In January 2023, Julia Fox posted a tour of the Manhattan apartment she was living in with her young son, Valentino, to TikTok, and it immediately went viral. The space in the video—a small and cluttered two-bedroom—came as a surprise to fans who had become accustomed to seeing photos of Fox wearing elaborate designer looks at high-profile events. Some followers roasted her for how “regular” the place appeared, while others praised her for her transparency around what single parenthood looks like for so many New Yorkers. (Fox and Valentino’s father split in 2020.)
What most viewers didn’t know was that Fox had been working to save up enough money to buy a more permanent home for herself and her son. Four months later, it was revealed that she had copurchased a 19th-century brownstone in Harlem for $2.9 million with her best friend since high school, the model, photographer, and filmmaker Richie Shazam. The two planned to live in it together with Valentino and Shazam’s boyfriend, Ben Draghi, a composer and filmmaker.
For both Fox and Shazam, purchasing the brownstone was about much more than securing a physical space for themselves and the people close to them, having each experienced tumultuous childhoods and even homelessness at times. Fox, who catapulted to fame following her scene-stealing role in the Safdie brothers’ 2019 film, Uncut Gems, grew up in New York City with her father, eventually setting out on her own at the age of 17. Shazam, who is trans, was raised in Queens in a strict Guyanese immigrant family; her mother, who was one of her greatest supporters, passed away while she was in high school, and her relationship with her father was fraught.
As teenagers, Fox and Shazam met at a party and quickly found home in each other. Their lives and careers have been inextricably intertwined ever since—through their clubbing days, the loss of some of their best friends to drugs, their journeys getting sober, Fox’s pregnancy, Shazam’s transition, and now joint homeownership. Along the way, they’ve assembled a chosen family that, along with Draghi, includes Briana Andalore, Fox’s longtime friend and stylist.
Since moving in together, Fox and Shazam have been busy. In the past year, Fox has put out a memoir, 2023’s Down the Drain, shot five feature films, released new music, and in May launched her design-competition series, OMG Fashun! on E!, while Shazam’s commercial-photography career has taken off. This past spring, the two also appeared together in Charli XCX’s “365” video.
Their bright four-story brownstone, fashioned in the neoclassical-revival style, with a spacious backyard, has already become a sanctuary for Fox and Shazam. They recently gathered in their living room to discuss the coming together of their new domain—and making it into the kind of home they’d always wished they had.
Richie Shazam: When I was growing up, the idea of home was [rooted] in a physical space. I had this idealized fantasy from movies and television of what home was supposed to look like, but I didn’t actually have that. I think that’s the battle of immigrant parents—coming here and it being a totally different landscape. But now, home is about family for me, whatever that may look like. It’s about people coming together and finding unity in a space.
Julia Fox: I totally agree. When I was a kid, home was a contentious place that didn’t feel warm or inviting for me. I feel like that’s what drew us together. We met at a party in high school, and that same night you slept over, and you just never left.
RS: Well, I felt really safe. I was impressed by your strength. You really championed others, and I noticed that from the start. I was also just beginning the process of finding myself. I remember blindly trusting in my intuition and being like, “Wow, I really love being around Julia and her energy.” You were wise beyond your years and unapologetically yourself.
JF: I really liked you because you were on a mission. You always knew where all the parties were. We both grew up in New York, and for me it was honestly such a blessing. At the time, I felt like it was a curse. I would fantasize about running through a field and being in the forest or in the mountains. I craved that because New York City doesn’t center children or parents. But because I grew up in New York, I feel like I have such empathy and such an understanding of different backgrounds and cultures.
RS: Absolutely. And when you’re having a rough time in your house, what do you do? You get the fuck out and go out into the world. In New York, there are so many other universes you can enter into.
JF: Now we have our own community. We attract anyone that’s an outcast or a misfit; we welcome that energy. Creatively, we’ve all always been a part of everything each of us has ever done. When I was making art, you curated shows. When you were finding out who you were, we were there to provide clothes and whatever else. Anything I’m doing, I automatically find a place for you in it.
RS: That’s how you sustain your sisterhoods. Your sisters need to be your biggest fans and supporters, no matter what. Because I know a win for them is a win for me. As a child, I never would’ve thought that I would be where I am today. I’m really grateful—and happy.
