5 celebrities who completely and utterly fell in love with London

Sir Paul McCartney on stageMillions upon millions of people visit London each year and immediately fall in love with it. Some are coming for the first time, others for their hundredth. Some people work routine jobs, and others are some of the world’s most well-known faces.

With some of those celebrities having truly fallen head over heels for the city, here we take a look in a little more detail at five of them.

  1. Vivienne Westwood

Born in the countryside of Cheshire, like so many others Vivienne Westwood – now one of the world’s most prominent fashion designers – was attracted by the bright lights of London. Moving with her family when she was 17 to Harrow, North West London, she’s found it hard to leave ever since.

Once saying saying “There’s nowhere else like London. Nothing at all, anywhere” this phrase alone is a perfect insight into how so many view the city. It’s unique. It’s individual. It can be everything you want it to be whatever that is. You can fly all around the world looking for something, but be able to discover it after just a short walk in London.

Living in London’s popular Clapham borough for over three decades, she may have moved out of her ex-council flat, but she is still very much in love with the city that started it all for her.

  1. Sir Paul McCartney

Having a career that makes him one of the most recognised names and faces in music, by the time he was 20, Sir Paul McCartney was making a global name for himself as one of The Beatles. From this point onwards, he had the opportunity to live wherever in the world he wished.

And he chose London.

Buying a house in St John’s Wood in 1965 (where he still owns a property), like many celebrities, Sir Paul has had houses all around the world – most recently he purchased a penthouse in New York – but he still maintains his love for the city that really propelled him into the global spotlight.

  1. Bjork

One of the world’s most unique music artists, Iceland’s Bjork is known for her individuality. Receiving immense critical acclaim for it over the years, this wasn’t always the case, particularly when she was growing up.

In an interview, she once explained “When I was a teenager in Iceland people would throw rocks and shout abuse at me because they thought I was weird. I never got that in London no matter what I wore.”

It’s no surprise then that Bjork moved to London in the early 1990s, and whilst she has since moved to live in various places across the globe – from Spain to New York – she can still often be seen spending time around her cherished streets of London.

  1. Robert Pattinson

Known the world over by a generation as Edward Cullen from ‘The Twilight Saga’ films, Robert Pattinson is an interesting one to include on this list – as he’s actually from London.

Cosying up with his Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart, he moved to Los Angeles to live with her, and whilst he still considers the city his primary residence – even though he and Stewart separated in 2012 – he’s often spoken freely about his desire to return to his home (and is regularly spotted here throughout the capital).

In fact, Pattinson once said in a tweet “When I was flying to Rome, we flew over London; I felt like bursting into tears. It’s part of me, so I can’t leave London behind for good”.

  1. Samuel Johnson

Arguably one of the most famous quotes ever said about London was penned by Samuel Johnson over two centuries ago in 1777: “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of all life”.

Born in Staffordshire, Samuel Johnson went on to be one of the country’s most notable writers of the time. Starting as a teacher, he moved to London to pursue his preference for writing, and wrote everything from a regular magazine piece to now famous poems. At the age of 46, he published ‘A Dictionary of the English Language’, widely regarded as one of the most influential publications on the English language.

Remaining in London for the rest of his life (he was buried in Westminster Abbey), Samuel Johnson may not be widely known as a celebrity today, but at the time, he was one of the city’s most noted individuals.

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