Best friends are the ones we turn to in dire times, like when we break up with our other half, when we’re down and out and needed somewhere to crash, or when we really need to have someone to listen to our woes. They are friends that don’t judge us, keep us grounded, and generally make sure that we don’t go crazy. Celebrity BFFs, however, take the relationship to a higher level, such as co-writing Academy Award-winning screenplays, star in blockbuster movies together move right next door to each other to discuss scripts and roles. Who are we talking about? Let’s find out.
Matt Damon & Ben Affleck
Theirs is a bromance for the ages. Friends since Affleck was 10, Matt Damon (47) and Ben Affleck (45), have withstood the test of time and fame for three decades. They rose to prominence when Good Will Hunting (1997), a movie they co-wrote and co-starred in, won the award for Best Original Screenplay at the 1998 Academy Awards (the late Robin Williams won a Best Supporting Actor award as well). Fame followed, and while they’ve been taken on different paths in the entertainment industry, their relationship remained steadfast. Damon attributes it to their shared passion, “We were both in love with the same thing – acting and filmmaking. I think we fed on each other’s obsession during really formative, important years and that bonded us for life.” Between the two of them, they have seven children, and naturally, their offsprings are friends too.
Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz
This pair of Spanish-speaking babes have come a long way. Mexican Salma Hayek (50) and Spanish Penelope Cruz (42) have been fast friends for over 20 years, and they even have affectionate nicknames for each other. 'We call each other huevos [eggs],” shared Cruz. 'It was because when we were working together, 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.” The pair met as actresses back in the day and quickly bonded. They also sought ways to work with each other, and the result is the 2006 Bandidas, as two women from different walks of life coming together as a bad-ass bank-robbing duo. The movie opened to lacklustre reception but the pair grew even closer after spending more time on set.
Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman
Naomi Watts once said this about her best pal Nicole Kidman, “This woman is everything to me.” Both actresses are Australians, and have been best buds for almost three decades. The pair attended the same high school and theatre company in Australia and were acquainted from there, but their friendship was only forged in 1991 during the filming of the movie Flirting, an Australian coming-of-age comedy. They’ve never looked back since. Watts cited Kidman’s success as an inspiration for her to pursue acting in Hollywood, and that Kidman was her cheerleader. When her career in the 90s stalled, she recalls Kidman’s words, “She kept saying, ‘It’s just going to take one thing, one thing, Nay, and you know, if you’re in a hit film … then everything changes.’” True enough, Watts was offered her breakthrough lead role in Mulholland Drive, and inked her name in Hollywood. On the other hand, Kidman treasures the earnestness of their relationship, especially in their line of work, “I think that’s really rare, particularly for actresses, and I take a lot of pride in that.”
Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox
The pair played room-mates in the hit TV series Friends, and just like a self-fulfiling prophecy, they did become friends in real life, and best ones at that too. After the series wrapped in 2004 following a ten-year run, not only did they not drift apart, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox became closer. Cox was the shoulder to lean on when Aniston went through a high profile divorce with her ex-husband, Brad Pitt. Aniston had shared, "I've slept in her guest bedroom a lot. Without giving away too much of my private stuff, all I can say is she's been there for me through thick and thin." When Cox herself separated from her ex-husband David Arquette, she sought refuge with her best pal. Cox also served as maid of honour during Aniston’s nuptials to Justin Theroux in 2016.
Tobey Maguire & Leonardo DiCaprio
The two pals appeared in three movies together, in This Boy’s Life (1993), Don’s Plum (2001) and The Great Gatsby (2013), but their friendship goes way back to when they were 12. Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio met at audition in the 1980s and quickly bonded. Back then, both were raised by single mothers and trying to break into the child actor scene. Because of their closeness in age, DiCaprio is 43 while Maguire is 42, they often compete for same parts as child actors. The competition didn’t wedge them apart, but drew them closer. In fact, the pair got even closer through the years that they even lived right next to each other. When prepping for The Great Gatsby, DiCaprio turned to his pal for discussion. Maguire had shared, "I happened to live next door to Leo at the time, so it wasn't a far journey. I was like, 'Oh, yeah. Sure. I can be over in 30 seconds if that's good for you.”
Drew Barrymore & Cameron Diaz
The actresses became fast friends after they starred in the 2000’s Charlie’s Angels, and would go on and appear in its sequel. The pair remained close after that, and Drew Barrymore leaned on Cameron Diaz after her split with ex-husband Will Kopelman. On her tight bond with Diaz, Barrymore has this to say, “If you’re looking for the best dinner-cooking partner and watching-TV-on-the-couch friend, call her… If someone is in a medical situation, call her! She’s the most loyal, fierce, fun, cosy friend. We have incredible honesty with each other and we work hard on our lives and our friendship.”
While filming Charlie’s Angels was the period that brought them closer, it wasn’t when they first knew each other. The two actually met as teenagers, at a store where Barrymore used to work. At age 16, Diaz had started out as a model then and met a 14-year old Barrymore who was working at a coffee shop where she used to hang out, and they became friends. It was Barrymore who roped Diaz in for the role as Natalie Cook in Charlie’s Angels. When Diaz married rocker Benji Madden in 2015, Barrymore was her bridesmaid.
Keira Knightley & Sienna Miller
While they knew each other before, it was the filming of The Edge of Love in 2008 that brought British actresses Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller closer. After the movie’s release, Knightley says this about her co-star, “It sounds gushy, but we really have become really good friends. It was an honour to work with her.” Miller, too, is full of admiration for Knightley, calling her bestie a beauty style icon that she looks up to, and declaring that Knightley would make a “perfect mother”, when news of Knightley’s pregnancy broke. At Knightley’s super secretive wedding to English musician James Righton, Miller was amongst the very short list of wedding guests.
Check out their chemistry in this interview on The Edge of Love:
Kate Hudson & Liv Tyler
Friends since they were kids, Kate Hudson and Liv Tyler have a lot in common, like famous parents, for one. Because of that, the pair grew up in the same famous circles. The offspring of Goldie Hawn and Steven Tyler ended up in the same high school and became best friends. In 2000, they took their friendship to another level when they starred in the movie Dr. T & the Women together and shared an onscreen kiss! In real life, Tyler is the godmother of Hudson’s son, Ryder, with musician Chris Robinson.
