Joanna Cassidy Invites 'Closer' Into Her Historic Home! - Closer Weekly

When it comes to architecture, Barbra Streisand is notoriously tough to impress — and that’s why Joanna Cassidy knew she should buy her historic central Louisiana home right away.

“I was doing a film here with James Brolin nearly eight years ago, and I asked him to come see the house,” Joanna, 69, shares with Closer. “When we walked in, he took one look and said, ‘Barbra would really like this.’ So I went right to my broker and said, ‘Draw up the papers!’” she says with a laugh.

Joanna with the cast of her newest TV show Odd Mom Out in 2014.

Joanna first spotted the four-bedroom, three-bath brick home while exploring Natchitoches’ historic district. “I walked on a bridge over a nearby river with a fountain in it, saw a rainbow and thought, ‘Oh my God it feels like I’m in France!’” she marvels. “Then I walked some more and saw a For Sale sign in front of this house, which I’d been admiring. Right there I fell in love with it.”

While it was love at first sight, there was still work to be done on the 175-year-old house. Joanna spent about two years renovating the 2,200-square-foot space: She merged two rooms to create a spacious bedroom suite, added a screened-in back porch, gutted the area that’s now her kitchen and built a one-bedroom guest house out back. “You can have that when you move out of NYC!” she quips.

Joanna and George C. Scott in a scene from the movie Bank Shot .

But for the most part, the house felt pretty perfect. She loves the large “dogtrot hallway” that connects all four bedrooms, each with its own fireplace and door to the outside. “The second group of people who bought this house owned [property] down by the river,” says Joanna. “Having their own door meant they never had to go through the hallway, so it was quite private.”

For the decor, Joanna blended midcentury pieces with antiques, like the 200-year-old “opium table” in her living room. Many of her pieces are French, to match the neighborhood’s history, but the vivid pinks, yellows and blues are pure Joanna. “I went all-out with the colors and allowed myself to play,” she explains.

To read the full story on Joanna, pick up the new issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now!