13 understated A-List power couples you may have forgotten about

Starting off strong is a couple who have been together for nearly over 35 years – Hollywood talk show icon Oprah Winfrey and successful businessman Stedman Graham. The Oprah Winfrey Show shot the American host to stardom whilst her partner, Stedman, whom she met at a charity event in 1986, tends to shy away from the limelight.

Nevertheless, Stedman, 73, has many accolades to his name, including author, educator, businessman and public speaker and he has supported Oprah, 70, a lot. The pair were friends before dating and got engaged in 1992. However, they called their engagement off the following year, with Oprah revealing in a 2020 essay: “I realized I didn’t actually want a marriage. I wanted to be asked.”

Despite rumours of will they, won’t they, the couple never got engaged again. Whilst they’ve always kept their relationship, Oprah has talked about how Stedman has coped with her huge success telling E News! in 2008: “I happen to be with a man who has always appreciated the fact that I was… considered a powerful person. [He’s] not trying to crowd in on it, not competing with it. He knows how to hold his own.”

Both of these stars were in long-term relationships before they got together. Whilst filmmaker Tim Burton, 66, was with Helen Bonham Carter from 2000 to 2014, Monica Bellucci, 59, was dating French actor Vincent Cassel.

First crossing paths in 2006 at the Cannes Film Festival, the pair didn’t reconnect until October 2022 at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon, France.

Romance rumours fuelled in October 2023 when Tim supported Monica at the premiere of her film Maria Callas: Lettere E Memorie at the Rome Film Festival.

Part of their powerful bond is their appreciation for each other’s work, with Monica telling Elle about her partner’s films: “I love this dream world where the monsters are kind, like we can turn our darker aspects into something bright, forgiving.”

Their most recent appearance together was at the Venice Film Festival in August for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which Tim directed as the anticipated sequel to the 1988 film Beetlejuice. Monica plays Delores in the film, the ex-wife of Betelguese, highlighting the couple’s working relationship as she was directed by Tim.

Whilst Margot Robbie has not been forgotten in the last year, with her huge success of co-producing hit 2023 films Barbie (not forgetting she played Barbie) and Saltburn, her relationship with her husband Tom Ackerley is less publicised. Tom also works in the film industry as an assistant director and producer, famed for working on The Brothers Grimsby and the 2015 version of Macbeth.

The pair met in 2014 on the set of Suite Française and their relationship was long distance to begin with since Tom lived in London. They had been friends for a while and in a 2016 Vogue interview, Margot opened up about their initial bond: “We were friends for so long. I was always in love with him, but I thought, ‘Oh, he would never love me back.'”

They started dating in 2014 and were first pictured together a year later at a New York Rangers game. A whirlwind romance, they were married in December 2016 in Australia’s Byron Bay, in a quiet intimate ceremony.

However, Margot and Tom, both 34, were a power couple even before they married as they founded the LuckyChap Entertainment production company together with Sophie Kerr and Josey McNamara whilst living together as London roommates in 2014. Together they went on to produce some of the most important films of our generation including I, Tonya, Birds of Prey, Promising Young Women and Barbie.

Despite keeping their relationship quiet, they occasionally gush about each other in public. “Our superpower is, frankly, your work ethic,” Tom told Variety last year, of his wife’s achievements. With Barbie raking in billions of dollars, Margot and Tom are definitely high on the HollyWood success ladder.

The latest golden news for the pair is that they are expecting their first child together.

A couple who have moved away from the spotlight to focus on family priorities is Tom Selleck and Jillie Mack. Known for his roles in Blue Blood and Magnum P.I, Tom, 79, was in London filming Lassiter when he met Jilly, 66, when she was performing as Rumpleteazer in the West End musical Cats.

After spending afternoons watching the musical, Jillie told People in 1984 that she found his fascination rather odd: “He kept telling me how great Cats was, I thought it was good, but I couldn’t see going back a dozen times.”

The pair then went for dinner one night and when her contract for Cats was up, Jillie moved to the US.

When they married in 1987 in Nevada, they used fake names to throw off the media and were known by the minister as “Tom Jenkins” and “Suzie Mark”, reflective of their private relationship. In 1988, the couple had their daughter Hannah, who is now an Olympic equestrian and was raised on a 65-acre ranch in Ventura, California.

