Happy International Day of Friendship! The friendliest day of the year is here, and to celebrate we've put together our favourite ever celebrity couples. From dear duo Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet to friends forever Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston, while its celebrity romances that most often make the news, it's their friendships that stand the test of time and deliver the sweetest of surprises.
From Taylor Swift's delight at her good friend Ed Sheeran beating her to a Grammy to Penelope Cruz's memory of cutting Salma Hayek's hair by candlelight, these friendships are everything from a case of opposites attract, party pals who paint the town red together and mates who decide to team up professionally. Click through to see our favourite celebrity friendships!
GEORGE CLOONEY AND BRAD PITT
Brad Pitt and George Clooney are not only Ocean's Eleven co-stars, they are also great friends and have an ongoing prank battle between each other, with each trying to outdo the other.
On The Graham Norton Show, George opened up about their pranking, saying: "I sent Meryl Streep a letter from Brad where I got [dialect coach CDs] and sent it to Meryl saying 'I hear you're going to be doing the Iron Lady. This guy helped with my dialect in Troy.
"I'm doing one now that I can't tell you about, but in a year you're going to hear I've been arrested. I'm not kidding because I think I've crossed the line."
DREW BARRYMORE AND CAMERON DIAZDrew was just 14 years old when she met Cameron, then 16 and a model, at the Los Angeles coffee house where she worked. Years later and by then an actress, it was Drew's idea to get Cameron involved in a film project, and the pair soon became Charlie's Angels.Remembering making the phone call, Drew, 41, said on The Katie Couric Show, "I called her up and said: 'I have this amazing idea. I know exactly how I wanna do it. It's Charlie's Angels. Come play with me!' And she said yes! And then we just went on some of the best years of our lives." The blonde beauties often speak about their loving, sisterly relationship. Drew looks on Cameron as "a big sister", and Cameron, 43, behaved like one when she brought a radio interview to a close after the host of Australia's Kyle & Jackie O show made a reference to her friend’s teen years, when she battled with substance abuse.
GEORGE CLOONEY AND RANDE GERBERThey have been friends for more than 20 years – or as Rande once put it, "probably half my life". They're so close that they wanted to build a house together, but Rande's wife, supermodel Cindy Crawford, said that as much as she loved George, separate pads might be better. The handsome boy duo settled for neighbouring holiday homes in Cabo San Lucas, on the southern tip of Mexico's Baja peninsula, where they'd spent many happy times together over the years.Their friendship, and vacations, sound like something out of a film. "We have breakfast at my house, lunch as his, dinner at ours," Rande has said of their lazy days at their adjacent homes. "We're like one big family." They met during a night out at a New York bar owned by Rande, and over the years have developed a love of tequila, so being the kind of guys they are – one a Hollywood A-lister, the other a shrewd entrepreneur – they decided to create their own.Naturally, the tequila blend they created together, with friend Mike Meldman, is named Casamigos, or House of Friends, after their Mexican compound.
GIGI HADID AND KENDALL JENNERThey're young, beautiful and famous, and these potential rivals are in fact model best friends. They're also distant relatives through marriage – Caitlyn Jenner was once married to Linda Thompson, who later married David Foster, Gigi's stepdad.Gigi and Kendall, both aged 20, make the perfect pair on and off the runway. They were elevated to Angels side-by-side, donning wings for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last year, and recently strutted their stuff for Balmain's AW16 show, having had a complete hair swap. While Kendall rocked an ashy blonde wig for the Paris Fashion Week show, Gigi was transformed with new brunette locks.When asked what traits she looks for in a friend, Gigi told InStyle it comes down to "someone that's just always there for you. It's really hard in our industry to make time and so you realise the people who are really making an effort, too. You know that everyone's so busy all the time, so when they pick up your calls whenever you call or if they text back and say, 'Hey! I'm on set, but I'll call you in five minutes,' and they do, that means they're a good friend."
