Famous celebrity couples who have been together 20+ years

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November 27, 2018
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Famous celebrity couples who have been together 20+ years

About half of all married couples eventually get divorced, while over in Hollywood that percentage seems even higher. But while many celebrity matches don't stand the test of time, there are certainly some admirable couples that have done just that. In 2018, Meryl Streep and Don Gummer marked their 40th anniversary, while Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson hit the 30-year mark. Not all celebrity couples need to tie the knot to stay together, either: Oprah Winfrey and partner Stedman Graham have remained together for more than three decades without ever getting hitched, and Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have been serious for 35 years without making it legal.

Using data from news reports, Stacker compiled a list of famous couples who have been together for more than 20 years. Some have gotten married, while others have raised families and stayed together without ever signing a marriage license. Click through to see which celebrity couples have stayed together for two decades or longer.

Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks

Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks have been married 30 years, making them one of Hollywood's most enduring couples. The pair met in the early '80s on the set of the television comedy “Bosom Buddies" while Hanks was married to his first wife, Samantha Lewes. Wilson and Hanks married in 1988, one year after Hanks finalized his divorce. How do they do it? "We learned the secret of happiness with each other a long time ago and that's always telling the truth," Hanks told host Phoebe Robinson on the podcast “Sooo Many White Guys.”

Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell

Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have been a couple for 35 years. They met in the early '80s working on the movie "Swing Shift."Hawn credits her relationship's longevity to a healthy intimate life and never getting married.

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith

This celebrity power couple met in 1994 when the actress auditioned for the part of Smith's girlfriend on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Smith was separated from his first wife Sheree Fletcher when he and Jada started dating, and his divorce was finalized in 1995. Rumors about the stability of the pair's union have followed the couple throughout their Hollywood career, but each has openly discussed their committed relationship with the press.

Frances McDormand and Joel Coen

Actress Frances McDormand and director Joel Coen have been going strong for more than 30 years. They met in 1983 when McDormand auditioned for a role in “Blood Simple," the Coen Brothers' directorial debut. The pair married a year later. McDormand says the secret to their long marriage is having autonomous careers.

Nancy and Steve Carell

Comedians Steve and Nancy Carell have laughed together in matrimony for 23 years. The two met when Nancy took Steve's improv class at Chicago's Second City comedy troupe, and they married in 1995—the same year Nancy was cast on "Saturday Night Live." The couple worked together on “The Office" and created the TV series “Angie Tribeca." Steve claims there is no secret to their long marriage: “I think you get lucky," he told The Guardian.

Tina Fey and Jeff Richmond

Like the Carells, Tina Fey met Jeff Richmond while working at Second City in Chicago in the mid-1990s. Fey was acting on stage while Richmond played music. They continued working together and sharing laughs on “Saturday Night Live" with Richmond as the music director and Fey as a cast member and head writer. The two started dating in 1994 and tied the knot in 2001.

Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy

Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy met in the early 1980s and dated for 15 years before getting married in 1997. Both agree there's no secret—other than luck—to making a marriage work.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall met when Dreyfus auditioned for a play Hall was producing at Northwestern University. The college lovebirds went on to work together on “Saturday Night Live" in the early 1980s, and were married in 1987. Dreyfus told Jay Leno that the secret to their marriage is that she simply “found the right guy."

Deborra-lee Furness and Hugh Jackman

Deborra-Lee Furness and Hugh Jackman instantly hit it off in 1995 when they met on the set of the film “Correlli." Jackman credits the couple's solid marriage to basic compatibility and meeting before he was famous.

Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon

Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon met while filming a play and were married in 1988. Bacon says his secret to a happy marriage is not listening to celebrity advice about how to stay married. To celebrate their 30-year anniversary this year, the couple took to social media to gush about each other.

Victoria and David Beckham

Despite breakup rumors, the British couple is still going strong after more than two decades together. Victoria and David met at a charity soccer game in 1997 and married in 1999. They have four kids together. Victoria credits a strong family bond to the pair's success.

Kelly Preston and John Travolta

John Travolta met wife Kelly Preston in 1987 on the set of “The Experts." They both claim it was love at first sight. Preston divorced in 1989 in order to marry Travolta. The couple says honesty and fun are the secrets to long-term love.

Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson

Mary Steenburgen met Ted Danson on the set of “Pontiac Moon" in 1993 and were married in 1995 following Danson's divorce from actress Whoopi Goldberg. He says his relationship with Steenburgen “feels like heaven on earth."

Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance

Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance met at the Yale School of Drama and married in 1997. They revealed on Oprah in 2007 that after years of fertility treatments, their twin boys, born in 2006, were conceived via surrogate.

Pauletta and Denzel Washington

The Washingtons are Hollywood marriage royalty: They've been married for more than three decades. The couple met in 1977 while filming the television film “Wilma," and married in 1983—after Denzel's third proposal. The couple says a strong foundation and a focus on family is the key to their enduring marriage.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick began dating in 1991 shortly after Parker ended her relationship with Robert Downey Jr. They got married in 1997, and two decades later they still schedule regular date nights to keep the romance going strong.

David Furnish and Elton John

Elton John met filmmaker, director, and producer David Furnish at a dinner party in 1993. In 2005, the couple formed a civil union partnership. They got married nine years later, after same-sex marriage was legalized in the United Kingdom.

Trudie Styler and Sting

Sting and Trudie Styler are known for their physical chemistry. They've certainly had plenty of practice, having dated for a full decade before tying the knot in 1992. While they may not spend a full seven hours in a lovemaking session (as Sting once joked), they report that they do express their love for one another often.

Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham

Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham started dating more than 30 years ago. The couple met in 1986 at a charity event in Chicago—the same year “The Oprah Winfrey Show" debuted. Oprah said they're still together because they never got married.

Meryl Streep and Don Gummer

After actor John Cazale died tragically of cancer in 1978, his heartbroken girlfriend Meryl Streep had her brother come by to help her move out of the pair's apartment. Her brother brought him along sculptor Don Gummer. Streep and Gummer wed after dating for just six months and celebrated 40 years of marriage this year.

Tina Turner and Erwin Bach

Tina Turner and Erwin Bach met at a record label party in London in 1985. They tied the knot 27 years later in 2013. Turner has had multiple health issues over the course of their relationship, including a stroke and intestinal cancer. In 2017 Bach donated one of his kidneys to Turner after the singer suffered total kidney failure.

Tracy Pollan and Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan met in 1985 when she played his girlfriend for one season of “Family Ties." The couple married three years later and celebrated three decades of marriage this year. Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1991, credits his wife with helping him overcome alcoholism, accept his condition, and become an advocate for the cause.

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos

Kelly Ripa met Mark Consuelos when he auditioned for “All My Children" in 1995. The couple's television romance quickly blossomed into the real thing, and in 1996 the couple eloped in Las Vegas. They keep their marriage strong with regular date nights and an active sex life.

Shante Broadus and Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg married his high school sweetheart in 1997, on the advice of fellow rapper Tupac Shakur. The couple has had many ups and downs, even briefly filing for divorce in 2004. Snoop and his family starred a few years later in the reality show “Snoop Dogg's Father Hood" on the E! Network.

Susan Geston and Jeff Bridges

Jeff Bridges met Susan Geston while he was filming the 1975 film “Rancho Deluxe."She was a waitress working her way through college. After initially turning him down, Geston warmed up to Bridges and moved back to California with him at the end of filming. They married in 1977, just five days after he proposed.

Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg

Kate Capshaw met Steven Spielberg when she auditioned for the 1984 film “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." Spielberg split from his first wife, Amy Irving, in 1989 and married Capshaw in 1991.

Michelle and Barack Obama

Long before they lived in the White House, the future president and First Lady met at a Chicago law firm where Michelle (then Robinson) was assigned to mentor Obama. Their first date was in 1989; they went to see the movie “Do The Right Thing." Michelle has been open about working on their marriage in couples counseling, as well as their struggle with infertility and miscarriage. Their daughters, Sasha and Malia, were conceived through in vitro fertilization.

Tom Ford and Richard Buckley

When fashion designer Tom Ford met fashion journalist Richard Buckley in 1986, it was love at first sight. The two admitted they loved each other only a few dates in and were married in 2014. Ford says the secret to their enduring love is respect.

Livia Giuggioli and Colin Firth

Producer Livia Giuggioli and actor Colin Firth met in 1996 on a TV miniseries and were married in 1997. They briefly separated in 2015, during which time Giuggioli was involved with another man she later accused of stalking her. Since the affair and separation, the couple has reunited.

Simone Smith and LL Cool J

Rapper and actor LL Cool J (real name James Todd Smith) wed jewelry designer Simone Smith 23 years ago. The two met as teenagers in the mid-'80s and have four children together. Simone was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2004, an experience she says brought the couple closer.

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