What could be better than having two Hollywood superstars come together to create a super-couple? You like Brad? You like Angelina? Well BAM, here's Brangelina. Sometimes these couples live happily ever, and sometimes, well, not so much. So in good times and in bad, here are 42 facts about some of Hollywood's most iconic power couples.
42. Pickfair
Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford were the original Hollywood power couple. In the early days of Tinsel Town, this couple reigned supreme—in fact, they were the first stars to sign their names and place their handprints in the cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre! Pickford was known as “America’s Sweetheart” and Fairbanks was known as “The King of Hollywood”—he hosted the very first Academy Awards in 1929. The pair married in 1920 and resided at their now-famous villa, which they called Pickfair (a portmanteau predating “Brangelina” by 80 years). Alas, they divorced in 1936, and with the advent of talking in movies, the next generation of Hollywood royalty sprung up in their place.
41. Coquette
Many people don’t think of David Arquette as anything more than a goofball—his film roles have been mostly quirky oddballs and his stint as a professional wrestler in 2000 was a bit wacky—but Arquette is the brother of actresses Patricia and Rosanna Arquette, making him part of a Hollywood dynasty. Courtney Cox made it big playing Monica Gellar on Friends and went on to star in Cougar Town. The pair, who married in 1999, made a splash behind the scenes as well, starting Coquette Productions, producing a number of films, as well as shows including Cougar Town. Even though the pair divorced in 2013, they continue to work together.
40. Teigend
These two have taken #CoupleGoals to the next level! When not starring in films like La La Land and performing his hit songs (for which he has won an Oscar and a Tony award), John Legend is posting jealousy-inducing photos on Instagram proclaiming his love for his wife, model Chrissy Teigen. She’s also popular on social media and has written a cookbook. They both continue trying to out-cute each other on social media as one of Hollywood’s most-loved couples!
39. Slevans
Action and comedy, this pair has it all! Hollywood was a bit surprised when hunky action movie hero Chris Evans got together with quirky comedian Jenny Slate, though both are at the top of their respective games. The Captain America star is a part of the hot Avengers film franchise, while Slate, who graduated from standup to prime time as a Saturday Night Live cast member, became a critical darling after starring in the indie hit Obvious Child. The pair split up in February 2017, but have recently been spotted canoodling. Perhaps a reunion is in the works?
37. Hankson
Tom Hanks is one of the rare Hollywood stars who really seems to be as good of a guy as the characters he plays in rom-coms like Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail. He wed fellow actor Rita Wilson in 1988 and the couple, who have two children, celebrated 29 years together this year! Hanks’ movies still light up the box office, and Wilson has not only continued her acting career but moved into a producer role for movies like Mamma Mia! and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The strength of their happy marriage has undoubtedly helped both of their careers!
36. Parkerick
Matthew Broderick is about as different than Mr. Big as you could get—but Sarah Jessica Parker is very different than Carrie, her iconic character on Sex and The City. They must have a lot in common, as both actors got their start in popular ‘80s teen films—Broderick in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Parker in Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. They married in 1997 and have been happily wed ever since. Both continue to star in hit film, TV, and Broadway projects.
35. Mapatow
Judd Apatow met Leslie Mann on the set of The Cable Guy in 1996, which means their marriage is likely the longest-lasting legacy that film will have. They wed in 1997 while Apatow was working as a Hollywood producer on comedies like The Cable Guy and Liar, Liar, long before he’d score big critically with his TV masterpiece Freaks and Geeks. The pair continue to work together regularly—she had a role in his directorial debut film The 40-Year-Old-Virgin and starred in Knocked Up and This Is 40. Apparently, the couple that works together, stays together!
34. Rustin
Leslie Arfin and Paul Rust might not be household names unless you’re a fan of quirky, critically-acclaimed TV. Arfin got her start writing a column for VICE Magazine, which was turned into a book titled Dear Diary. She made the move to a position as staff writer on HBO’s Girls in 2014. In 2015 she married Paul Rust, a comedian and actor, who is also a longtime collaborator of Judd Apatow. Together, the pair had the right stuff and the right connections—in 2016, they co-create the Netflix series Love, which Apatow produced.
