You don’t have to be in LA or New York to enjoy celebrity sightings these days. In fact, you could just be strolling through Dick’s Sporting Goods in the Hill Country Galleria (Bee Cave) and bump into retired tennis champion Andy Roddick testing out new golf clubs. Or you could be grabbing a burger at P.Terry’s on RR 620 and see Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves with their kiddos.
It’s no secret Austin is a hotbed for celebrities, but they don’t just stay in SoCo all of time. Celebs trickle into the outskirts of the Hill Country and have been spotted all over Austin’s Lake Travis area.
Not far from Lake Travis, Jesse James, best known for his motorcycle expertise and West Coast Choppers, resides in Dripping Springs with his family. He owns Austin Speed Shop downtown and just opened a new gun shop nearby, Jesse James Firearms Unlimited. Jesse and his family have been spotted at Sonic in Lakeway, ordering burgers and chocolate shakes. Jesse can also be spotted on one of his many motorcycles headed out into the Hill Country. Back in 2010, after his divorce from Sandra Bullock, Jesse James and his then girlfriend Kat Von D made headlines by spending a romantic weekend together in Fredericksburg, Texas.
When the Hill Country Galleria first opened, shop owners were a little surprised when actress Jessica Alba and her mother walked in. Jessica, who usually stays downtown when she visits Austin and is often seen dining on the patio at La Condessa, discovered The Galleria and has frequented it many times. She liked to bring Honor to Amy’s Ice Cream for a scoop of strawberry!
Aerosmith’s drummer Joey Kramer moved to Austin in 2012 and opened a coffee company, Rockin’ & Roastin’ to celebrate his love of music and all things caffeinated. One of the neighborhoods he and his wife Linda visited while house hunting was Rough Hollow in Lakeway.
Other celebrities like Drew Barrymore, Tom Cruise, John Krasinski and Emily Blunt have been rumored to visit one of Austin’s most luxurious relaxation spots, Lake Austin Spa Resort.
There are plenty of other celebrities who frequent Austin and live here like Robert Plant, Billy Bob Thornton, Elijah Wood, Sandra Bullock, Lance Armstrong, Dennis Quaid, Willie Nelson, Robert Rodriguez (Machete, Spy Kids, Predator), Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed & Confused, Before Sunrise), Terrence Malick (Badlands, Days of Heaven, Tree of Life), Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head, Office Space), the Wilson brothers (Owen, Andrew and Luke), David Byrne, Quentin Tarantino and Jason Schwartzman, to name a few.
Have you had a celebrity sighting in the Lake Travis area? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments.
