20 celebrity sets who've stayed close friends for years

Two media mavens, Gayle King and Oprah Winfrey, have been best friends for decades. The two often talk about the time they spend together, and they’re featured on each other’s Instagram accounts quite frequently. They’re the kind of friends everyone wants to have. 

Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore are major friendship goals. They met as teenagers and have been close ever since — starring in movies together and Diaz acting as the godmother to one of Barrymore’s children. 

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul didn’t let their friendship dissolve after wrapping Breaking Bad. The two have remained close in many aspects of life, including business. The two have an incredibly successful mezcal business together. 

Henry Winkler and Ron Howard became close friends while filming Happy Days, and they’ve been close ever since. They support each other in their careers and their personal lives, making Happy Days fans happy every time they’re together. 

Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox took the word “friends” very seriously. Since meeting on the set of their iconic sitcom, the two have been nearly inseparable. Aniston is the godmother to Cox’s daughter, and she sang Cox’s praises at her Hollywood Walk of Fame star presentation. 

There’s something about filming a sitcom that breeds close Hollywood friends. Zach Braff and Donald Faison have been besties since their Scrubs days, and they still talk about their friendship on their podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach and Donald. 

Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence are two of the best actresses of their generation and two of the closest friends. Hollywood is so aware of their friendship that Michelle Yeoh handed Lawrence the Best Actress Oscar in 2024 so she could present it to her best friend, Stone, who won. 

Two absolute legends, Sting and Madonna, have known each other for ages. They’ve been major parts of each other’s lives, inspiring each other musically and having deep connections personally. 

The only event that could bring people closer together than filming a movie about a sinking ship is being on an actual sinking ship. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio have had the sweetest friendship since filming Titanic, always saying the kindest, most supportive things about each other. 

George Clooney and Brad Pitt being best friends just makes sense. They’re both incredibly talented, incredibly handsome, and incredibly rich. They were destined to become lifelong pals.

Another pair of incredibly talented, handsome, rich best friends, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were close before they became famous. Their friendship is one of the purest in Hollywood. 

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler also became friends before they were famous. The two funny ladies have been by each other’s side throughout their entire careers, making everyone around them and nearly everyone in America laugh in the process. 

These two were meant to become friends. Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon have been friends for over 20 years. They met in 2002, and they’ve used their bond to create some of the funniest work in Hollywood in the decades since. 

Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart are the two unlikeliest best friends in Hollywood, which makes their friendship one of the sweetest. It just goes to show that if you can look past your differences, you can find common ground with anyone. 

Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts actually went to the same Australian high school, but their friendship started after they starred in a film together. Now, they’ve been besties for over 30 years. 

Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey played frenemies on The Office, but in real life, it’s always been all love. After the sitcom wrapped, the two stayed close, and since then they’ve published a book together and started a podcast. 

This duo met on the set of Dawson’s Creek and have been best friends ever since. They’re so close, Michelle Williams considers Busy Philipps to be the love of her life. 

Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift are both known for having lots of famous friends, but their friendship is one that’s remained through it all. The two have mentioned each other both outright and subtly for years, always rooting for the other, whether up close or from afar.  

Exes can stay friends! After meeting on the set of The Office and dating off and on for years, B.J. Novak and Mindy Kaling remained close friends. Novak is the godfather of Kaling’s children and a major part of their family’s life. 

Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner played sisters on Game of Thrones , and they’re as close as sisters in real life. Williams was Turner’s maid of honor in her wedding to ex-husband Joe Jonas.