Friends in high places: Our favorite Hollywood BFFs, from Matt and Ben to Kate and Leo

Michelle Williams and Busy Philipps

After meeting on the set of Dawson’s Creek in 2001, Busy Philipps and Michelle Williams became the best of friends. In the years since, Williams guest-starred on Philipps’ sitcom Cougar Town and they’ve been each other’s regular red carpet dates.

In 2022, Williams told PEOPLE she’d love Philipps to portray her in a biopic. “She knows me better than anybody,” she said. “It’s not an obvious choice, because we’re very different…[but] she knows every last detail about me, so she would get it right.” —Mary Sollosi

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo

We’re holding space for Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s kismet friendship. If the Wicked movie press tour has proven anything, it’s that these two — who brought Elphaba Thropp and Glinda Upland to the big screen — have been changed for good: crying in sync, joined at the hip (or finger), and constantly singing each other’s praises.

“We’ve gained a lifelong friend,” Grande told EW in November 2024, while Erivo added, “We gained from these two women that we play, because they were so dedicated to being themselves, there’s a renewed understanding of what it means to be yourself.” —James Mercadante

Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz

These Charlie’s Angels costars were friends before they were angels, but have been closer than ever since hanging up their wings. Drew Barrymore has said that Cameron Diaz — who was a bridesmaid in her 2012 wedding — would be her one phone call should she ever end up in jail. “Not that any of us are going to jail anytime soon,” Barrymore told Good Housekeeping in 2016. “But 100 percent. She would, like, get in there and get you out.”

In January 2025, the actress shared six photos of the two over the years on Instagram, with the caption reading: “And then I met this friend of mine, and all I have to do is stand in front of her and she sees everything I am, everything I stand for.” —M.S.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were friends well before they made the A-list. Though each of them picked up a few credits on their own at the beginning of their careers, the duo really burst onto the scene together in 1997 when they co-wrote and costarred in Good Will Hunting, for which they won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Even now, their legendary friendship is integral to each of their celebrity images (and has played into Damon’s ongoing faux feud with Jimmy Kimmel). For Affleck’s 2022 EW cover story, he was interviewed by Damon as they went down memory lane — all the way down to discussing their first feature film together. They’ve since gone on to work together in films like The Last Duel (2021), Air (2023), and the upcoming RIP for Netflix. —M.S.

Victor Garber and Jennifer Garner

Not even Matt Damon scored an invite to Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck’s intimate 2005 wedding. Garner’s Alias dad, Victor Garber, and his future husband, Rainer Andreesen, were the only guests — with Garber officiating. Later that year, Garner asked Garber to be godfather to the then couple’s first child, Violet.

In 2023, the pair reunited for Apple TV+’s The Last Thing He Told Me, with Garner admitting she kept breaking character around him. “So we’ve wanted to work together again, obviously, forever, and for [series co-creators] Josh Singer and Laura Dave to give us that chance was pretty exciting. The only problem was, I couldn’t stop smiling at him,” she told EW. “I was just grinning ear to ear. I was so happy he was there.” —M.S.

Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer

Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey forged the best friendship over the course of nine years on The Office together, and have remained close even after departing Dunder Mifflin. In the years since the sitcom’s 2013 finale, the best pals have made frequent appearances on each other’s Instagrams in Office throwback posts and hangout selfies.

On May 17, 2022, the two released a book together titled The Office BFFs: Tales of the Office From Two Best Friends Who Were There, which offers an intimate look behind the scenes of the show and a celebration of their years-long friendship. They’ve also got an Office-rewatch podcast, Office Ladies. —M.S.

Steve Martin and Martin Short

Lately, we’ve been fortunate to see Steve Martin and Martin Short regularly on our screens — and the past few awards seasons — since Only Murder in the Building premiered in 2019. But they’ve been keeping us in stitches since 1986 when they first costarred in Three Amigos. 