BEN AFFLECK AND MATT DAMONThey met at ten years old when they were neighbours living two blocks apart in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They attended the same high school, both appeared as extras in the 1989 film Field of Dreams, and, in 1997, they made their leap to fame hand-in-hand, when they won an original screenplay Oscar for Good Will Hunting, in which they also starred.And the pair have remained friends through the years, on and off the silver screen. As well as regularly stepping out on the red carpet to support each other's work, they have continued to collaborate, co-producing docu-series Project Greenlight.Matt has spoken about his dear friend's transformation over the years, from a time when critically dismissed films and relationship drama with his then-fiancée, Jennifer Lopez, brought him the wrong kind of fame. "Through his work, he climbed from the bottom of the mountain all the way back up to the top and past where either of us had ever been," Matt told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015.
STELLA MCCARTNEY AND GWYNETH PALTROWGwyneth says British talent Stella is "like a sister", and has often stepped out to support her "favourite" designer, sitting front row at her shows.The Hollywood actress showed her full and unwavering admiration for her good friend through a dedicated letter posted on her lifestyle website Goop back in 2013, when the pair teamed up to create a capsule collection for Goop, featuring pieces designed by Stella and curated by health guru Gwyneth, called Stella McCartney x Goop.Describing her as "someone who really sees you. Who is as honest with you as they are loving," Gwyneth continued: "Who shares a similar world view, who has similar values. Who is a bit of a life raft when you live in a country that you lovingly adopt, but is not your own. Who also happens to be hilarious and a bit naughty and is constantly trying to get the balance of everything right, just like you are." The admiration is reciprocated. Speaking of collaborating with her actress pal and fellow mum, Stella said: “Her spirit and inner beauty as well as outer beauty are a big inspiration for me. I draw from that every day.”
JENNIFER LAWRENCE AND JOSH HUTCHERSON
Jennifer and Josh were co-stars in The Hunger Games franchise, and it looks like the series was simply an opportunity for the two of them to have fun together on set.
Not only do the pair bounce off each other in interviews, they gained perfect scores on a quiz about each other, and always have fun on the red carpet together, from Jennifer throwing mentos at Josh to shouting embarrassing comments at him during interviews.
Jennifer once said of Josh: "He's an hundred year old man. He's my rock. He's so wise…and he chews straws." She also joked that they had more than an ordinary friendship, saying: "We are something. Friends seems like an understatement."
JENNIFER ANISTON AND COURTENEY COXThey were Friends as Rachel and Monica for ten years, but their real-life friendship since the series finale aired in 2004 has been going even longer. They're so close that Jennifer is godmother to Courteney's daughter, 11-year-old Coco, while Courteney, 51, served as maid of honour at Jen’s intimate 2015 wedding to Justin Theroux.It hasn't been all smooth sailing over the years, though. Jennifer, 47, went through a painful divorce from Brad Pitt back in 2005, and a string of romances followed until she met her Mr Right. But there was one person she could count on "through thick and thin" – Courteney. "She's extremely fair, ridiculously loyal and fiercely loving," Jennifer told More in 2014. "I've slept in her guest bedroom a lot... all I can say is she's been there for me through thick and thin." We’re sure it goes both ways, and that Jen provided a shoulder of comfort for her comrade when Courteney's 14-year marriage to David Arquette came to an end in 2010.
LEONARDO DICAPRIO AND KATE WINSLETIt's been nearly 20 years since Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet met on the set of Titanic, and, while their onscreen relationship as Jack and Rose ended tragically, their real-life friendship has more than lived to tell the tale.Photographs of the pair sharing tender moments this awards season set hearts aflutter, and when Kate was asked about her apparent surprise at winning a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her role in biopic Steve Jobs, her answer was incredibly sweet: "To be honest with you, it was because I've been so focused on Leo and him winning everything and being so excited for him." So, when Leo did finally scoop an Oscar – his first ever for acting, after five previous nominations – for his powerful leading role in revenge drama The Revenant, it wasn’t only his mum whose heart was bursting with pride, with Kate visibly moved to tears.Leo summed up their friendship when speaking to Oprah Winfrey in 2004. "In a lot of ways, Kate and I have really grown up in this industry together; we've been a support mechanism for each other for such a long period of time. We've been there for each other and helped guide each other."