The couple now prioritise their family life on the ranch and tend to keep out of the spotlight, with Tom reportedly coming home every two weeks from filming Blue Blood to be with his family, with the series coming to an end later this year.

When not in a confusing love triangle on screen and parading around Paris, Lily Collins is happily married to Charlie Dowell. Recently celebrating their third wedding anniversary, the Emily in Paris actress, 35, and director and screenwriter, Charlie, 41, met back in 2019 on the set of Gilded Rage and then Windfall.

Their early days of meeting involved working together and Lily said she knew she wanted to marry him straight away. After going Instagram official in 2019, the pair got engaged in September 2020 and married the following year.

Speaking to Vogue in 2022 about working on set with Charlie, Lily admitted: “I thought it would be harder, I have to say. I thought it would be more stressful to have to work with him, but it honestly was really amazing and freeing.”

Even more adorable was Charlie supporting Lily in her Netflix series Emily in Paris. In 2022, she shared a post on Instagram revealing a note he left on set for her which read: “Have a great first day, Emily. You show those high heels who’s boss! [Love] C.”

Not that one of the funniest, comedy couples can be forgotten, but here is a reminder about the power couple Melissa McCarthy, 54, and Ben Falcone, 51. They first crossed paths whilst at school in the 90s but didn’t date until they joined the same Los Angeles comedy class in 1998.

After getting married in October 2005, it was clear this duo was destined to be a strong unit because of their great working relationship. They have acted together in cosy classic TV series Gilmore Girls and 2011 film Bridesmaids, where Ben played the infamous air marshal. 

On social media, the pair post a lot of videos and throwback pictures together, feeding their fans with loved-up snaps.

In 2007, they welcomed their first daughter Vivian, which was written into Melissa’s Gilmore Girls storyline. After having another daughter in 2010 called Georgette, both of the girls got a taste of the Hollywood life from their supportive parents. Vivian starred in The Boss and Georgette made a rare appearance at The Little Mermaid premiere.

Last year, Melissa described Ben as “constantly loving, funny and kind”. If you can work together, then clearly you can stay together and grow a family. 

Not every couple has had the easiest journey, which was the case for Friends star Courteney Cox and Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid. After meeting at a houseparty that Courtney, 60, was hosting in 2013, pop singer Ed Sheeran introduced the TV star to her future husband Johnny, 48.

Courteney was previously married to David Arquette, her Scream co-star, from 1999 to 2010 and they have a daughter called Coco. However, they continue to have a supportive relationship with Courteney and Johnny even attending her ex’s film premiere very early into their new relationship.

In 2014, Johnny’s musical talent and Courteney’s directorial passion merged for her debut with Just Before I Go, which Snow Patrol wrote three original songs for.

They were engaged in June 2014 however, this was called off the following year. They reunited again in May 2016. “Everything’s new, and we have both really worked on ourselves on the parts that needed the most attention. And it feels really different,” Courteney admitted.

The couple have worked hard to rekindle their love story and on their tenth anniversary of being together, they were seen hanging out with matchmaker Ed. 

Hollywood couple Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have co-starred, co-parented and co-presented together. Goldie, 78, went through two divorces, including from her ex-husband Bill Hudson, the father of her children Oliver and Kate.

She first met, Kurt, 73, on the set of the 1978 Disney live action film The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band. However, they didn’t get together until 15 years later when they met at an audition for Kurt’s film Swing Shift. Kurt’s dedication in helping Goldie raise her two kids is just one of the reasons they have remained so strong.

Some of their joint career highlights include co-starring in the film OverBoard and even presenting the prestigious Academy Awards together, in which an engagement was teased.

Although the couple have never married, they have had to explain their reasons throughout the years for why they are not engaged. Kurt went through his own divorce from Season Hubley in 1983, so with the pair having had their share of marriages ending, it’s fair to see why they work so well together without feeling the pressure to tie the knot. 

Charlie’s Angel actress Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden, lead guitarist of rock band Good Charlotte, knew each other for a while before getting together. They first met in May 2014, having mixed in the same celebrity social spheres. However, it was an instant click when Cameron, 52, and Benji, 45, got together as they were engaged just six months later.

When they married in January 2015, it seemed like a whirlwind romance but Cameron spoke with confidence about her decision, telling Harper’s Bazaar: “[Marriage] was the biggest thing I’ve done in my 40s, and it opened me up in different ways.” 