Since then, the duo has again shared the screen in the Father of the Bride films (1991, 1995) and taken their signature banter on the road with joint comedy tours. Yet, outside of entertaining everyone else, their greatest joy comes from cracking each other up. “Steve and my friendship is tied around a concept of ongoing laughter — and respect for each other and love for each other — but laughter,” Short told PEOPLE in April 2024. “[I’d] like to just keep laughing.” —J.M.

Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence

The bestie love story between Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Schumer blossomed quickly, but has held strong since they first started hanging out in 2015. The pair has gone on vacation together; danced on Billy Joel’s piano together; and have supported each other in their motherhood journeys.

In 2024, Schumer revealed to Variety that their comedy script, where they played sisters, was ultimately scrapped — but they’re already brainstorming future joint projects. “The way we’re hoping our careers go, we might do something with more grit and teeth.”

Lawrence added, “Now that we’re older, a sister comedy might not resonate as much. But we have every intention of working together.” —M.S.

The cast of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

As the saying goes: The sisterhood that wears pants together stays together. Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, and Amber Tamblyn have been tighter than your favorite pair of jeans ever since they first played Lena, Carmen, Bridget, and Tibby in 2005.

The quartet frequently reunites and all were in attendance for Lively’s, Ferrera’s, and Tamblyn’s weddings (with Lively planning the bachelorette parties for the latter two). In December 2024, the friends publicly supported Lively amid her legal battle with Justin Baldoni, writing on Instagram: “As Blake’s friends and sisters for over 20 years, we stand with her in solidarity.” —M.S.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire

Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire met on the L.A. audition circuit as child actors in the ’80s and early ’90s, and were principal members of the infamous “P—y Posse” (which also included Harmony Korine, Lukas Haas, and Kevin Connolly, among others), immortalized in Nancy Jo Sales’ 1998 New York Magazine article “Leo, Prince of the City,” as young adults.

Now, almost three decades since the publication of that legendary piece, the old pals (and Great Gatsby costars) are still close and have been spotted hanging out over the years. —M.S.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet

Nothing can sink this duo’s love for each other. Following their star-marking turns in Titanic (1997), the pair of Oscar winners have never let go of their friendship, and reteamed more than 10 years later to star in Revolutionary Road (2008) together. “He’s my friend, my really close friend. We’re bonded for life,” Winslet told The Guardian in 2021.

In 2024, the longtime friends reunited at a screening for Winslet’s film Lee — where DiCaprio kicked things off with high praises, calling her “one of the great talents of my generation.” In a video shared on X, the actor said: “Kate, my dear friend, your work in this film has been nothing short of transformative…. I continue to be awestruck, I continue to admire your strength, your integrity, your talent and your passion for every single project you create.” —M.S.

Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift has formed many squads over the years, but her bond with ride-or-die Selena Gomez — who appeared in Swift’s “Bad Blood” music video in 2015 — remains bulletproof. Swift has confirmed the strength of their friendship in subtle but pointed ways, from featuring Gomez’s name on her T-shirt in the “Look What You Made Me Do” video to sharing girls’ nights at award shows and even jokingly claiming a role in Gomez’s future wedding by commenting on Instagram, “I will be the flower girl.”

Gomez has demonstrated their unbreakable bond, too — celebrating her 30th birthday with Swift in 2022 and telling Vanity Fair two years later that Swift “is really like a big sister to me.” Alexa, play “It’s Nice to Have a Friend” by Taylor Swift. —M.S.

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and Lisa Kudrow

Long after Friends ended its run, these three will still be there for each other. Both Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow were invited to Jennifer Aniston’s 2015 nuptials to Justin Theroux (where Cox was maid of honor), and the trio of funny ladies have been spotted having dinners together in L.A.