KRIS JENNER AND MELANIE GRIFFITHAt first appearances they may seem an unlikely pair, but Melanie and Kris are partners in crime when it comes to painting the town red and jetting off on sun-soaked holidays.Having shared a snap of the duo posing on Instagram last year, Kardashian-Jenner "momager" Kris wrote: "Dinner with my new BFF @melanie_griffith57 follow her!! Kind of EPIC #friendship #proudmamas." Not only stars in their own right, both are the mothers of successful offspring. Melanie’s daughter Dakota Johnson played Anastasia in Fifty Shades of Grey and Kris's clan are seldom out of the public eye.Naturally, their celebrity children often get involved in the fun. Khloé, also a good friend of Melanie's, joined them on an evening out and shared a shot of herself clinched in an embrace with Melanie, 58. "I couldn't be more obsessed with Melanie Griffith. Go follow her sweet soul. I'm in love with this hot mama," she wrote.Dakota, meanwhile, joined them on a girls-only getaway to Cancun, Mexico, last year, when, according to reports, all three were single.
JEMIMA KIRKE AND LENA DUNHAM
The Girls co-stars have been best friends since high school, and Jemima has revealed her first impressions of Lena, telling the Standard: "I thought she was a wack job but in a good way. In high school everyone is the same, or striving to be like everyone else. Lena definitely didn't. She didn't care what everyone else was wearing or saying."
Jemima was also offered a role in Girls because Lena asked her, and has admitted that she doesn’t think of herself as a good actress, rather that the character of Jessa is very much like herself.
She said: "Lena didn’t hire me because I'm such a good actress that I can pull off characters that are nothing like me. There are some similarities between Jessa and me."
QUEEN MAXIMA OF THE NETHERLANDS AND QUEEN MATHILDE OF BELGIUMBorn two years apart, both university-educated, and both Queens, Maxima and Mathilde have plenty in common. The pair – who pride themselves on being hands-on mums – were both working women with flourishing careers when they met their Princes.Argentine-born Maxima was an executive at Germany's Deutsche Bank in New York when she started dating then-Prince Willem-Alexander. Mathilde, meanwhile, was employed as a speech therapist when she met her future husband, Philippe, during a game of tennis.And their lives continued on a parallel when they became Queens just months apart – Maxima became Queen Consort of the Netherlands in April 2013, while Mathilde ascended the throne following the abdication of her husband Philippe’s father, King Albert II, in July the same year.The friends, who are both talented linguists – Maxima speaks Dutch, English and Spanish while Mathilde speaks Dutch, French, English and Italian – are also united by their shared sense of style. Regarded as being among Europe's most elegant royal consorts, they constantly win plaudits for their sartorially savvy wardrobe full of bright colours and pretty patterns – sometimes even matching.Maxima gave a special nod to their royal friendship ten years ago by asking Mathilde to be godmother to her second-born daughter, Princess Alexia.
PENELOPE CRUZ AND SALMA HAYEKLatin beauties Penelope and Salma met on the Hollywood circuit early in their acting careers and cemented their friendship when they teamed up as a bank-robbing duo in Western comedy Bandidas in 2006 – a time when, Penelope has revealed, the pair often fell asleep in the same bed and Salma even let her pal cut her hair once, by candlelight. "That one really trusts me," Penelope said of the scissor session.The pair, whose first language is Spanish – Penelope is from Spain while Salma is Mexican-American – have been bosom buddies since.Despite living on opposite sides of the Atlantic, the brunette stars are often spotted out together, and of course Penelope attended Salma's luxe Venetian wedding to business mogul François-Henri Pinault in 2009. "It is great to see somebody who you think deserves it get everything she has ever dreamed of," Salma told Vogue, referring to Penelope's happiness as a mother, wife and successful actress. "It's magical. It gives you hope."
SOPHIE TURNER AND MAISIE WILLIAMS
The pair have played sisters in the hit show Game of Thrones since childhood, and although their characters could not be more different, in real life the pair are two peas in a pod.
