21 Celebs Whove Been Friends Since Before They Were Famous

1.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire

The famous friends have been going strong for over 30 years. They met at age 12 when they were trying to break into the industry and were going to the same auditions, and they bonded over having similar backgrounds, like being raised by single mothers in LA. Back in 2014, Leo told Esquire how he initiated their friendship on his way home from school after spotting Tobey filming a TV episode on the street: “I literally jumped out of the car,” he said. “I was like, ‘Tobey! Tobey! Hey! Hey!’ And he was like, ‘Oh, yeah — I know you. You’re…that guy.’ But I just made him my pal. When I want someone to be my friend, I just make them my friend.”

Cameron and Snoop attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School at the same time and became friends during their teenage years. And during a 2011 interview on Lopez Tonight, Cameron admitted that she may have bought weed from him when they were in school: “We went to high school together; he was a year older than me. … I’m pretty sure I got weed from him. I had to have.”

3.

B.J. Novak and John Krasinski

Before they were cast mates on The Office, B.J. and John were childhood friends. In a 2014 interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, B.J. shared how the two have known each other for their “whole lives,” as they played Little League together and attended the same high school.

4.

Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts

The close friends met at North Sydney Girls’ High School in Australia, and they bonded while working on the 1991 film, Flirting, one of Naomi’s first movie roles: “We already knew each other, but that’s when our friendship forged,” Naomi told People. “We’ve gone through a lot together over a significant amount of time. That history binds you.”

5.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon

The two were teenage friends in Boston and broke into Hollywood together in the ’90s after famously co-writing the screenplay for Good Will Hunting and starring in the movie; the big win made them the youngest people to win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. In a 2021 interview with GQ, Matt shared how the authenticity of their friendship hasn’t changed, despite the fame: “Like, I don’t want to be his friend in public, you know what I mean?” he said. “It’s way too important a friendship for that, and it goes so beyond this career or anything. You know, it’s a significant part of my life and not for public consumption in that way.”

Ryan and Justin met in the ’90s when they were teens and were cast in The Mickey Mouse Club, which led to a close friendship. In a 2011 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Justin shared that they even temporarily lived in the same house while filming: “His mother had to keep her job in Canada the second year that we were on the television show, and my mom was his guardian for, like, six months, so we actually lived together when we were that age,” Justin said. “We were probably a little closer than the rest of the kids that were on the show just because we had to share a bathroom.”

7.

Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera

Like Ryan and Justin, these two also met when they appeared on The Mickey Mouse Club.

8.

Beanie Feldstein and Ben Platt

PS: Beanie Feldstein is also Jonah Hill’s younger sister — and they’re pretty much BFFs as well.

The actors became friends when they attended St. Augustine by the Sea School. When Gwyneth hosted SNL back in 2001, Maya joined her on stage during her monologue, and they revealed that they met when they were 7 years old — and their dads were even best friends in college.

10.

Madonna and Debi Mazar

The longtime friends met in the ’80s in an elevator at Danceteria nightclub in New York City. In an interview with EW, Debi recalled what happened after that encounter: “We got on the dance floor and tore it up,” she said. “We exchanged phone numbers, and that was it. We became friends!”

13.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler

These best friends and former SNL cast mates have been going strong for nearly 30 years. As mentioned in a 2013 interview with Vulture, the two comedians first met in 1993 at an ImprovOlympic comedy class in Chicago. In her book Yes Please, Amy recalled when the theater’s co-founder, Charna Halpern, introduced them to each other: “[Charna] said there was another new improviser in another one of her classes whom she thought I would really like. Her name was Tina, and she was like me but with brown hair.”

14.

Adam Levine and Jonah Hill

Adam and Jonah grew up together in LA, and their fathers went to school together. “Our dads met in the principal’s office in junior high,” Jonah shared during an interview with Howard Stern. “We were in carpool; we lived at each other’s houses.” He even officiated Adam’s wedding back in 2014.

16.

Kate Hudson and Liv Tyler

17.

Lisa Kudrow and Conan O’Brien

18.

Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance

Before the now-married couple were famous, they attended Yale School of Drama in the ’80s, where they met. Angela told People that Vance had a girlfriend at the time, but they remained friends. “So maybe about 14 years later, our paths crossed here in Los Angeles. And I was single, he was single. And I had such an appreciation for him over those years — of his consistency, how he treated other people, of what a supporter he is, what a connector of people and ideas he is, how passionate he is,” she said. They eventually started dating, and now, they’ve been married for over 20 years.

19.

Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler

Judd and Adam shared a $900-a-month apartment in the Valley before their careers took off. In a 2012 interview on 60 Minutes Overtime, the longtime friends spoke on what it was like navigating their early comedy careers together. “Back then, life was just doing stand-up or writing jokes. You would sleep until noon every day and kind of stumble out,” Judd said. “You would have to be at work at 8:30 at night. Work was sometimes 15 minutes.” Adam also talked being roommates before the fame: “It wasn’t broke. We were doing as comedians good enough to get by,” he said. “We could eat at Red Lobster once every month. That was a big night out.”

20.

Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford

The couple, who married in 2012, actually knew each other when they were kids. After meeting and becoming friends at a church camp, they stayed in touch as pen pals but eventually lost contact. They later reconnected in 2011, and their romance began soon after.

21.

And finally: John Mulaney and Nick Kroll