33. Robbandon
While they were never actually married, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins lived together from 1988 to 2009 and were one of Hollywood’s hottest and most powerful couples during their time together. They have each starred in some of the biggest blockbusters of the 1990s and 2000s—Sarandon in Thelma and Louise, Dead Man Walking, and The Client; Robbins in Jacob’s Ladder, The Hudsucker Proxy, and The Shawshank Redemption. They even caused a controversy together, while co-presenting an Academy Award in 1993! The pair wore red ribbons and spoke on behalf of HIV-positive Haitians trying to enter the USA as refugees.
32. DeGenerossi
In 1997 Ellen DeGeneres shocked the world when she came out as a lesbian—both in character on her sitcom Ellen and in real life in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. At the time, her career appeared to flounder, but as attitudes about LGBTQ issues have changed, she found herself back on top as host of TV's hottest daytime talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In 2004, DeGeneres began dating Portia de Rossi, an actress known for her roles on Ally McBeal and Arrested Development, and together the pair has become one of the best-known and most powerful lesbian couples in Hollywood!
31. Burtaylor
Elizabeth Taylor had eight husbands over her lifetime, but Richard Burton was the only man lucky enough to marry her twice. They met on the set of Cleopatra in 1963, though both were married to other people at the time. The pair, dubbed “Liz and Dick” by the media, married in 1964 and went on to star in 11 films together, including The Sandpiper and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? before divorcing in 1974. The first divorce didn’t take—they married again in 1975, but divorced for the final time in 1976. Burton passed away in 1984, and Taylor in 2011—neither lived to see their romance adapted on the big screen: in Lifetime’s Liz and Dick (2012), starring Lindsay Lohan and Grant Bowler, and again in Burton and Taylor (2013), starring Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West.
30. Bluntinski
John Krasinski and Emily Blunt are another Hollywood couple that has us green with envy. The pair simply cannot stop gushing about how much they love each other in interviews and TV appearances. Krasinsky, an actor, and producer most famous for his role on The Office, posts photos of his wife with adorable captions on Instagram (as she does not have an Instagram account). They have fun together too: when the couple lived next to talk show host Jimmy Kimmell, the neighbors would often discuss pranking each other when they made appearances on his show.
29. Loverts
Julia Roberts shocked the world and gave the tabloids a field day when she married country singer Lyle Lovett in 1993, after only a three-week courtship. Roberts was a megastar at the time—she’d starred in John Grisham’s The Pelican Brief that year and Pretty Woman three years before. She met Lovett on the set of The Player and the pair hit it off. The queen of Hollywood and the king of Country were poised to take over the world—if only they could spend some time together. The two were kept apart by career demands (and their baffling decision not to live together—he stayed in Texas, while she lived in Manhattan). They called it quits after only two years of marriage.
28. Mullofferman
The comic duo of Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally are basically perfection. They’re both wonderfully successful tv stars (he starred on Parks and Recreation, she on Will & Grace), highly regarded comedians, and have not only a solid marriage but a great working partnership. They even toured a variety show, titled Summer of 69: No Apostrophe, based on their happy union!
27. Baldinger
Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin were the picture-perfect Hollywood power couple of the 1990s—both of them certainly looked the part! The pair met on the set of 1990’s The Marrying Man and married in 1995. The pair costarred in The Getaway, co-hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live together and even guest-starred as a couple in an episode of The Simpsons. However, things turned ugly after their very public split in 2000—Baldwin even wrote a tell-all book which dished about their divorce and subsequent custody battle over their daughter!
26. Angelinad... Is That Right?
Did anyone doubt that Brangelina would be on this list? Ever since Brad Pitt coupled with Angelina Jolie in 2005, they were the definition of power couple. While they did not legally marry until 2014, they were about as entwined as could be, having their first child together, Shiloh, in 2006 and a set of twins, Knox and Vivienne, in 2008, as well as Pitt adopting Jolie’s adopted children Maddox, Pax, and Zahara. The Jolie-Pitts have had a much-documented life in the media, with much tabloid speculation, and Jolie filed for divorce in 2016 though they have yet to make it final. Recently, Brad Pitt opened up to GQ about his battle with alcoholism and the toll it took on his marriage.
25. Barduz
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem are a super-couple not only in Hollywood but in Spain as well! Both were born in Madrid and achieved acting success before moving to the USA. However, it was back in Spain that the pair started dating when they were filming Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona in 2007. They married in 2010 and have two children. Both Cruz and Bardem have won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively—they are the only two Spanish actors ever to have won in either category.
24. Timberspears
Justin and Britney, together at last—or so we thought. The two pop stars (and former Mouseketeers) were the hottest and sweetest couple in the early 2000s—Timberlake was Spears’ first kiss, and the two wore matching denim to the 2001 American Music Awards! However, it wasn’t meant to be and the pair split in 2002. Timberlake’s blockbuster album Justified came out later that year, which featured the song "Cry Me A River," rumored to be about Britney. The single’s video featured Timberlake sneaking into the home of an ex—who is only shown from the back for a few seconds (though you could swear they hired a Britney lookalike).
23. Prontag
Real or fake? Time has told! Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt began dating while both starring on the reality show The Hills, so the line between the show’s manufactured events and real life was, from the outside looking in, a bit blurry. The two eloped to Mexico in the show’s fourth season in 2008, and even though the show ended in 2010, the pair is still happily married. They now have a son together, baby Gunnar. The two have since appeared together on other reality shows, including Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity Wife Swap.
22. Justelena
Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber were a pop power couple when they dated in 2011, and have kept the tabloids buzzing since with each writing songs about the other. Gomez was diagnosed with lupus in 2012, and in early 2017 announced she would be receiving a kidney transplant and taking time away from public life to recover. Bieber was spotted visiting her in rehab, which seemed to rekindle the romance. The pair has since been seen together and were photographed kissing in November 2017. Could they be a power couple once again? Only time will tell.
21. Desilu
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz met in 1940 on the set of Too Many Girls and were married that same year. The pair co-starred in the classic sitcom I Love Lucy, with Arnaz playing a fictionalized version of himself named Ricky Ricardo and Lucy playing his wife. The show broke barriers with its early portrayal of a mixed-race couple on television as well as showing Lucy pregnant, but their off-camera achievements were even greater. Ball and Arnaz founded Desilu Productions, which basically invented syndicated programming. While most shows at the time were broadcast live, Desilu covered the costs of filming, provided they’d own the filmed content. They could then sell it to other networks and reap the profits! Desilu went on to produce The Dick van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, and Star Trek and endured as a successful company even after Arnaz and Ball divorced in 1960.
20. Cloonuddin
Talk about a power couple! Not only is George Clooney one of the hottest actors in Hollywood, he’s also scored hits as director of The Ides of March and Suburbicon. Amal (née Alamuddin) still has him beat—she’s an internationally acclaimed human rights lawyer! Amal worked for the United Nations in The Hague as a Prosecutor in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon as well as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. She’s since relocated to London where she advises on several UN commissions—and her famous new husband followed her there too!
19. Grantley
Hollywood loves well-matched couples, and as Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley were two of the top English actors in Hollywood in the 1990s, it made sense that they would be together. The pair met on the set of a Spanish film in 1988 and had a high-profile romance. The two were together for 13 years, even after Grant was arrested for receiving the services of a prostitute in 1995. The pair split for good in 2000, though as they were not married and had no children, it was an easy breakup and the pair remain friendly.
18. Burtoni
Burt Reynolds and WKRP in Cincinnati star Loni Anderson had a juicy six-year courtship, which constantly landed them in the tabloids and a five-year marriage from that lasted from 1988-1993 during which they were definitely one of Hollywood’s most-watched couples. The battle over money went on for years after their breakup. In 2014, Loni landed in the news when she announced plans to sell off personal items in an auction—including all the gifts Reynolds gave her, which included a nude portrait, memorabilia from his films, and her wedding gown! The following week, Reynolds himself auctioned off his own huge collection of movie memorabilia from his career—only six months after Anderson had taken him to court for the $154,520.98 she said he still owed her from their divorce settlement, 20 years before!
17. Taylson
In Hollywood, it’s only true love if your sweetheart thanks you in their award acceptance speech, and the love between Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor is real. Paulson gave a shout out to their “wonderful love” when she accepted an Emmy in September 2017 for her performance as Marcia Clark in American Crime Story: The People vs OJ Simpson. The pair have been together since 2015 and are both accomplished actresses—Taylor, who is 32 years Paulson’s senior, won an Emmy herself in 1999 for her work on The Practice.
