JSLALALAND

CITY & ITS PEOPLE

Celebrity Spotting

The Walk of Fame only has stars on the sidewalk; the real ones are out buying groceries. The six places I most often 'accidentally' run into celebs, plus LA celeb etiquette.

Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.

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  1. Before we start | In LA, celebs are just neighbors

    Celebrities show up most on hiking trails, at coffee shops, at grocery stores and Sunday markets, and Angelenos usually pretend not to see them. In Taipei, you'd gasp, snap a photo and send it to the group chat; in LA, you quietly finish your coffee and text people once you're home.

  2. 01 | Runyon Canyon: celebs come here to sweat too

    I've run into Justin Bieber and Charlize Theron (stunning even with no makeup) hiking here. Open sunrise to sunset, no parking lot, and the construction situation changes a lot, so check LA Parks before you go.

  3. 02 | Melrose Place · Alfred: quiet enough for the low-key crowd

    I ran into Teri Hatcher while having coffee at Alfred. 'BUT FIRST, COFFEE' took off from this 2013 flagship; there's a market on Sundays 10–2, so for quiet, pick a weekday morning.

  4. 03 | Larchmont Village: LA's most small-town main street

    I often run into TV actors on this street. It has Chevalier's Books, from 1940, and Landis stationery, here since 1930; there's a farmers market on Sunday mornings, and parking fills up fast, so get there early.

  5. 04 | The Grove + Farmers Market: want to see a celeb fair and square? Go to a book signing

    The Barnes & Noble at The Grove is three floors and hosts lots of book launches and signings; for some events you have to buy the book to get a wristband. 'The politest way to fangirl is to line up and buy the book.'

  6. 05 | The grocery store edition: even the biggest stars buy their own groceries

    I once ran into Leonardo DiCaprio at Rite Aid; even the biggest stars have to run their own errands. LA grocery stores are social scenes: the original Erewhon is in Beverly Grove, the WeHo one only opened in February 2026; weekday mornings are best.

  7. 06 | Alo · Beverly Hills: in LA, your leggings are your business card

    I've run into actresses from The Originals and The Rookie at Alo HQ. But HQ is an office and not open to the public; to feel Alo's LA vibe, the first store on N Canon Dr is enough.

  8. 07 | Premieres and shoots: see a yellow arrow sign, and a crew is nearby

    The TCL Chinese, El Capitan, the Dolby and the Academy Museum host lots of red-carpet premieres. Before shooting in residential areas, FilmLA posts blue notices, and once the street's been closed long enough it goes from 'so cool' to 'ugh, parking again today.'

  9. 08 | LA celeb etiquette: act like it's nothing, the coolest move there is

    Don't interrupt people eating, don't follow them (especially with kids), and keep hellos to one line; my own rule is never to post a live location. The best courtesy you can give a celebrity is letting them be a normal person.

  10. Last word | The stars aren't on the Walk of Fame; they're in your everyday

    This isn't a celebrity-spotting map; it's an everyday map where the neighbors just happen to be famous. Not a celebrity map. A neighborhood map with famous neighbors.

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An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).