The pair regularly appear in each other's Vine videos, and Maisie recently shared a video of the two of them enjoying the day together in LA before the Game of Thrones premiere.
TAYLOR SWIFT AND ED SHEERAN
It's no secret that Taylor Swift has a whole #GirlSquad, but there's something pretty special about her relationship with fellow singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.Ed says it himself, telling Billboard, "It's quite a weird thing for the No. 1 and No. 2 biggest-selling artists in the world to be close friends. I don't think that happens a lot." But, rather than being an obstacle for one another, these two powerhouses have joined forces, collaborating on Everything Has Changed in 2012, with Ed opening for Taylor's The Red Tour in the US throughout 2013.The feeling is mutual. When it was Ed who took home the Grammy in the song of the year category in February for Thinking Out Loud, beating Taylor's Blank Space, the Shake It Off singer was clearly over the moon.
TAYLOR SWIFT AND SELENA GOMEZ
Selena and Taylor are often spotted together at award shows and have performed together a couple of times, and Selena even played a pivotal role in Taylor's music video for Bad Blood!
During an interview on Lorraine, Selena spoke about their friendship, saying: "I've known [Taylor] for ten years. She's been one of my best friends through thick and thin, walked by my side. Her whole family has been so supportive of me and yeah, she's been there during crucial points in my life and in my career.
"She was always the person to encourage me to tell my story and be proud of who I am."
AMY POEHLER AND TINA FEY
Tina and Amy have been best friends ever since they met at Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 2003 and immediately hit it off. Since then, they have appeared on SNL together, hosted the Golden Globes twice together and co-starred in several films including Baby Mama and Sisters.
Speaking about their relationship, Amy said: "The older you get, the more you treasure that idea of someone knowing your family and where you came from, and being around during these times and these times. Tina and I, we don't have any sisters. So we've rented them."
LEONARDO DICAPRIO AND TOBEY MAGUIRE
Leo and Tobey have been best friends since starting out in the acting business together as children, and said that their great friendship was particularly useful when starring opposite each other in The Great Gatsby. Leonardo said: Venturing into a film of this magnitude and trying to adapt such a respected, celebrated novel like 'The Great Gatsby' wouldn't have been easy if I didn't have a trusted ally like Tobey. I don't know if I would've as easily dove into this experience if it weren't for him.
Speaking of their old friendship to People, Tobey said: "We are like any other buddies. There's a lot of laughing and chatting between us. We enjoy doing a lot of things we have in common, like basketball. We like to play and talk about basketball."
VICTORIA BECKHAM AND EVA LONGORIAOne is a US actress with Mexican roots, the other is a British pop star-turned-fashion-designer, and their paths crossed in LA. Victoria and Eva struck up a friendship when the former Spice Girl was living Stateside ten years ago, and they haven't looked back since.The Beckhams may have relocated to the other side of the Pond in 2012, but distance hasn't come between the two stars. They regularly enjoy whirlwind visits, with Eva jetting to London especially for the opening of one of Victoria's stores, and later to Morocco for her husband David's 40th birthday celebrations.Former Desperate Housewives star Eva has called her bosom buddy "the most beautiful woman inside and out," and said she's the "funniest person alive". It wasn't only her professional credentials that made Victoria the obvious choice for wedding dress advice – Eva's media mogul boyfriend, Jose Antonio Baston, recently popped the question – it's also because she's brutally honest. “Victoria is helping me pick the perfect dress,” the bride-to-be says. “She always knows exactly what looks good on me and is one of the only people in the world who will tell me the truth and if something looks hideous.”
ZACH BRAFF AND DONALD FAISON
Zach and Donald play BFFs Turk and JD in the medical comedy Scrubs, and boast of having a friendship just as strong in real life as their fictional counterparts.
The couple tweet each other constantly, spoofed Kim and Kanye's Vogue cover together, and have spoken about their friendship at length on Reddit. Zach said: "We couldn't be more different people, and yet there no one that can make me laugh as hard as this guy."