16. Banderith
Melanie Griffith was already a part of a Hollywood couple when she married Don Johnson, but after they split in 1995 she found herself in a new Hollywood power couple when she married mega babe Antonio Banderas in 1996. The two were red carpet mainstays, as Banderas was becoming one of Hollywood’s sexiest actors, after performances in films like Desperado. The pair split in 2014, but Melanie Griffith has been in the news again lately for another familial connection: after her daughter, Dakota Johnson (from her marriage to Don Johnson) starred in Fifty Shades of Grey, Melanie and her mother Tippi Hedren are now an official Hollywood dynasty!
Sure hope she doesn't have that tattoo anymore!
15. Livolds
Ryan Reynolds was voted People Magazine’s "Sexiest Man Alive" in 2010, but he might as well be voted "Sweetest Man Alive" for how he talks about his wife, Blake Lively. The Deadpool star met Lively, star of Gossip Girl, on the set of The Green Lantern and have been inseparable ever since. The two regularly post adorable Instagram photos of each other with too-sweet captions, and Reynolds often gushes about how much he loves Lively on occasions from talk show interviews to awards acceptance speeches. They’re both successful actors, but their sweetness in real life will keep these two on the A-list!
14. Trepburn
Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy had a romance fit for a romance movie. The two stars of early Hollywood made their first movie together, Woman of the Year, in 1942 and went on to co-star in eight more films. They carried on a clandestine love affair for 25 years, but because Tracy was a devout Catholic, he remained married to his wife, though they lived apart. Hepburn and Tracy kept their relationship low-profile until his death in 1967, and only until the death of his wife did she speak openly of what is considered one of Hollywood’s greatest love affairs.
13. Fordhart
Harrison Ford’s star power would be hard to match—after all, he’s been Indiana Jones, Han Solo and Rick Deckard, some of Hollywood's iconic characters. He wed Callista Flockhart, star of TV’s Ally McBeal, in 2002, and while the two have a rock-solid marriage, her star power has waned while his continues to shine as bright as ever. Ally McBeal ended the same year the couple wed, and Flockhart has had only a handful of film and TV roles since then, but Ford continues to star in Hollywood blockbusters—even reprising his roles in Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Blade Runner 2049.
ABC News
12. Beatting
Though Warren Beatty denies the pesky rumour that he’s slept with almost 13,000 women (including stars like Natalie Wood, Madonna, and Carly Simon, who based the song "You're So Vain" partially on him) there is no denying that there is only one woman for him now: Annette Bening, whom he wed in 1992 and has been married to for 25 years! Beatty made a name for himself as a Hollywood hunk in movies like Shampoo and Bonnie & Clyde, while Bening has wowed critics and won awards for her roles in American Beauty and The Kids Are Alright.
11. Perlvito
Quirky duo Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman seemed made for each other. After all, she was best known as the curly-haired, wisecracking waitress on Cheers, while he’s appeared as curly-haired, wisecracking characters in oh-so-many films, including Twins, Junior, The Rainmaker, and on TV's It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. They even look like they go together—Perlman stands 5’0” tall while DeVito is only 4’10". The pair met in 1971 and married in 1982, but sadly separated after 30 years of marriage in 2012. Perhaps DeVito’s career took over his life—he’s kept himself busy by producing hit movies and TV shows including Reno 911!, Erin Brockovich, and Garden State.
10. Pittrow
Brad Pitt is such a superstar he’d make any couple he was part of into a power couple, but he has a taste for women at the top of their game as well. In 1994 he coupled up with blonde beauty Gwyneth Paltrow, daughter of director Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, who was a media darling for her Hollywood lineage and charming performance in Emma. The perfect-looking pair were basically the prom king and queen of Hollywood—they co-starred in Se7en and graced magazine covers for three years until their split in 1997.
9. Pinkett-Smith
Will Smith had a burgeoning rap career in the late 80s, but ran into money trouble with the IRS and was nearly broke in 1990. To pay the bills, he took a role on a sitcom not knowing that his whole career was about to change. That show? The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show ran from 1990-1996 and after back-to-back roles in Independence Day and Men In Black, Smith was basically King of the 90s. He married Jada Pinkett, who had turned heads for her role in Set It Off and together the two would rule Hollywood. Even their children, Willow and Jaden, have taken LA and the world by storm for their music careers, which they embarked on while they were still pre-teens!