JF: Buying a house together was something we always wanted to do. When we had no money, we would dream about it. And then the opportunity came when we were financially secure enough to do it. Because for so many years, we weren’t. We looked at a couple of places, but not that many, to be honest. Then we landed on this one. I felt very called to this home. It was over our budget—like, very over—but I was just like, “No. I want it. I need it. I have to have it.”
RS: By any means necessary.
JF: And we did it. We love it. It’s so cozy. It has so much of its original charm with all the old wooden finishings. In a world where everything is so modernized, it’s nice to come here. There’s a healing property about this home. We have the ashes of a few of our late best friends who passed away in our living room. It always smells like food here. We’re always cooking and having dinners, and Valentino is always being loud and laughing. There’s music playing, and people are constantly in and out, because the home is for all of us; it’s like a headquarters for the fam. Also, we love that it’s in Harlem. It had gotten to a point where I couldn’t be downtown anymore because, as my profile was getting larger, I couldn’t walk down the street. But I’m still a city girl, and I didn’t want to sacrifice living in my home, so Harlem was just the obvious answer because it’s all real, authentic New Yorkers. No one gives a fuck about me up here. It’s amazing.
RS: We’ve been working so hard the past couple of years. Just to even be in that financial space to be able to do it was incredible.
JF: When it comes to actually decorating the place, it’s been pretty much all me. I’m the one who gets the furniture or has an idea for it.
RS: I’ve always loved your taste. When you bring something in, you’re so passionate about it. Everything that comes into our home is filled with an energy. You’re really into metals and aviation, and we have this incredible table in our dining room that’s giving airplane material. It’s silver and so large, and it’s become my workspace because the sun hits so strongly in that room. Our style is very eclectic. We have lots of antique pieces and a really beautiful Persian rug, and because the home has so much wood in it, they just add even more character. We both also like bringing in artworks that our friends have made. One of our close girlfriends, Emma Fujiko, did portraits of me and Ben. I feel like we’re kind of training Valentino’s eye, because he’s got it. I’ve had him sit with me and look through photos. I really trust what he likes.
JF: He has great taste in music too—and just in general. Valentino is really the heart and glue of the home. And he looks at all of us for things. He’s almost four now, so he’s figured out how to manipulate people. If I say no to giving him a cookie, he makes his rounds and one of us usually gives in. But something that’s also really nice is sometimes, if I’ve had a really long day, I just want to take a bath in peace. If no one else is here, Valentino is going to come and try to get into the bath. But if you guys are here, you’ll be like, “All right, let’s go out into the yard. Let’s go play cars.” And then I get to have an hour to myself. We just pick up the slack for one another, and we don’t have to ask. I’m really big on food shopping. You take care of the cleaning lady and the garbage removal. Ben loves to cook and takes care of the cats.
RS: I knew I wanted to be part of the child-raising with Valentino. You and Ben have also built your own bond, which is really special. Before we bought the house, we all took a trip to California, and we were staying together at a friend’s house and I was like, “Can this be, like, every day? This is so magical and amazing.” And Ben was really excited to embark on this next chapter with us.
JF: Raising Valentino all together like this, we’re healing our inner children. We’re like, “Imagine if this could have been our lives. That would’ve been so fun and colorful.” And you can see it in the way Valentino is. He’s so open-minded. Nothing is weird to him. I could come home with a bright-orange wig, and he’d be like, “You look so nice.” So many people are waiting for a partner to buy a home or to do it in a traditional way. But that’s not always going to be the way. I know that buying a house with you was the smartest move, not just emotionally but financially, because our relationship is never going to break. The way that a family is traditionally structured is inherently oppressive to women, where women pick up most of the domestic labor. There are so many ways to do this family thing. You have to find what works for you.
Credit and caption info for opening collage, from left: Julia Fox and Richie Shazam at a Diesel fashion show, 2022 (Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images); Fox, Shazam, and stylist Briana Andalore in New York, 2024 (Rachpoot/ Bauer-Griffin/ GC Images/ Getty Images); Shazam and Valentino before a Madonna concert, 2023 (Courtesy of Fox); Fox, Shazam, Andalore, and Ben Draghi with Valentino, 2023 (Courtesy of Fox)
