Salt Lake City. In addition to three children, the family has a variety of pets – not just lots of rescue dogs, but everything from goats to chickens to horses to donkeys.
Heigl is reportedly spending less time at home in Utah as her career – long stalled when she was described as “difficult” – has taken off. She recently starred in the Netflix series “Firefly Lane” and the film “Fear of Rain”; and she has a few projects in pre-production – a miniseries about Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president of the United States, and a film called “That’s Amore!”
However, widespread reports that she sold her Utah home were false. Her mother/manager sold her house in Oakley.
Scott Wolf • He became a teenage heartthrob (in his twenties) in “Party of Five” and his life took an unexpected turn when he joined the cast of the Utah-produced TV series “Everwood” in 2004 and ” “I got me “madly in love with the place” when he got here.
Wolf, his wife Kelly – who joined the cast of “Real World: New Orleans” in 2000 – and their three children make Park City their home, and he commutes to acting jobs. Including his just-completed performance as a father in Nancy Drew.
Mike Lookinland • He was Bobby on “The Brady Bunch” in the early 1970s and has appeared in countless Brady sequels and reunions since then. He was pretty much a California kid, but his grandparents lived here and he was born in Utah when his parents were visiting for Christmas 1960.
He has been a virtual permanent resident of the state for more than 40 years. He worked as a cinematographer on a number of local productions, including “Everwood,” “Promised Land,” “The Stand” and “Halloween 5.” He now owns and operates Just Add Water Custom Concrete in Midvale.
Danny Ainge • Four decades ago, Ainge won the Wooden Award as the country’s top college basketball player while attending BYU and, when he wasn’t playing sports, playing baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays. He spent 15 seasons in the NBA and won multiple championships with the Boston Celtics. And he won another as the Celtics’ top manager.
Now he’s back in Utah and has accepted a job as Jazz manager.
By the way, if anyone – probably a Ute fan – tries to tell you that Ainge once bit a player during a game, that’s a lie. Tree Rollins of the Atlanta Hawks bit Ainge…but by most accounts, Danny started the fight.
Tan France • A nice Muslim gay man from England – the son of Pakistani parents – moved to the United States, made the quick decision to move to Salt Lake City while visiting friends here, married a gay cowboy from Wyoming and she settled there, Utah’s capital. And then, on a whim, Tan auditioned for Queer Eye and, much to his surprise, was chosen as a cast member.
Now he’s famous, has even more famous friends (like Courteney Cox and Brandi Carlisle), has been nominated for four Emmys (and the show has won ten), and he’s still one of Utah and Salt Lake City’s biggest supporters, the state causes a stir and the city at every opportunity.
“The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” • They’re kind of famous for being famous, but you should probably at least be familiar with the names of the Bravo reality show’s stars — currently Lisa Barlow, Mary Cosby, Monica Garcia, Heather Gay, Meredith Marks and Whitney Rose.
The most famous housewife, Jen Shah, is no longer on the show because she is in prison after pleading guilty to federal fraud charges.
Mary is just a “friend” in Season 4, not a full-time housewife. She’s back after being fired at the end of season two for not showing up to the reunion episodes because she apparently didn’t want to talk about her own racist behavior. Or her marriage to her step-grandfather.
It’s not a residency requirement, but you can always choose a side in any of the housewives’ internal battles – Lisa vs. Heather, Heather vs. Whitney, Whitney vs. Whitney, Whitney vs. Lisa, Lisa vs. Meredith, Mary vs . everyone except Meredith… and so on.
And if you have an opinion about whether Jen deserved her federal fraud conviction and sentence, then there’s another topic of conversation.
The Osmonds • Along with Redford, the Osmonds are perhaps Utah’s longest-running celebrities – the original Osmond Brothers began appearing on national television six decades ago (“The Andy Williams Show”). And members of the first generation – Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie and Jimmy – still live here, either part-time or full-time.
With dozens of second- and third-generation Osmonds, even those of us who have lived in Utah for a long time find it hard to keep track of who’s who.
Tyler Glenn • He is the lead singer of Neon Trees, whose first album was released in 2010 and the last in 2020. He has also released a solo album and made some headlines other than his music.
In 2014, Glenn – who was raised as a Latter-day Saint – announced that he was gay. He later announced that he had left the church and released an album in 2016 called “Excommunication,” which very clearly illustrated his bitter break with his former faith. And of course that made headlines in his adopted hometown.
Famous Utah People • The list of celebrities who were born (or have lived here for a long time) in Utah includes singers David Archuleta, Jewel and Brendan Urie; actors Wilford Brimley, Matthew Davis, Laraine Day, Patrick Fugit, Anthony Geary, Merlin Olsen, Pat Priest, Marie Windsor, James Woods and Loretta Young; dancers Derek and Julianne Hough; “Danger!” champion and presenter Ken Jennings; filmmakers Jared and Jerusha Hess; comedian Roseanne Barr; authors Orson Scott Card, Richard Paul Evans and Brandon Sanderson; sportscasters Jim Nantz, Alex Smith and Steve Young; model Chrissy Teigen; TV inventor Philo T. Farnsworth; and outlaw Butch Cassidy (née Robery LeRoy Parker).
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