On Instagram, the couple have posted a few adoring pictures of each other and whilst Benji is more offline nowadays, he still posted a birthday post for Cameron in August 2023, writing: “Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife, best friend, best partner in everything, ride or die, greatest Mom to our little girl.”

In March 2024, the pair welcomed their second child, Cardinal, after having their first daughter in 2022, Raddix.

This real-life Barbie and Ken duo is part of what makes Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes such a power couple. Whilst occasionally being in the public eye, Eva less so, the pair don’t use social media.

Ryan, 43, and Eva, 50, met on the set of The Place Beyond The Pines in 2011 and hit it off right away. They were spotted on adorable dates including adventuring around Disneyland together. They made their red carpet debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, but haven’t walked a red carpet hand in hand since.

The pair welcomed their first child together, Esmeralda, in 2014 and Eva kept the whole journey private. She even spoke out about keeping her daughter away from the limelight: “Whether we like it or not, privacy is going to be very difficult for Esmeralda. I think it’s unfair but that’s our reality. And my pregnancy was the first opportunity to give her that.”

They have another daughter, Amada, and whilst Eva rarely posts about her personal life on Instagram, there are occasional clues of her loving relationship with Ryan. When her husband was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards, for playing Ken in Barbie, she wrote on Instagram that she was “so beyond proud to be this Ken’s Barbie”.

It’s believed that the pair married in a small ceremony in 2016 but this only was revealed in 2022 when Eva posted a tribute to Ryan.

After being married for 18 years, it’s hard to believe that when this couple first exchanged numbers in 2005 at the Los Angeles G’Day Gala, he didn’t call her for four months. The Perfect Couple actress and four-time Grammy winner and country artist got engaged soon after in May 2006 and then were married a month later with a candlelit wedding in Sydney.

Despite their whirlwind start, Nicole, 57, was previously married to Tom Cruise from 1990 to 2001 and shares Isabella Jane and Connor Anthony with the actor. Not long after she married Keith, 56, she encouraged him to go to rehab.

Throughout the years, the singer has spoken about Nicole’s support to help him get sober, saying: “I’m just alcoholically wired. I was lucky I had a very loving wife. [Getting sober] has freed me up creatively.”

Typical of marrying a singer songwriter, Keith did write several hit songs known to be about Nicole and a whole album called “Graffiti U.”

In July 2008, the pair had their first daughter called Sunday Rose and in December 2010 they welcomed Faith Margaret.

Casting your future husband in a directorial debut is how this couple met as it turned from a working to romantic relationship. Magic Mike star Channing Tatum was married to ex-partner Jenna Dewan from 2009 to 2018, with whom he shares daughter, Everley. Zoe, 35, had her divorce finalised from Karl Glusman in 2021, the same year she met Channing, 44.

Her project, Blink Twice, put her in contact with Channing as she wanted him to play the lead in the psychological thriller. He was honoured to be asked and told Deadline in 2021: “No one gives me a chance to play a role like this.”

Whilst working on the film together, the pair became very close over their love for filming and their appreciation for each other as creative artists. They announced their engagement in October 2023, two years after they started dating, with a source telling The Messenger that even Channing’s ex Jenna “approved of the pairing.”

The couple haven’t set a wedding date yet, but Channing recently told People: “To get to create something with someone that you love is probably one of the most gratifying things other than having a kid with somebody I think.”

Plus, he posted the cutest Instagram photos of her this month with the caption: “Thank you for finding me and seeing me. I got you forever. Me and you back to back against it all.” It’s not surprising to see how she fell for his charm.

The fact that John Krasinski watched The Devil Wears Prada over 70 times prior to meeting his wife, who stars in the film, proves they were meant to be. Best known for his role as Jim Halpert on The Office, John, 44, met Academy Award-nominated actress Emily, 41, in 2008 through mutual friends on a night out in Los Angeles.

After dating, they were engaged in 2009 and kept both their engagement and wedding ceremony private, marrying in 2009 in Lake Como, Italy on George Clooney’s estate.

Whilst the pair step out on the red carpet together, their family life remains private. They welcomed their first daughter Hazel in 2014, followed by Violet in 2016.

However, their business partnership is a lot more public as they released their first film together A Quiet Place in 2018. Emily starred as the lead alongside co-star John, with the film’s success leading to a 2021 sequel.

A reason their marriage has been so successful is due to the pair being huge fans of each other’s work. It’s no wonder they are each other’s biggest fans.