As the birthplace of celebrities like Olivia Culpo and Debra Messing, Rhode Island is known to breed talent. But it also attracts it — Rhode Island’s real estate market is historically known for its A-list buyers.

Many big names have moved to Rhode Island over the years. Perhaps most notably, singer Taylor Swift bought a $17 million waterfront mansion in Westerly in 2013, which she later wrote the song “the last great american dynasty” about.

And of course, the state was home to a swath of rich and famous families who moved to Newport during the Gilded Age.

Here’s what to know about this year’s biggest celebrity real estate stories in Rhode Island.

Comedian Matt Rife buys 80-acre property in Rhode Island

Earlier this year, comedian Matt Rife bought an 80-acre property in Rhode Island, he said on a podcast in August.

In an interview with comedians H. Foley and Kevin Ryan on their “Are You Garbage?” podcast, Rife said he wasn’t initially considering buying a home in Rhode Island – “it wasn’t even in the top 10 states I looked at,” he said – but ended up finding a property that matched what he was looking for.

Rife said he chose the Ocean State in part due to its convenience for traveling, and also because he was looking for a home in an area near a good comedy scene.

“I got all that for probably the price of a 2 bedroom with no yard in LA,” Rife said.

Celebrities with homes in Rhode Island: Some of these you know. Some you won’t.

Other celebrities who own homes in Rhode Island

While there weren’t any other celebrities reported to have bought homes in Rhode Island this year, several other big names already call the state home.

Here’s a list of some of the celebrities who already own homes in Rhode Island:

• Taylor Swift owns a mansion dubbed “Holiday House” in Westerly’s Watch Hill neighborhood.
• Christopher Walken has owned a home on Block Island since 1999.
• Conan O’Brien owns a vacation home in Westerly, which his family bought in 1997.
• Jay Leno has a mansion on Ocean Drive in Newport that dates back to the Gilded Age.
• Judge Judy Sheindlin owns a Newport mansion dubbed “Bird House.”

We likely won’t see much of the sun for the remainder on 2024, certainly not the final weekend of the year!

Clouds are increasing tonight ahead of the next storm system. As temperatures fall below freezing overnight, we’ll be watching for the possibility of freezing rain early Saturday morning.

This could lead to a glaze of ice on roads, driveways and sidewalks. Areas north and west of 295 are the most likely trouble spots, but we could even see areas south and east of this get some.

Temperatures will quickly rise well-above freezing by 10am and will see just plain rain showers, with otherwise cloudy skies.

Sunday morning will be showery as well. We catch a small break Sunday afternoon, but late Sunday night, rain returns and gets heavier into Monday.

The sun makes its final appearance of 2024 on New Year’s Eve Tuesday before yet another round of rain shortly after ball drop into New Year’s Day.

Colder air then builds in for the end of the week, as the beginning of January looks very cold across the Northeast.

Two people were killed and another injured in a head-on crash in Foster, Rhode Island, on Christmas Eve.

Police tell NBC10 Boston affiliate WJAR that they responded to the crash around 3:10 p.m. Tuesday on Hartford Pike and found two vehicles in the eastbound lane with heavy front-end damage, as well as three people with serious injuries.

An investigation shows one vehicle was traveling westbound when it crossed over into the eastbound lane in an attempt to pass several other cars, and struck another vehicle head-on, according to WJAR.

The driver of the first vehicle — identified as Aaron McCrory, of Danielson, Connecticut — was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he was pronounced dead, WJAR reports. A passenger in the second vehicle — identified as Sandi Brooks, of Vernon, Conn. — was also taken to Rhode Island Hospital where she died from her injuries.

The driver of the second vehicle was injured in the crash and taken to Rhode Island Hospital where they are in stable condition, police tell WJAR.

Further details about the crash have not been released.