Renee Baio, wife of Scott, buys home in Bradenton, says: 'Living our best life in Florida'

UPDATED: This story has been updated following an interview with Renee Baio.

MANATEE COUNTY – Add the star of “Happy Days” and “Charles in Charge” to the long list of celebrities who live in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Renee Baio, the wife of Scott Baio, bought a home in Bradenton according to Manatee County property records. In a phone interview Thursday, she said they are living in the condo until their house nearby is completed.

"I chose Manatee County for various reasons," she said by phone from their home in Los Angeles. "It's close to Anna Maria Island, Siesta Key, and I love the small town feel and values of Manatee County and I support mom-and-pop businesses and would like to keep them thriving."

Renee Baio is a former stuntwoman and businesswoman. She's also founder and president of the Bailey Baio Angel Foundation, a non-profit organization that she founded to help children with glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA-1) and other organic acidurias, which sadly took their daughter Bailey's twin late in Renee's pregnancy.

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Scott Baio makes headlines by leaving California for Florida

On April 20, the 62-year-old retired actor posted a photo of himself and wife, Renee, at the beach on Twitter with the caption "Living our best life in Florida" and it received 180,000 views. Earlier this month, though, his tweet about leaving California for Florida received 1.3 million views and prompted stories by various media outlets including Fox News, CNN and our sister publication, USA TODAY.

"A longtime California resident, the 'Happy Days' and 'Charles in Charge' star announced on Twitter last week that he was moving out of California, due to what he described as the state’s homelessness issue," USA TODAY reported May 10. "Baio confirmed his family's move to Florida to Fox News' Jesse Watters on Tuesday."“After 45 years, I’m making my way to finally ‘exit stage right’ from California,” Baio wrote May 3 on Twitter, citing statistics from a 2022 report by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. “The most recent survey…found approximately 69,000 people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County and 41,000 in the city in 2022.”

On May 3, Baio also tweeted that he has two homes in Florida and wrote "love them both!" The Herald-Tribune has only been able to confirm the purchase of the home in Manatee County.

In March, Baio received an honor in Naples, which is located about 130 miles south of Bradenton. He was in nearby Fort Myers for his touring one-man show, "How Did I Get Here?" and visited the Collier County Commission chambers to accept the award, according to our sister publication the Naples Daily News. Baio was honored with a special walk-on proclamation that declared March 8 "Baio Backs The Blue Day." In addition to his acting career, the commissioner said Baio is known for advocating for law enforcement.

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Baio joins Mick Jagger, Stephen King and other celebrities with homes in Sarasota-Manatee

Baio's departure from Tinseltown doesn't mean he won't occasionally still bump into fellow celebrities here in Southwest Florida.

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and his ballet dancer girlfriend Melanie Hamrick bought a Manatee County house in The Lake Club in Lakewood Ranch in 2020. In neighboring Sarasota County, rock stars Brian Johnson of AC/DC, Joe Perry of Aerosmith and Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers Band have homes, along with famed author Stephen King.

Jerry Springer — the famed daytime talk show host, who died last month — was a longtime resident of Sarasota. He lived on Bird Key where Johnson has a home and where celebrated author John Jakes ("North and South") resided before passing away earlier this year.

Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.​​​​​​

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Scott Baio's wife Renee buys home in Bradenton, FL