8. Coco T
Rapper Ice-T made the move to TV with his role as Detective Odafin Tutuola on the hit show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit—an ironic choice for a man who made the charts with a track called “Cop Killer”. He wed glamour model Coco Austin in 2002 and their love was soon too big for regular life: they co-starred on the reality show Ice Loves Coco from 2011-2014!
7. Zeta-Jones-Douglas
Catherine Zeta-Jones, the buxom beauty from The Mask of Zorro (1998) and Intolerable Cruelty (2003) solidified her position in Hollywood when she wed legendary actor Michael Douglas in 2000. The two actually share a birthday—though Douglas is 25 years her senior. Douglas was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2010 and has retired from acting. Zeta-Jones has been lampooned in the media under the notion that she married Douglas to advance her career, but in fact, she has acted very little in recent years while she’s stood by and cared for her husband.
6. Brennifer
Brad Pitt found himself half of another Hollywood power couple when he wed Jennifer Aniston in 2002. Aniston was one of the biggest stars on TV, playing Rachel Green on Friends, so famous she had a hairstyle named after her! While their marriage was considered a rare Hollywood success, they split in 2005 when Pitt moved on to an even bigger power couple (which you may have heard of...).
5. Bocall
The love story of Bogey and Bacall is Hollywood legend. The pair met on the set of To Have and Have Not in 1944. While Humphrey Bogart was still married to his third wife and was 25 years older than the 19-year-old Lauren Bacall, the two began a steamy love affair that continued through filming The Big Sleep in 1945. They were one of Hollywood’s most famous couples off-screen as well as on-screen in Dark Passage (1947) and Key Largo (1948). They remained married until his death in 1957.
4. Barthiston
Jennifer Aniston was cast as the spurned less-famous wife of a Hollywood player when her husband Brad Pitt left her for Angelina Jolie, but in truth, Aniston’s career has always been rock-solid. Besides her breakout role on Friends, she’s taken a number of roles in lower-budget but critically-acclaimed films like Office Space, The Good Girl, and Cake. She was often portrayed in tabloids as hopelessly lovelorn, but no more after her marriage to actor Justin Theroux in 2011. Unfortunately, the pair recently announced their divorce.
3. Kimye
Kim Kardashian, who in Hollywood is best known on-screen for playing herself, can spin straw into gold. She successfully parlayed a sex-tape scandal into a reality tv show deal that has spawned multiple spin-offs, she spun her Instagram account into a book, Selfish (2015), all while proving her business acumen through million-dollar endorsement deals, a clothing boutique, ShoeDazzle—an online subscription-based shoe retailer, and many more. Her short-lived marriage to basketball player Kris Humphries went bust after 72 days, but she’s found her soulmate in rapper Kanye West. Both have larger-than-life personalities, insanely popular social media presences, multiple ventures in fashion and business, and a lust for the spotlight. But despite their fame, their relationship seems more than superficial: Kanye has a close relationship with Kim’s family, and the couple has two children together.
2. Jackelso
In 2011, this couple starred in two different movies with similar plots, which makes sense when you consider how they ended up together. Mila Kunis appeared in Friends With Benefits while Ashton Kutcher appeared in No Strings Attached, and you can guess from those titles that yes, this power couple started out as casual hook-up buddies.
They originally met on the set of their sitcom That ‘70s Show when she was only 14, when they played boyfriend/girlfriend duo Jackie and Kelso, but they didn’t get together until much later after relationships with high-profile stars from the 1990s (Macaulay Culkin and Demi Moore, respectively). They started dating in 2012, married in 2014 and had their first child together in 2015. Both continue to act, while Kutcher is shaking things up behind the scenes as a movie producer an angel investor in tech startups like AirBnB, Square, and Uber.
1. Cruiseman
90s power couple Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise divorced in 2001, but recent reports finally reveal the real reason behind the split. When they first got together, both were superstars—Cruise had already starred in Top Gun and Born on the Fourth of July when he met Nicole Kidman on the set of Days of Thunder in 1990. The two married and adopted two children together, and made news wherever they went as Hollywood’s top A-List couple. They broke Hollywood’s hearts when they split in 2001—and it’s been claimed by a former top executive in the Church of Scientology that their breakup was orchestrated by the church!
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