Hollywood's best gal pals

By Bryanne Salazar 8:44am PST, Feb 8, 2018

Thanks to Leslie Knope, the amazing character brought to life by Amy Poehler on "Parks and Recreation," the world has Galentine's Day. Celebrated every Feb. 13, Galentine's Day is a holiday for ladies to celebrate their friendships with one another, Valentine-style. In honor of the fictitious day (which has since become a totally real thing), Wonderwall.com is celebrating some of the best gal pals in Hollywood… starting with Amy and her best friend, Tina Fey. The duo met in 1993 at Chicago's ImprovOlympic and, rumor has it, they felt the best friend sparks at first sight. Now, 25 years later, the two are still thicker than thieves and giving us major BFF goals. Keep reading to see more female friends who give us all the feels…

Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o and Grammy-nominated, SAG Award-winning singer-actress Janelle Monae have been close friends and confidants for years. In a 2014 interview, Janelle shared her adoration for Lupita, saying, "She is absolutely gorgeous… Not only is she physically attractive and just beautiful, but I think that she just exudes positive energy." That same year, Lupita returned the love by sharing a sweet Instagram pic of them in full BFF cuddle mode while at the Met Gala.

In July 2017, Drew Barrymore shared this adorable pic of herself with her bestie-slash-ride-or-die, Cameron Diaz, and we all let out a collective sigh. The two hit if off after starring together in the 2000 action comedy "Charlie's Angels" and have managed to stay tight through the ups and downs of fame, romantic relationships, career drama and more. Of Cameron Drew has said, "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, cozy friend."

The friendship between Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa is so special that Francia ended up saving Selena's life. Back in the summer of 2017, Selena needed a new kidney amid her battle with the autoimmune disease lupus — and her longtime BFF stepped up. Months after the two quietly underwent surgery and had recovered, Selena took to Instagram to thank her selfless friend. "There aren't words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis," she wrote in the big reveal.

One of Selena Gomez's more enduring friendships has been with music superstar Taylor Swift. The two met when they were seeing a pair of famous brothers (Selena dated Nick Jonas and Taylor dated Joe Jonas) around 2008 and since then, they've been a constant presence in each other's lives. In 2016, Selena called Taylor "one of my best friends" claiming that T-Swift has remained loyal and been by her side through thick and thin.

They're not just sisters — Solange and Beyonce are best friends through and through. While plenty of us have sisters we love, do any of us have a Solange or Beyonce in our lives? Probably not. The two have proven through the years that no matter the situation, they've got each other's back (like when Solange came for JAY-Z in that epic 2014 elevator showdown while Queen Bey watched calmly from the sidelines). Do not mess with best friends, especially when they share blood.

Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington have been close friends for years now and their relationship is one of the sweetest in Hollywood. In 2016, Kerry revealed that when she had a big business opportunity and needed advice, she immediately turned to Reese, whom she's described as "an extraordinary businesswoman." On Kerry's birthday in 2018, Reese shared this adorable selfie of them together, captioning it, "Happy Birthday to my gorgeous friend KW, who always knows how to say the right thing to calm me down and set me straight. I get so much inspiration from you!"

If we need lessons on how to have a lifelong friendship, we should take notes from devoted Aussie gal pals Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts, who've been incredibly tight since 1991. Over the years, they've shared how important they are to each other — they even had a 25-year anniversary celebration to mark a quarter century of friendship.

Nicole Kidman has room in her heart for multiple best friends, including her "Big Little Lies" co-stars Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon. Reese and Laura first got close when they starred together in the 2014 biographical drama "Wild" (which also brought them the friendship of the film's author, Cheryl Strayed). Nicole joined the duo while making their award-winning HBO series and since then, they've developed an incredible friendship that has expanded to off-set get togethers and amazing BFF Instagram moments.

The incredible friendship between Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King has endured longer than many of us have been alive. The two first met in 1976 while working in Baltimore and became the closest of pals when a snowstorm caused Gayle to spend the night with Oprah, who loaned her some clean clothes. Of their early friendship, Gayle has said, "We became friends that first night because for the first time, I met somebody who I felt was like me." What's even more amazing is that their subsequent fame — Oprah's daytime talk show and Gayle's career in front of the camera — never put a wedge between them. After 42 years, they're still the closest of friends and we're just happy to watch their journey.

Felicity Huffman and Eva Longoria first connected on the set of "Desperate Housewives" and have remained the truest of friends, even after the series ended in 2012. In fact, the ladies recreated their own version of Wisteria Lane, according to Eva, by becoming neighbors in real life! In 2018, the ladies were seen together at the Women's March in Los Angeles where Eva flaunted her growing baby bump.

"Dawson's Creek" didn't just mark the start of Michelle Williams' and Busy Philipps' careers — it was also the launching pad for their friendship (17 years and counting!). After Michelle's ex, Heath Ledger, was found dead in 2008, Busy — who serves as godmother to Michelle's daughter, Matilda Ledger — set up camp in Michelle's apartment to keep watch over her devastated friend. Over the years, Busy and Michelle have been each other's dates to numerous award shows (including the 2018 Golden Globes, seen here) and have remained a constant source of love, support and laughter for one another.

The unexpected friendship that blossomed between actress and director Greta Gerwig and her "Lady Bird" star, Saoirse Ronan, is one for the books. After connecting in Toronto in 2015, Greta told the Los Angeles Times, she knew she liked Saoirse from the start. The pair instantly hit it off while discussing the (then) upcoming film and ended up spending hours laughing together like old friends. The two knew they had to work together on the film but also realized they were total soulmates, with Saoirse saying of their first chat, which happened to be online, "I remember coming off that Skype call and I was like, 'Jesus Christ, I haven't felt that alive since I was 15 years old!'"

