Famous couples

FAMOUS COUPLES

Hollywood Couples Find Love on Screen and Off

There have been countless unforgettable romances portrayed on the big screen throughout Hollywood's history. Some of these romances continued off-screen as well. These were relationships that, at least for a time, withstood the pressures of celebrity and became legendary classic Hollywood couples.
Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford
Douglas Fairbanks fell in love with Mary Pickford during a Liberty Bond tour in 1916. They married in 1920 and lived together at Pickfair, their Hollywood mansion. They were considered Hollywood's first celebrity couple, drawing crowds in the 100,000s during their European honeymoon. In 1927, they were the first stars to place their hands and feet in the cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater. Pickford referred to Fairbanks as "A little boy who never grew up." They were divorced in 1936 after 16 years of marriage.
Douglas Fairbanks: 1883–1939
Mary Pickford: 1892–1979
Clark Gable and Carole Lombard
Clark Gable and Carole Lombard
Clark Gable and Carole Lombard
Clark Gable and Carole Lombard first met in 1924 while on the set of Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ. They remained acquaintances until 1931 when they were officially introduced. They married in 1939, bought a 20-acre ranch in the San Fernando Valley and tried to live a simple life away from the Hollywood glamour. They nicknamed each other Ma and Pa.
Unfortunately, their romance was short-lived. Lombard died in an airplane crash in 1942. At her husband's request, Lombard was on a war bond tour when her plane went down. After drinking heavily for six months and an unsuccessful attempt at suicide, Gable enlisted in the army to honor her. Lombard's dog, a dachshund named Commissioner, wouldn't leave Gable's side after her death.
Clark Gable: 1901–1960
Carole Lombard: 1908–1942
Classic Hollywood Couples - Vivian Leigh and Laurence Olivier
Classic Hollywood Couples - Vivian Leigh and Laurence Olivier
Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier
Vivien Leigh fell in love with Laurence Olivier's Romeo in 1935. They starred together in Hamlet in 1937 and married in 1940. They portrayed lovers in three movies: Fire Over England, 21 Days and That Hamilton Woman. Their 20-year marriage ended in divorce in 1960. Leigh kept Olivier's photograph on her dressing table even after they divorced and was addressed as "Lady Olivier" until her death.
Laurence Olivier: 1907–1989
Vivien Leigh: 1913–1967
Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn
Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn
Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy worked together for the first time in 1942 on the film Woman of The Year. Over the next 25 years, they made eight more films together and carried on a clandestine romance. Because of his Catholic upbringing, Tracy never divorced his wife and was never able to openly express his feelings for Hepburn. He died a few weeks after their final movie together, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. Hepburn didn't go to his funeral out of respect for his family. She also never watched the movie, because it was his last.
Spencer Tracy: 1900–1967
Katharine Hepburn: 1907–2003
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall met and fell in love on the set of To Have and Have Not in 1944. Bogart was 26 years older than the 19-year-old Bacall and was married to his third wife Mayo Methot at the time. While keeping their affair quiet, the two starred in The Big Sleep. In February of 1945, Bogart divorced his wife. A few months later, he married Bacall. They made two more movies together; Dark Passage in 1947 and Key Largo in 1948. In 1949 their first son was born, followed by another in 1952. By the mid-1950s Bogart's health started failing. He died in 1957 from cancer and the age of 57.
Humphrey Bogart: 1899–1957
Lauren Bacall: 1924–2014
Comments
Jazz on December 15, 2012:
Olivier and Leigh have to be number 1!!!!!!!!!
Sarah from Melbourne, Australia on November 24, 2010:
This is awesome, I really enjoyed it, thanks :)
Alfreta Sailor from Southern California on September 03, 2009:
I am so enjoying your hubs. I just ran across your hubs by accident, and I am glad I did. I am a fan.
lafenty (author) from California on August 15, 2009:
Thanks Rose and William for your comments. The old movies and their stars were definitely better than most of what we have today. They just seemed to have something that is missing these days.
William F Torpey from South Valley Stream, N.Y. on August 15, 2009:
I'm delighted to have found your Hollywood hubs, lafenty. These are not only classic Hollywood couples, but the top stars of the 1930's and '40's -- who just happen to be the best of the best for any time period. I've seen virtually every one of these stars and movies... mostly at or near the time they were made. I'm very glad that Bing Crosby (with Grace Kelly in the video) was not left out. He was not only a singer, but a top movie star. Your other Hollywood hubs are now at the top of my own list for viewing. I only wish these great films would be revived for viewing on today's big screens.
Rose Ella Morton from Beverly Hills, Michigan on August 15, 2009:
They were in an era when smoking was tough and beatiful. which cause a lot of their deaths. and rapidly aged the beatiful women. but I love to watch old movies. In fact most of them were aready dead before I saw their movies.
cgull8m from North Carolina on April 09, 2009:
I doubt we will see such long-term couples now, most of them are jealous of each other. The best were Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn.
hether they’ve been together for a few years or a few decades, these famous couples are clearly crazy about each other. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite celebrity love stories.

Celebrity couples may be more high-profile than most, but when it comes to making their love last, they’re built on the foundations that make any union strong: trust, communication, humor, patience and unconditional love.

Read on to hear love stories and relationship tips from 50 of our favorite famous couples, from Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle!

1. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds met in 2010 on the set of Green Lantern, and the rest was history. They married in 2012 and have two children together. “Right now, I’m so peaceful. I’ve never been happier in my life,” Lively said about life with her husband in an interview with Allure.

2. John Legend and Chrissy Teigen

These two are one of the internet’s favorite celebrity couples! John Legend wrote his 2013 song “All of Me” in honor of their relationship, and he and Chrissy Teigen went on to have two adorable kids, Luna and Miles.

Related: 100 Quotes for Valentine’s Day Quotes to Send to Your Friends to Remind Them Why They Rock

3. David and Victoria Beckham

This iconic couple started dating when Victoria Beckham was Posh Spice and David Beckham was at the height of his soccer career. More than two decades later, Posh and Becks are still going strong.

4. Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell

Opposites attracted when Dax Shepard met Kristen Bell in 2007.

“I believed the whole world was filled with sheep and he believed the whole world was filled with wolves,” Shepard told Parade in 2019. “When we’re walking down the street and we pass someone, my first thought is, This guy’s gonna try to take my wallet. Kristen’s first thought is, That guy might cure cancer.”

But those different philosophies helped them balance each other out, and they’ve been happily married since 2013 and share two children.

5. Prince William and Kate Middleton

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge couldn’t be a cuter royal couple, but they started out as just friends. “At St. Andrews we were friends for over a year first and it just sort of blossomed from then on,” Prince William told The Telegraph shortly after he and the former Kate Middleton got engaged in 2010. “We just spent more time with each other, had a good giggle, had lots of fun and realised we shared the same interests and just had a really good time.” Fast forward to 2020 and they have three adorable children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, and seem more in love than ever.
6. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi
This Hollywood power couple has been an item since 2005. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi got married in 2008, soon after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. DeGeneres opened up about how she and De Rossi keep their marriage grounded, despite plenty of baseless paparazzi rumors over the years that their relationship is in trouble.
“We don’t know why. We’re together all the time. We genuinely love each other,” the comedian told Parade in 2016. “Her happiness is my happiness, and vice versa. True love is caring more about the other person’s happiness than your own.”
7. Emily Blunt and John Krasinski
This adorable Hollywood couple met in 2005 and tied the knot in 2010, and they are still going strong.
“I had always heard, ‘Never date an actress–it’s too competitive, too dramatic,’ But we’re so lucky to have each other,” John Krasinksi told Parade back in 2011. “She understands the stress level involved, the amount of work. That’s completely priceless. For many reasons, Emily is perfect for me.”
Getty Images
(Getty Images)
8. George and Amal Clooney
The human rights lawyer and actor have been married since 2014 and in 2017, they welcomed twins Ella and Alexander. “I knew when I met her that she was super­extraordinary. I wondered if I would ever get a chance to date her,” George Clooney once said about Amal Clooney. “We were friends for a while and luckily she said yes.”

9.Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith

Another one of Hollywood’s longest-lasting couples, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith tied the knot in 1997 and have two children together. One secret to their lasting relationship? Not thinking of themselves as “married,” but as “life partners.”

“I needed a different form to dissolve all the expectations that I had of a marriage,” Pinkett Smith told PEOPLE. “I needed to do that to see Will outside of husband and see him as a human being.”

10. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban

The actress and country star have been married since 2006 and they have two daughters together, Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret. “Meeting her and getting married wasn’t life-changing, it was life-beginning,” Keith Urban told CBS News. “It was literally, like, ‘Okay, life starts.'”
11. Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally
Will & Grace’s Megan Mullally and Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman seem like a match made in heaven. They’re both witty and hilarious, and they even co-wrote a book about their relationship, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told: An Oral History.
“I was a hedonist when I met Megan,” Offerman told Parade in 2018. “I was smoking a lot of tobacco and I was drinking a lot. Just by nature of coexisting with her it was obviously like, ‘Oh, if you want this relationship to last, you really have to clean up your act—because right now, you’re kind of a stinky hog-like human.’ I feel like I was partly looking for this relationship because it saved my life.”
12. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
The Duke and Duchess first met on a blind date arranged by a mutual friend, and it seems like it was love at first sight.
“I was beautifully surprised when I, when I walked into that room and saw her,” Prince Harry told the BBC. “There she was sitting there, I was like, “OK, well, I’m really gonna have to up my game!”
Their royal romance continued to make headlines when they announced their engagement, and it’s been a whirlwind ever since, from their fairytale wedding in 2018 to the birth of their son, Archie, last year. And of course, their decision to step down as senior, working royals sent shockwaves through the royal family and beyond. Through it all, their bond seems stronger than ever.
13. Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
This country power couple has been going strong since 1996. “From the first time we met, I knew (she didn’t!) that she was the love of my life forever….” Tim McGraw once wrote on Instagram. “No matter the ups and downs, the happy and sad or the good and bad.”
14. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson tied the knot in 1988, making them one of the longest-lasting couples in Hollywood. “We get along, I must say,” Hanks once said of their relationship. “I got lucky, she could have done better.”
Wilson also shared one secret of their long-term love.
“We support each other in so many different ways, and want to be married to each other,” she told Parade in 2018. “That’s really important!”
15. Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez
Superstar singer Jennifer Lopez and former Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez got engaged after two years of dating, and these two seem more in love than ever. “You make my world a more beautiful safe and stable place… in the midst of our ever-changing, ever-moving life…you make me feel like a teenager starting out all over again,” J.Lo wrote in a sweet, public love letter to A-Rod.
16. Beyoncé and Jay-Z
This musical power couple tied the knot in 2008 and have three children together. “What Jay and I have is real,” Beyonce once told Essence magazine. “It’s not about interviews or getting the right photo op. It’s real.”
17. Amy Schumer and Chris Fischer
Stand-up comedian and actress Amy Schumer and Chris Fischer, a chef and farmer, tied the knot in 2018, not long after going public with their relationship. They welcomed their son, Gene Attell Fischer, last May. Schumer often gushes about her love for her hubby in interviews, telling The View in 2018 that she chose him because she knew he was “the one,” according to PEOPLE.

“I’m 36. I love my family, my friends, my work. I was like, ‘I’ll die alone. I don’t care.’ I’m not going to settle. I don’t want to settle,” she said. “I met the one.”

18. Kym Johnson and Robert Herjavec
This romance from the Dancing With the Stars ballroom has stood the test of time! Kym Johnson was Shark Tank investor Robert Herjavec’s pro partner on DWTS, and the pair went public with their romance in 2015. The following year, they tied the knot, and then they welcomed twins, Haven and Hudson.
“He’s my most enthusiastic dance partner I’ve ever had, he just loved every second of it and I think that’s why he’s so successful in everything he does, the way he throws himself in everything,” the DWTS pro told Parade in 2016. “It was a great way to meet and things couldn’t be better!”
19. Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian
Talk about a power couple! The tennis legend and the founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian, announced their engagement in 2016. They welcomed a daughter, Alexis Olympia, the following September and tied the knot a few months later. Ohanian says his wife inspires him every day with her drive and performance under pressure, telling The New York Times that he’s had a “front-row seat over the last three years to greatness.”
“It’s a humbling experience seeing really what high-pressure situations actually look like professionally, seeing just what it takes to actually be that great,” he said. “It is a work ethic on another level.”

20. Mandy Moore and Taylor Goldsmith

Mandy Moore and Taylor Goldsmith met in a thoroughly modern way: on Instagram! Goldsmith is the frontman for the band Dawes, and Moore had been a fan of the group for a while. The This Is Us actress posted a photo of their new album on Instagram, and the singer reached out to her.
“I took a picture of their album and posted it on Instagram,” Moore told PEOPLE. “Somehow, Taylor saw it and sent a note to me. We started emailing back and forth, then we went on a date and the rest is history. Thanks Instagram, for helping me meet my fiancé!”
The pair wed in late 2018 in a low-key ceremony in Moore’s backyard.
21. David Foster and Katharine McPhee
Singer Katherine McPhee tied the knot with composer David Foster in 2018. The two first met when McPhee was a young contestant on American Idol. McPhee opened up about their relationship in a sweet Instagram post.
“I’ve known this man for 13 years now! What was once a working relationship became a friendship and ultimately led us here. Anyone who meets him talks about how charming he is, so much so that he eventually charmed his way into my heart,” she wrote. “I’m so proud that he’s my husband! May God bless you with many many more years. Happy birthday baby!”