Tour Glenholme, Victorian Home Featured in Movie Stepmom
Academy Award-winning actresses Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts on set for scenes shot at Glenholme, a residence integral to plot of 1998 film
Academy Award-winning actresses Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts on set for scenes shot at Glenholme, a residence integral to plot of 1998 film
Stepmom is a masterful and uplifting weep-fest with Oscar-winning star power. The unexpected scene-stealer, however, is the lovely Victorian home owned by Jackie—the film’s divorced super-mom of two children played by Susan Sarandon. She won the Oscar for best actress in 1996 for her role in Dead Man Walking.
Named Glenholme, the home’s architecture and ambience provided what many consider an award-winning performance in a supporting role by a house.
The residence was built in 1854. Its cinematic three-sided wraparound porch and wonderland gardens, were featured on-location for Stepmom’s multiple exterior scenes with Jackie, her ex-husband, (Ed Harris in the role), and his new young fiancée, Isabel, played by Julia Roberts. She won the Best Actress Oscar three years later for Erin Brockovich. Stepmom’s pivotal scenes—the spurned ex-wife, the impact of divorce on children, jealousy on the part of both women, the reveal of a terrifying illness, and finally graceful reconciliation—played out largely with Glenholme as backdrop.
Glenholme—located in Greater Manhattan’s charming hamlet of Nyack, New York, and an easy commute to The Big Apple—is a bucolic oasis commanding a hilltop on one-and-half acres of rolling lawns, mature hardwoods, a brook traversed by a quaint bridge and views of the Hudson River that stretch to the opposite shore and beyond.
The home, since renovated while retaining its enduring charm, is introduced by a welcoming living room warmed by a fireplace, one of six hearths. Awash with natural light, the coffered white ceilings and multiple French doors add to the airy ambience. The adjoining dining room, with another fireplace, is further enhanced by a three-paned bay window framing the river vistas. A charming hidden passage leads to the updated country kitchen with its large center island, new appliances, and glass cabinets.
A grand staircase leads to the second-floor landing’s intimate nook with another fireplace—fans of the movie will recognize this scene with a weakening Susan Sarandon handcrafting Christmas gifts for her children. Interior scenes from the movie were actually filmed on a set but the home is said to have inspired the design.
The master suite is located on this same level and includes another bay window with even more astounding water vistas from its higher vantage. Though again not filmed here, in your mind’s eye, you can see Jackie joyfully using a curling iron as her microphone to sing and dance with her two children in the bedroom and around the second-floor stair landing as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” booms.
Glenholme’s master bathroom is now enormous, part of the renovation and nothing short of opulent with dual vanities, a generous dressing area, and a soaking tub overlooking the Hudson with complete privacy. There are five additional bedrooms in the three-story home.
Going back to that bannister staircase. Who can forget Stepmom’s climatic finale? It is Christmas. Jackie is not well. Tensions between Jackie and Isabel have thawed. The newly extended family gathers to celebrate the holidays. Jackie’s ex-husband arrives with the children, drags a tree onto the porch and erects it in the living room. Isabel is there, too. The immediate family assembles on the home’s beautiful banister staircase. Isabel, a professional photographer, is at the ready behind the camera to capture the moment. Jackie stops her and invites Isabel to join in the photo at the same time, welcoming Isabel into her family. Isabel puts the camera on auto and jumps in.
This scene may not have been filmed on the home’s stairway, but it certainly looks like it had. This is Hollywood. Roll the credits. The home undeniably inspires movie magic.