Celebrity friendships explained

Hollywood is full of super-close gal pals and celebrity BFFs — but how did these star-studded friendships come to be? Wonderwall.com is breaking down some of the top celebrity friendships, starting with Busy Philipps and Michelle Williams. The inseparable twosome met on the set of "Dawson's Creek" way back in 2001. Busy opened up about their initial meeting on her talk show, "Busy Tonight," in February 2019. "I met you the first night I was there. I remember that I had been prepped that we were going to love each other and so it felt very high-stakes," she said to Michelle. The pair now consider themselves "soulmates." "She's proof that the love of your life does not have to be a man! That's the love of my life right there," Michelle told People magazine. Keep reading for more…

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Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon sparked a bromance in 2002 when Jimmy hosted the MTV Video Music Awards. Justin was performing that night and the two immediately hit it off. "I was hosting by myself for the first time, and Justin was performing by himself for the first time, so we really bonded that night," Jimmy told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017 of their meeting. "Our dressing rooms were connected, and we were both pacing, trying to calm each other down. 'You're going to be great,' 'No, you're going to be great.' And we've just been pals ever since." Adorbs!

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Rihanna and Cara Delevingne had quite a memorable introduction. The two met at a fashion show in 2012, five years before they co-starred together in "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets." As Rihanna told the Sun, "We get silly with each other. The first time we met was because she came up to me and slapped me on the bum… myself and Cara are incredibly close. It's portrayed like we are just party buddies but there is much more to our friendship. She is great fun to go out with but, more importantly, I value our closeness. We have busy schedules but no matter where either of us are in the world, we know we can just pick up the phone and unload on each other, and that we are always ready to listen or offer advice."

Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner are practically sisters IRL after playing sisters on "Game of Thrones" for eight years. The duo met on the set of the HBO show in 2011 and became inseparable — so much so that they really didn't talk to anyone else. "[Maisie] and I were growing up together," Sophie told Dr. Phil. "She was my best friend, and she was the only one I really told about all of it. Maisie and I used to [stay inside] together. I think being friends with each other was quite destructive because we were going through the same thing." She continued, "We used to get home from set, go to a Tesco across the road, a little supermarket, and just buy food. We'd go back to our room and eat it in bed. We never socialized for a couple of years. We didn't socialize with anyone but ourselves." Luckily, the twosome eventually learned to include other people in their lives: Sophie wed Joe Jonas in 2019 with Maisie by her side as a bridesmaid. The same year, both women were nominated for best supporting actress Emmys for their work on "GoT."

Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak hit it off long before they were famous. The two actually met while working as writers on "The Office." They were both later cast on the show and their friendship — and a romance — blossomed. "We kind of fell in love through [writing for the show], and then dated on and off for a couple of years, and now we are just, like, best friends," Mindy told Vulture years later. "Like, real best friends. It's the kind of friendship you have when you are embedded with someone, that you can only get by putting in that insane amount of time with people."

Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah's friendship has lasted over 30 years! The duo, who starred in "Set It Off" and "Girls Trip" together, first met as teens in the '80s when Latifah was an up-and-coming rapper. "I remember the first time I met her," Jada told People magazine. "It was in Baltimore at a club where she was performing. I'd never seen anyone like her before, this female rapper named Queen Latifah. I convinced the promoter to let me introduce her." Recalled Latifah, "My mother was with me. That's how young I was. I was 17." Jada jokingly added, "I had no business being in that club!"

Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts attended the same high school and were in the same theater company together in Australia but really hit it off when they were both cast in 1991's "Flirting." "We already knew each other but that's when our friendship forged," Naomi told People magazine in 2018. They've since become a source of support for each other through marriages, divorces, babies, career success and more. In 2017, the two celebrated their 25-year friendship anniversary. "We had a big party that night," Nicole told "Today." "We were wild that night! We're proud of that. That's a really important thing to emphasize the friendships that have sustained decades and decades."

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have been best buddies since childhood. The two grew up two blocks away from each other in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and met when they were boys. "We were basically best friends since I was 10 and he was 8," Matt told Interview magazine. "My mother is a professor of early childhood development and she knew Ben's mother — who's a teacher of little kids — and sought her out after we moved back to Cambridge. So I was pretty much forced into hanging out with Ben." As teens, Ben and Matt traveled to New York to audition together and saved their acting earnings in a joint bank account to buy train and airline tickets. Decades and a couple of Oscars later, the two are still friends.

In recent years, Matt Damon has also found another celebrity BFF: Chris Hemsworth. The movie star pals became close after Chris hit it big in films like "Star Trek" and "Thor." "We became friends around the time I started to work, and I've really benefited from watching how he handles himself," Chris told GQ of Matt in 2014. "Matt's just a normal guy who has the movie star thing figured out." The two now regularly vacation together with their kids and wives, who are also besties.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's friendship goes all the way back to the early '90s. The hilarious actresses and writers first met in 1993 while taking classes together at ImprovOlympic in Chicago. "She was sharp, shy and hilarious," Amy said of Tina in her memoir, "Yes Please." "We took classes together and sat in the back. She would whisper funny and harsh things about Del [Close, co-founder of ImprovOlympic] to me." Tina also told Vulture that she taught Amy her first beauty lesson: shaping her eyebrows. They eventually went on tour together with Second City and the rest, as they say, is history.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire's friendship has lasted longer than most Hollywood marriages! The besties met at an audition way back in the early '90s. Leo delved into his friendship with Tobey while speaking with HuffPo: "After I met Tobey at an audition, I felt like I wanted this guy to be my friend. I remember driving back from school and he was doing "Hot Rod Brown Class Clown" with Whoopi Goldberg outside Hollywood High. It was a high school. And I jumped out of my car in the middle of the scene, as they were shooting, practically. I was like, 'Tobey! Tobey! Tobey! Give me your number.' He was like, 'Yeah, who are you again?'" Today, the pair are as thick as thieves!