In 2021, the three joined their costars — the late Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer — for Max’s Friends reunion, which was an emotional rollercoaster that Aniston needed to take a break from. Two years later, Aniston and Kudrow came to support Cox during her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. “Friends taught me the importance of camaraderie and really sticking together. These friendships were at the most important time in my life, and we went through so many things together,” Cox said during her speech. “And it just taught me about being there for each other.” —M.S.

Lili Reinhart, Madelaine Petsch, and Camila Mendes

It’s hard not to grow close after seven seasons of working together, but tackling Riverdale’s bizarre, hit-or-miss storylines was sure to bond the cast for life. The show’s trio of leading ladies (Lili Reinhart, Madelaine Petsch, and Camila Mendes) have been anything but shy about their friendship — sharing BTS moments on social media and supporting each other’s post-Riverdale projects — and it was heartbreak that brought them closer.

“We all got out of relationships at the same time and then went through this pandemic together,” Mendes told Paper magazine in April 2021. “And now we’ve been bonded by how much change has happened. Me, Madelaine, and Lili, specifically, we’ve never been closer than we have…It’s really nice to have them, to feel like I do have friendships here — meaningful ones.” —J.M.

Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake

Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake first met backstage at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, where Fallon was hosting and Timberlake was performing. They went on to appear in various Saturday Night Live sketches together before Fallon began hosting Late Night, where the duo’s “History of Rap” sketches went viral. They’ve since made songs together and reunited on SNL over the years.

When Fallon was named one of TIME‘s most influential people in 2013, Timberlake wrote an essay for the magazine; when Timberlake played the Super Bowl halftime show in 2018, Fallon introduced him. The best friends will seemingly never stop showing up for each other. —M.S.

Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman went to the same girls’ high school in Australia, but didn’t become friends until they worked together on the 1991 Australian coming-of-age film Flirting.

In the decades since, the stars have accompanied each other on red carpets; presented each other with awards; and gone on the record multiple times about their longtime friendship. Watts even revealed to EW in 2024 that before Kidman signed on to Netflix’s The Perfect Couple — which paired her on screen with Watts’ ex, Liev Schreiber — she reached out first. “We always check in,” Watts said. “We’re besties.” —M.S.

Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin

After meeting in 1978, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin have formed an iconic onscreen team, costarring in 9 to 5 (1980), seven seasons of Grace and Frankie, Moving On (2022), and 80 for Brady (2023).

And reflecting on all of her countless collaborators, Fonda considers Tomlin “my favorite man I’ve ever worked with — she is my sister, and I love her more than anything.” —J.M.

Brad Pitt and George Clooney

It turns out these two stars have more in common than just being A-list heartthrobs. Namely: pranking. But even when they aren’t pulling secret gags on their costars (or on each other), the Ocean’s Eleven (2001) and Burn After Reading (2008) collaborators — who are always complimenting each other — have a strong longtime friendship.

“We’ve been friends for a long time,” Clooney told GQ for his joint cover with Pitt in August 2024. “And it’s fun because we also check in on each other every once in a while, which is an important part of this. Things get complicated in life and you always have to make sure everybody’s okay.” The same year, the two pals reunited on screen for the first time in 16 years in Apple TV+’s Wolfs, playing rival crime fixers called in to cover a high-profile crime. —M.S.

Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers

College besties Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers have parlayed their longstanding chemistry into a thriving Hollywood team. While both have made names for themselves (Yang on SNL and in Wicked, Rogers on I Love That for You and No Good Deed), their collaboration has remained a constant — co-hosting their award-winning podcast, Las Culturistas, since 2016 and costarring in Hulu’s Fire Island (2022).

“I feel like best friendships are about like wanting everything for the other person,” Yang said during a 2022 interview on Today with Jenna & Friends, “I get to watch my best friend rock it down on a TV show and be a scene-stealer and just give such a layered performance. It’s so cool.” —J.M.

Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz

Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz were friends long before they costarred in 2006’s Bandidas, on the set of which they nicknamed each other huevos. “We didn’t have children yet, so we used to sleep much more than now. So it was a way to call each other lazy,” Cruz recalled to Allure in 2013. “We [slept] in the same bed so many times, and it was like she was always trying to wake me up and call me huevos.”

The pair presented at the Oscars together in 2005; posted sweet moments on their Instagrams; and has repeatedly spoke about their longtime friendship. In 2024, they walked hand-in-hand on the red carpet at WSJ Magazine‘s Innovator Awards, where Hayek told Entertainment Tonight: “We’re going through every stage of being a woman together — getting married, finding the love of our lives, having children — and nobody can understand me and life better than her.” —M.S.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler met in the ’90s while taking classes at Chicago’s iO Theater (formerly ImprovOlympic). In 2001, Poehler joined SNL, where Fey had been a writer since 1997. Both actresses appeared in Mean Girls (2004), written by Fey, and they brought their authentic chemistry to star together in Baby Mama (2008) and Sisters (2015).

Their back-to-back stints at the Golden Globes podium from 2013 to 2015 — and a Weekend Update segment at the 2023 Emmys — have fans clamoring for them to share another awards show stage ever since. While that remains to be seen, they’ve kept their comedic chemistry alive through joint tours and reunions on SNL, a show they continue to watch together. —M.S.

Donald Faison and Zach Braff

The legendary bromance of J.D. and Turk lasted long beyond Scrubs. They regularly goof around at industry events together and make jokes at (and about) each other on social media, and Zach Braff served as best man in Donald Faison’s 2012 wedding to CaCee Cobb.

Together, the two started a podcast series titled Fake Doctors, Real Friends in 2020; costarred in several T-Mobile commercials; and even competed on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2024. —M.S.

Andrew Garfield and Jamie Dornan

Back in 2008, Andrew Garfield and Jamie Dornan were just two aspiring actors sharing a home in L.A. with future stars like Eddie Redmayne, Robert Pattinson, and Charlie Cox. All these years later, these two have remained each other’s biggest cheerleaders, supporting each other on and off the red carpet.

“I’m so proud of him. He’s an unbelievable actor and he proves it time and time again. So, I’m so thankful to have friendships like that, that have gone on for so long and to be able to support each other,” Dornan told PEOPLE in 2022, with Garfield adding: “I love Jamie specifically because he’s such a beautiful man and a proper true friend, just a good heart, and so proud of everything he’s done. And we were so bored together. That’s another thing about true friendship, just being able to sit around and do absolutely nothing and waste time together.” —J.M.

Kate Hudson and Liv Tyler

Kate Hudson and Liv Tyler have known each other since childhood, thanks to their famous parents — they also attended high school together at Los Angeles’ Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences. They appeared together in Dr. T & the Women (2000), and both can be found from time to time on each other’s Instagrams.

In 2022, Hudson sat down with Vanity Fair to take a lie detector test, where she crowned Tyler as her best onscreen kiss. “She beats them all. We, to this day, are like, ‘Why didn’t we go for it more with our making out?'” the actress said. “She has the softest lips of them all. Oh my God. Those lips? Those Tyler lips!” —M.S.

Alexander Skarsgård and Jack McBrayer

They may seem like an odd couple, but Alexander Skarsgård and Jack McBrayer have been best friends for years, photographed together as long ago as a True Blood afterparty in 2012. As Skarsgård made the rounds on the 2017–18 awards circuit, celebrated for his turn on Big Little Lies, McBrayer was his date at both the Emmys and the SAG Awards, where they posed for a series of goofy BFF pics.

Back in 2015, they appeared in a Funny or Die series about the two of them going on an Arctic adventure. —M.S.

Chris Martin and Simon Pegg

The Coldplay frontman and the Cornetto trilogy funnyman have been best pals for years, and Chris Martin is godfather to Simon Pegg’s daughter, Matilda, while Pegg is godfather to Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow’s daughter, Apple. —M.S.