Top 10 Celebs You Didn't Know Grew Up Together
#10: Ben Platt & Beanie Feldstein
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From initially meeting at a Bat Mitzvah to Ben promposing to her via the lyrics to Funny Girl to becoming Hollywood’s next big thing, it’s safe to say that Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein’s friendship is extensive. Before Beanie and Ben took on the industry, their first major collaboration together was on a high school stage. Since then, it seems that these BFFs are determined to experience their major career milestones together: including performing on Broadway on productions across the street, becoming nominated for Golden Globes in the same year, and most recently, being cast to star in a 20 year production of the film Merrily We Roll Along. We can’t wait to watch this duo continue to grow together.
#9: Chelsea Peretti & Andy Samberg
Before Chelsea Peretti played civilian administrator Gina Linetti alongside Andy Samberg in ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’, an elementary school aged Chelsea was on a mission relating to matters of the heart. During elementary school, Chelsea reveals that she had a massive crush on Andy. Like any smitten youngster, Chelsea took matters into her own hands and dialed Andy’s number on a landline phone multiple times before hanging up on him. What Chelsea lost in a childhood flame though, she more than gained in a lifelong friend and fan.
#8: Scarlett Johansson & Jack Antonoff
Sometimes, growing up isn’t fun. Regardless of if you knew each other long before or stayed in contact long after, everyone remembers their first break up. And boy did Jack Antonoff allegedly go out of his way to demonstrate that he still remembers his breakup with Scarlett Johansson. Years later, the pair’s relationship seems like a story straight out of an indie film. Beautiful, former child actress falls madly in love with a soft-spoken, quirky musician. They attend high school together and dazzle at their senior prom. Only, a few weeks after graduation, the beautiful actress breaks off the relationship and returns to Hollywood. At least, that’s the narrative an anonymous prep school friend gave to the press and what’s alluded to in Jack’s song “Better Days” with the band Steel Train. Luckily, it seems that these two are happy and settled in their current relationships today.
#7: Rachel Bilson & Rami Malek
In the late 2010s, we learned that Rachel Bilson and Rami Malek were friends from high school, and even co-starred in their school’s production of The Crucible. Rachel commemorated their friendship with a cute throwback photo of the two of them in 2019. But in March 2021, Rachel revealed on an episode of Dax Shephard’s Armchair Expert podcast that Rami swiftly messaged Rachel to tell her to take their throwback photo down. Rachel initially called Malek out on “taking himself so seriously”, but ultimately sent him an apology - which never received a reply back. Luckily, it appears that these two friends have since made up and are back on good terms now.
#6: Andrew Garfield, Eddie Redmayne, & Jamie Dornan
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There are many words to describe these three actors: talented, successful, good-looking, but upon being asked, Jamie Dornan specifically described Eddie Redmayne as “desperate”. Long before Andrew, Eddie, and Jamie sizzled on the big screen, they were three roommates in Los Angeles, struggling to find work. Now seen together at movie premieres and award shows, the trio could formerly be found sharing a sandwich at the Standard Hotel and comparing rejection letters. While the actors characterized their time as roommates as a time of failure, they clearly succeeded in finding lifelong friends.
#5: Tupac Shakur & Jada Pinkett Smith
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Tupac Shakur left a profound impact on hip hop, music, and pop culture. But for Jada Pinkett Smith, 2Pac was something more complicated. As Jada revealed in past interviews, the two met in high school in the 80s, and their platonic relationship quickly became very nuanced and very intense. Shakur soon became Jada’s biggest supporter, her closest friend, and at times, an adversary in her love life. Will Smith has later admitted to being so threatened by Jada and Tupac’s bond that he refused to talk to Tupac when he was around. Unfortunately, Tupac’s death ended up being one of Jada’s first and most prominent heartbreaks.
#4: Nicole Kidman & Naomi Watts
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Staying friends with someone from high school is rare, but having the opportunity to present that friend with an acting award is even more special. And that’s just what the bond between Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman is: a one in a million, lifelong friendship. The two first met in high school, but their friendship didn’t properly begin until they worked together on their film Flirting. As the two have grown, their touching interviews about each other, their offscreen support and their unabashed affection at awards shows has proven to be one of the most consistent and iconic examples of sisterhood in the film industry.
#3: Adam Levine & Jonah Hill
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These two may be surprising as friends: Adam's the rock star stud, Jonah is a flagship comedic actor proving his skills in drama. But they go way back. So far back, their connection originates to when their dads met each other in the principal’s office in junior high. This lifelong friendship between middle school troublemakers has proven to be generational. That's right, before these two were bonafide Hollywood stars, they were regular school carpool buddies, and spent school nights at each other's houses. And their bond still runs deep: just check out their commercial series for Oculus Go or the fact that Jonah officiated Adam’s wedding.
#2: John Krasinski & B.J. Novak
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We know John Krasinski as a lot of things: Jim from “The Office”, the director of “A Quiet Place” franchise, Emily Blunt’s husband, to name a few. Yet B.J Novak revealed in an interview that he knows his Office co-star as “John from high school”. From former little league teammates to co-stars on one of the most popular sitcoms of the 2000s, B.J and John have certainly come a long way. But what makes this friendship between high school alumni special is that John believes B.J altered his life trajectory when he encouraged John to act in a satirical play he put on parodying their high school faculty. It was in that performance that John caught the acting bug and the rest is history. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Jay-Z & Busta Rhymes First They Ruled the School Cafeteria, Now They Rule the World Lauryn Hill & Zach Braff When Lauryn Hill Sang About Her "Miseducation", We Didn't Think She Was Talking About Zach Braff's Bar Mitzvah Owen Wilson & Wes Anderson Who Knew Staging a Break-in of Your Own Apartment Would be a Lucrative Career Choice?
#1: Leonardo DiCaprio & Tobey Maguire
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Is there any celebrity bromance more iconic than that of Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire’s? We don’t think so. Despite Leonardo and Tobey being some of the most successful actors in the world, their friendship started innocently when a teenage Leonardo recognized Tobey on the street and struck up a conversation. In the time since, we felt like we grew up with their friendship. While they auditioned for many of the same roles, we saw them star in This Boy’s Life as they became close. We read about their wild nights out in their late teens and early twenties. Nowadays, we have seen Leo and Tobey grow to be well-respected in their industry. Yet, we will never grow tired of hearing reports that Tobey’s kids call Leonardo “Uncle Leo”. Here is to growing up together, Old Sports!