Famous People Love The Airstream

Lowdhams is the UK’s only registered stockist of Airstream caravans. It’s no exaggeration to say that Airstream is one of the world’s instantly recognisable leisure vehicles, and we are very proud of our association with it. The brand is truly a design classic, so it’s no wonder that it’s always been popular amongst famous people who’ve acquired a taste for the finer things in life. Whether it’s actors, musicians, sportspeople or even politicians, the Airstream has never lost its appeal. In this edition of our blog we’ll dig in and look at some of the famous people who have loved Airstream…

Pamela Anderson owned an Airstream. It was given to the actress, model and social activist by the Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner, in 2001. An update to the interior décor was commissioned by her in 2006. A refit company based in New York, which specialised in custom auto work for celebrities, completed Anderson’s “wild ideas”. The customised Airstream featured a completely white exterior, as well as a completely white interior. There were pink Playboy bunny logos on the upholstery, deep pile carpeting, a vibrating round bed, coloured mood lighting, disco ball, mirrored ceilings and a stripper pole. Anderson dubbed her vehicle the ‘Lovestream’. However, these days she’s more likely to feature in a sympathetic Netflix documentary or her new cooking show than hang out in her Airstream – it was put up for auction a few years ago.

When Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins splashed down in the Apollo capsule in July 1969 following the very first moon landing, they then had to spend a period of time aboard a Mobile Quarantine Facility – a specially converted Airstream trailer. In a recent edition of our blog we went into much more details covering the close connection between Airstream and the Apollo moon missions – in fact, NASA missions as a whole. An Airstream dubbed the ‘Astrovan’ was used for many years to transport astronauts from the mission control building a few miles to the Space Shuttle launchpad.

For the making of eighteen of his films between the 1980s and the 2010s, Oscar winning actor Tom Hanks would rest between takes in his own personal Airstream trailer. It would be parked up on set for the duration of filming, and Hanks preferred to live in this than stay in the trailers provided by studios. “I had spent too much time in regular trailers with ugly décor and horribly uncomfortable furniture,” he said. “So I decided to buy a brand-new Airstream shell with an interior made to my own request”. The vehicle was used by Hanks on the sets of Philadelphia, Castaway, Sleepless In Seattle and Forrest Gump. In 2021 this piece of movie history was sold at auction by Bonhams for $235,200.

Actor Vincent Price (also the spooky narrator on Michael Jackson’s 1984 hit single Thriller) appeared in more than 100 films and had an instantly recognisable face as well as a highly distinctive voice. His tones became so associated with the horror genre that just hearing it suggested terror was nigh. However, Price was also sometimes commissioned to provide narration for non-shock stuff – including a TV documentary mini-series by The National Geographic Society in 1966. Around The World Caravan featured Price who said, “A flying saucer landing could not create more interest than an Airstream caravan”. We’re not sure he’s right, to be honest – but it’s a great line!

Billie Joe Armstrong, frontman of mega-successful pop-punk band Green Day is a huge fan of Airstream – and was lucky enough to be gifted one by his wife as a 20th wedding anniversary present. Other musicians and actors in love with this American icon trailer include Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Matthew McConaughey, Sean Penn, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, Sandra Bullock, Matthew Modine, Tim Burton and Lenny Kravitz.