Adele and Jennifer Lawrence's friendship blossomed at the 2013 Academy Awards, which is where they first met. "I remember sneaking backstage while she performed 'Skyfall,' trying to squeeze a ballgown past a pile of ropes and cables just to get a little closer. See her from another angle as if to peek behind the Great Oz's curtain," Jennifer wrote in Time magazine about that night. Fast-forward to 2019, and the duo are super-close. They are often spotted grabbing dinner together and they infamously played drinking games together during a night on the town in New York City in March 2019 within weeks of J.Law's engagement and Adele's split from her husband.

In an industry that often pits women against each other, actresses America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively and Alexis Bledel have somehow managed to break the mold and become super-close gal pals. The foursome met on the set of "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" in 2005 and have since celebrated each other's accomplishments, marriages and pregnancies together. "The four of us are so vastly different that [it] kind of brings us together, in a weird way, because we learn so much from each other, and we're constantly checking in and texting each other for different types of advice," Amber told MTV. "That's what makes really good friendships, when you have key principles that connect you, but then at the same time, you have somebody that can teach you." Blake piggy-backed off her statements, telling People magazine, "The four of us are still best friends. To be able to create something together again has always been a dream of ours."

Khloe Kardashian and Malika Haqq might seem to some like reality TV BFFs but that couldn't be further from the truth. The twosome have actually been super-close since their teenage years. "Malika was dating one of my male best friends. He would always keep us apart because I am sure he knew we would just hit it off," Khloe explained on her blog. "One day we met and we did. Malika and [her twin sister] Khadijah have been my best friends ever since."

"Friends" jumpstarted Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston's careers — and their friendship. The pair met on the set of the hit NBC show in 1994 and have been inseparable ever since. "We communicate well, we have a great time at rehearsal," Jen told Katie Couric back in '94 about working on set with Courteney. "It's just the entire combination makes it jell." More than 25 years later, the two are still as close as ever.

Kim Kardashian West and Jonathan Cheban have been riding for each other for years. The celebrity BFFs first met when they were seated next to each other at a dinner party. "I've been around in L.A., in Hollywood, for a long time and I just happened to sit next to Kim at a birthday dinner by accident — literally by accident. We got on instantly," Jonathan said on the "Lorraine" show of their initial meeting. He's since supported Kim through multiple marriages, highs and lows, business ventures, babies and more!

Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore have been two peas in a pod since they met at a Los Angeles coffee shop in the '80s as teens. "We've known each other so long. We met when she was 14 and I was 16," Cameron told "Access Hollywood." "We met at a place that we both used to hang out in… when I was modeling and she wasn't acting. She was working at this coffee shop or this soda shop, and I used to go hang out there and we became friendly. Once I started acting, she said, 'Oh, I remember you!' and we used to hang out and we became friends." The two became "sisters" after starring in "Charlie's Angels" in 2000. "We're like more than best friends, she's my sister," Drew told "Entertainment Tonight" in 2018. "We have much more of that kind of relationship; we're very honest with each other. We push each other. And we've had the majority of our lives spent side by side, really going through what real life is, which is an everyday high and low, and we just have each other's backs."

Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart's unlikely friendship began in 2008 when Martha invited Snoop to "The Martha Stewart Show" to learn how to make mashed potatoes. The two hit it off and have been friends ever since (they even star in their own cooking variety show together, "Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party"). "I've never met anyone like Martha Stewart," Snoop told Rolling Stone. "When we come together, it's a natural combination of love, peace and harmony."

Julianne Hough and Nina Dobrev can thank haircare for their awesome friendship. The duo were introduced by a hairstylist in 2012 and have been besties ever since. "It feels like we met when we were 2 years old, because I feel like I have known you my entire life," Nina told People magazine of Julianne. "We are goofy, we like to laugh, we like to play with our dogs and hang out and watch movies and get ready together and go places together. We just like to be around each other. I can only speak for myself, but Julianne is such a positive, awesome person. She has an infectious energy that you just want to be around, so selfishly I am just trying to get a little bit of her energy transferred to me."

Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa's beautiful friendship started when the duo met a charity event in 2007. "Disney and ABC Family had the stars of their shows go to the Children's Hospital. Selena and I were in the same group and we just clicked," Francia told Latina in 2013. They became so close that Francia donated one of her kidneys to Selena when the pop star developed complications from lupus and needed a transplant. "There aren't words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa," Selena wrote on Instagram in September 2017. "She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis."