The Moment
Jonah Hill says he’s out of Los Angeles and into a quieter life. During a live recording of the SmartLess podcast in San Diego this past weekend, the 42-year-old actor-director told the audience he moved out of LA about three years ago to raise his family in “a very small town” with “incredible” neighbors. He shouted to his partner, Olivia Millar, in the crowd, calling her his best friend, and praised a neighbor who had become a close friend.
Hill’s comments were relayed in detail by People, which covered the San Diego taping, and the SmartLess tour schedule confirms the show’s stop in the city over the weekend. The broad strokes: less industry noise, more normal life.
The Take
I get it. LA can feel like living inside a ring light: always on, always humming, never letting you blink. Hill’s move reads less like a rage-quit and more like a grown-up recalibration. He isn’t slamming Hollywood; he’s choosing a cul-de-sac and a compost bin. That’s not rebellion, it’s boundaries.
And he’s not alone. There’s a slow, steady celebrity trickle toward saner zip codes. Nikki Glaser reset in St. Louis. Yellowstone’s Luke Grimes swapped soundstages for Montana snow. Josh Duhamel leans into North Dakota. The pattern isn’t “fame is over.” It’s “fame, meet a door that closes.”
Here’s the hype vs. reality: the hype says stars are fleeing LA in droves; the reality is a handful of seasoned names choosing communities where a grocery run doesn’t turn into a selfie convention. Privacy in 2026 isn’t a mansion with hedges; it’s a neighborhood that doesn’t care what you do for a living. Hill’s line about neighbors who don’t “treat me weird” is the thesis. He’s trading buzz for ballast.
Think of it like this: if fame is a car alarm that won’t stop chirping, moving to a small town is pressing the fob. Not to drive away, just to quiet the noise so you can hear your kid laugh, your friend knock, your own thoughts land.
Receipts
Confirmed:
- Hill said at a SmartLess live taping in San Diego that he left LA about three years ago and now lives in “a very small town” in the San Diego area, praising neighbors who treat him normally, as reported by People (Apr 27, 2026).
- The SmartLess tour listed a San Diego stop the same weekend (Apr 2026), corroborating the timing and location of the comments.
- Hill and Olivia Millar were first publicly linked in 2022; their first child’s birth in 2023 was reported at the time and confirmed by multiple mainstream outlets, including People (June 2023).
- Comedian Nikki Glaser has publicly stated she moved back to St. Louis in 2022, including on Live with Kelly and Mark (Apr 2026 appearance).
- Actor Luke Grimes discussed living in Montana during an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience (Mar 2026).
Unverified/Reported:
- That Hill and Millar “quietly” married and recently welcomed a second child has been reported, including by People (Apr 27, 2026), but has not been independently confirmed by an on-the-record statement from Hill’s team in a posted release at the time of writing.
- The exact small town in San Diego County where Hill resides has not been disclosed.
Backstory (for Casual Readers)
Jonah Hill broke through with Superbad, earned Oscar nominations for Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street, and moved behind the camera with projects like Stutz. In recent years, he’s been vocal about protecting his mental health, skipping traditional press tours, and tightening the circle around his private life. His relationship with Olivia Millar, a model and entrepreneur, became public in 2022; their first child arrived in 2023.
What’s Next
Expect more quiet living and selective visibility. If SmartLess releases the San Diego episode, we may get a fuller context for Hill’s remarks. Keep an eye out for any on-the-record family updates from Hill’s camp, and for what his next directing or producing move looks like now that he’s building life outside LA. The broader trend of stars picking rooted communities over red carpets seems set to continue, one school pickup line at a time.
Do you think moving away from industry hubs actually protects a celebrity’s privacy, or does the spotlight just follow them wherever they go?
Sources:
- (Apr 27, 2026) – People.
- SmartLess Live tour schedule (Apr 2026).
- (June 2023 birth report) – People.
- Live with Kelly and Mark (Apr 2026 episode featuring Nikki Glaser).
- The Joe Rogan Experience (Mar 2026 episode featuring Luke Grimes).
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