17 Famous People With Unusual Collections

People collect all sorts of things. For some, it is stamps, records, or old baseball cards. For others, the hobby gets a little more specific. A vintage typewriter here, a carefully preserved animal there, and before long you have a collection that needs its own room. Having a famous name and a healthy budget can certainly help, but the fascination behind these collections is not all that different from anyone else's.

Actors, musicians, filmmakers, and even a former president have developed some surprisingly particular interests. Tom Hanks has spent years tracking down typewriters, Martha Stewart has a building devoted to baskets, and Dave Bautista has made room for vintage lunch boxes. Some collections reflect nostalgia; others grew out of an interest in art, history, or how things are made.

Here are 17 famous people and the unusual objects they have collected. The details come from interviews, personal accounts, and published reports. Some collections have changed or been sold over the years, so these examples do not necessarily represent what each person owns today.

Johnny Depp has long had a taste for unusual antiques and keepsakes. In interviews during the 1990s, he described buying a pigeon skeleton, a preserved bat, and even piranhas. A 1993 profile also described an assortment of odd objects and film memorabilia in his home, including pieces from his own movies. There is a difference between collecting quirky antiques and owning an entire museum of skeletons, however, so the latter would be an exaggeration.

Emma Roberts is into dolls, especially the ones that might give somebody else the creeps. During a 2023 talk-show appearance, she said the hunt for unusual dolls was part of the fun and mentioned Blythe dolls, Dollikins, and Barbies among her interests. At the time, she estimated that she owned around 15. It's not an enormous collection by celebrity standards, but she has made it clear that she enjoys finding the strange ones more than collecting every doll she sees.

Quentin Tarantino's movie obsession extends beyond the films he makes. He has also collected vintage board games based on television shows and movies, including games tied to 'Dawn of the Dead' and 'The Dukes of Hazzard.' It's an appropriately niche hobby for a director known for his encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture. You might expect rare movie posters or film prints from Tarantino, but a closet full of old tie-in board games fits his interests just as well.

Martha Stewart collects baskets, and we're not talking about a few extras for the linen closet. In 2023, she described owning hundreds of baskets, including antique, vintage, and contemporary examples, and showed off the dedicated Basket House where she stores them. She even documented having its roof replaced and the collection reorganized. Of course, leave it to Martha Stewart to turn a storage shed full of baskets into something beautifully maintained.

Tom Hanks has made his enthusiasm for typewriters almost as well known as his movie career. He has collected manual machines from different decades and manufacturers, and in 2017 he said the collection numbered roughly 150 to 160. He also wrote a short-story collection called 'Uncommon Type,' with typewriters woven into the stories. Hanks has since talked about giving machines away and thinning the collection, which makes sense when your hobby takes up that much shelf space.

Anna Faris likes framed insects, and the interest goes back well before she became famous. In a 2014 interview, she said she already had a collection of preserved bugs when she visited Chris Pratt's apartment and discovered that he had one too. That shared hobby helped them connect. Faris has mentioned beetles and moths among the insects she likes, and she has said that she enjoys seeing beauty in things other people tend to avoid. It's an unusual decorating choice, but at least it doesn't require feeding the bugs.

Dave Bautista has put together an impressive collection of vintage lunch boxes. During a 2024 tour of his Florida property for Complex, he showed off everything from a 1954 Superman lunch box to a rare Toppie example. He also discussed a Beatles lunch box valued at about $5,000. The hobby connects to childhood memories, including lunch boxes he wanted when he was younger. It turns out those old metal boxes can inspire some serious collecting decades after graduation.

Penélope Cruz has been described in celebrity profiles as a collector of coat hangers, particularly unusual examples made from materials other than metal. That's a pretty specific thing to look for while traveling, even for someone whose career involves a lot of clothes. Reports have put the collection in the hundreds, although an up-to-date count is not independently established. It's an offbeat collecting interest, not evidence that her home is overflowing with hangers.

Rosie O'Donnell's collection comes with a side of fries. The comedian and former talk-show host started collecting McDonald's Happy Meal toys in the 1980s, and some of the little figures even appeared on her television desk. In a 1997 interview, she was reported to have more than 2,500 of them. That's a serious amount of plastic nostalgia. The figure is historical, though; it should not be treated as a verified count of what she owns today.

Demi Moore has collected dolls for years, and the numbers are substantial. In a 2024 interview, she described having a collection of about 2,000 and explained that she appreciates the artistry of their faces and the playfulness they represent. Reports have also described antique and porcelain dolls among her favorites. Claims that the collection was insured for millions have circulated, but that figure is less firmly established than Moore's own description of her hobby.

Angelina Jolie has spoken about collecting knives when she was younger, an interest documented in interviews around the late 1990s and early 2000s. Antique daggers and other blades were among the objects associated with that period of her life. She has also discussed the difficult personal experiences connected with it, so this is not a hobby to sensationalize. Her past collection is well documented; claims about how many knives she owns now or how much they are worth are another matter.

Elton John's glasses are practically part of his stage persona, but the collection behind them is even more impressive. His husband, David Furnish, said in 2025 that approximately 15,000 pairs of eyewear had been cataloged and placed in storage. That's glasses and sunglasses, not just one style of frame. Many of the designs are elaborate enough to stand alone as tiny pieces of pop-art history. John has also collected photography, costumes, and other decorative pieces over the years.

Nicolas Cage has bought some memorable collectibles, but one of the most famous is no longer his. In 2007, he purchased a roughly 70-million-year-old dinosaur skull at auction for $276,000. The fossil, from a Tarbosaurus bataar, was later determined to have been illegally taken from Mongolia. After learning about the problem, Cage cooperated with investigators and surrendered it in 2015. He was not accused of wrongdoing. It's a remarkable collector's story, just not a skull sitting in his house today.

Gaston-Louis Vuitton, the grandson of fashion-house founder Louis Vuitton, had an eye for objects that other people might overlook. His collection included antique travel accessories, old trunks, locks, labels, and more than 800 Japanese sword guards called tsuba. These guards fit between a sword's blade and handle and were often elaborately decorated. Vuitton's interests reflected both the family business and a wider fascination with craftsmanship, making his collection something of a miniature design museum.

John Travolta's aviation interest goes well beyond collecting model airplanes. A licensed pilot for decades, he has owned and flown several real aircraft, including jets, and has lived in a Florida residential community built around a private runway. The number and types of planes he owns have changed over time, so old reports listing five or more aircraft should not be treated as a current inventory. Travolta's enthusiasm is genuine enough that he can talk about aircraft with the confidence of someone who actually flies them.

Amanda Seyfried has a soft spot for taxidermy, which is probably not what most people expect to find in a celebrity's living room. She has spoken openly about collecting preserved animals, including a miniature zebra given to her by Seth MacFarlane, an owl, and a small horse. She has also mentioned shopping at a taxidermy store in Paris. Seyfried lives around plenty of living animals as well, but apparently she also appreciates the kind that never move off the shelf.

Franklin D. Roosevelt collected ship models, and not just a handful for his desk. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum says his collection included more than 400 models representing different eras and types of vessels. Some were gifts, while others were purchases. His lifelong interest in the sea also extended to naval history and maritime memorabilia, and selections from the collection were displayed at the White House. That's a hobby with a little more historical weight than most on this list.