She's only a teenager but "Grown-ish" star Yara Shahidi has already amassed some pretty famous friends, including Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o. According to Yara, the two met at a dinner held in Lupita's honor. Yara approached Lupita to tell her how much she adored her and learned that Lupita was already stalking her on Instagram! Since then, they've been great friends, cheesing it up for the camera whenever they're together.

Just watching the joy shared between Goldie Hawn and daughter Kate Hudson gives us all major squad, BFF and mother-daughter goals. The two actresses might be family, but it's clear to anyone watching that they're also the closest of friends. Goldie often accompanies Kate on the red carpet (like here at the 2018 SAG Awards) and by the looks of it, they know how to have a good time together.

When Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel, Amber Tamblyn and America Ferrera were cast in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," they were only briefly acquainted with one another and some had never even met. As they portrayed characters who were the best of friends, however, the four ladies grew close and soon enough realized they were BFFs in real life too. Over the years through a sequel, marriages and babies, the ladies have remained besties, making time to reconnect and share a few laughs. Fun fact: In "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2," all four women are seen jumping off a cliff into the ocean. It turns out that wasn't originally in the script but was later added when the gal pals took a spontaneous leap during filming.

Although we're not sure how long America Ferrera and Natalie Portman have been friends, we do know that they've grown close in recent months as they helped launch the Time's Up campaign with other Hollywood stars to confront issues of sexual harassment and exploitation in the workplace. At the 2018 Golden Globes, Natalie asked America (who's pregnant with her first child) to be her date, proving that even when gal pals are on a mission, they still know how to share the love.

Although they've long been pitted against each other as Hollywood rivals — especially in 2017 when both were nominated for an Academy Award in the same category — Natalie Portman and Emma Stone actually feel nothing but mutual love and respect for one another. The ladies have happily shared the spotlight, appearing together on the covers of Vanity Fair and The Hollywood Reporter, and are known to hang together at afterparties (like they did at the 2018 Golden Globes). The two most notably worked together in 2018 to lead the Time's Up movement, which is dedicated to ending sexual harassment and inequality in Hollywood and beyond.

Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence linked up when mutual friend Woody Harrelson (who starred with Jennifer in "The Hunger Games" and with Emma in "Zombieland") gave Jen's number to Emma, believing they would be fast friends. "She texted me that she got my number from Woody," J.Law told Vanity Fair. "I replied, F— off!' And we've been really good friends ever since." That initial text led to a texting spree between the two that went on every single day for an entire year. Since hitting it off, the duo have gone on girls trips and dinner dates together, once even bringing another mutual friend, Adele, along for the fun. (Jennifer also admitted that Emma once held her hair back while she puked, which is the sign of a true friend.)

Natalie Portman's back with another famous gal pal, fellow Harvard graduate and actress Rashida Jones. The two are both notoriously smart and have a killer sense of humor (have you seen their hilarious "Funny or Die" videos?), making it pretty obvious they'd be the best of friends. The ladies are known to lunch together, shop together and cuddle kittens while discussing how they can change the world for the better.

Sweet Anne Hathaway and sassy Rebel Wilson make perfect sense as gal pals. In November 2017, Rebel shared this heartwarming pic of the two on Instagram. They'd spent several months working together on the comedy "Nasty Women" (due in theaters on Aug. 10, 2018) and became instant friends.

Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones met while working together on "Saturday Night Live" and then took their friendship to theaters when they co-starred in the remake of "Ghostbusters" after becoming close friends off-screen. When Kate won an Emmy in 2016, Leslie shared an amazing video on Twitter of herself freaking out, saying, "I swear I lost my s—!! MY B—- IS A EMMY WINNER!" That same year, Kate reportedly helped Leslie get in shape and drop 40 pounds, with Leslie saying, "Every time we went to dinner, [Kate] would make me walk." Thankfully, they also share their friendship with the world via frequent (and adorable) pictures on Twitter.

The love story between devoted friends Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek began in 1995 when both actresses were still new to Hollywood. The two instantly connected and began spending so much time together, they'd end up having sleepovers. In 2014, Penelope told Allure magazine that their nickname for each other was "huevos" (eggs), which was meant as "lazy" — because at the time, neither had kids yet and they would spend their time off sleeping in late. In 2017, Salma shared this gorgeous makeup-free picture of the two Spanish speakers on Instagram, captioning it, "Good #friends are forever Los buenos #amigos son para siempre."

Jessica Biel and Jennifer Garner met while filming the romantic comedy "Valentine's Day" and have been great friends ever since. Not only do they show up to support one another (like when Jennifer brought her kids to Jessica's family-friendly West Hollywood restaurant, Au Fudge) but they've seen each other through marriage (Jessica's) and divorce (Jen's) as well as kids, careers and more.

Say what you will about the Kardashian-Jenner women, but they are fiercely loyal to one another and therefore deserving of a Galentine. Khloe Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian West, Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner have all etched out a slice of fame while also staying true and supporting each other in their (endless) business endeavors and personal dramas. Most recently, the clan stuck together and protected youngest sister Kylie's pregnancy, giving her the chance to experience motherhood and the Feb. 1, 2018, birth of her daughter, Stormi, in complete privacy. These gals are proof that friendship between sisters (and mothers) is for life.