10 Iconic Pop Culture Friendships, From a Certified Platonic Lover Girl

While I would probably describe my romantic history as “lackluster,” friendships have always come naturally to me. Blame it on my Aquarius Venus (IYKYK): Emotional support, fun hangouts, and I don’t need to think about your finances or fret over what kind of pets you’d want one day? Sign me up. 

While I emphatically believe that romantic relationships are still treated as the “gold standard” in our culture—even in a lot of media that claims to be about friendship—there is no shortage of great examples of folks who, like me, know the value of having a pal and a confidante with whom you can travel down the road and back again. (See what I did there?) Ahead, I rounded up nine of the most culture-defining friendships in pop culture, from real-life celebrity besties to the bonds we watched play out on our screens.

Oprah and Gayle

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Going 50 years strong, Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King have the longest friendship on the list. They also have what is arguably the best meet-cute: Co-workers at a Baltimore news station in their early 20s, Winfrey let King stay at her place one night when a crazy snowstorm hit. “We ended up talking all night long… [and] we’ve literally been friends ever since,” Winfrey told People. Over the years, the pair has taken cross-country road trips, collaborated on creative projects, and, in 2021, Oprah even became great-godmother to Gayle’s granddaughter. 

Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha, Sex and the City 

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“Maybe we can be each other’s soul mates. And then we can let men be just these great, nice guys to have fun with.” Thus spoke Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) in season 4 of Sex and the City. While Charlotte, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbs (Cynthia Nixon), and Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) spent six seasons mating and dating at all the hottest spots in New York City, it was the highs and lows of their enduring friendships that kept viewers tuned in. The show provided a then relatively rare portrait of women over the age of 30 leading fulfilled, glamorous lives (mostly) without husbands or children, demonstrating women can live wholly for themselves–and fabulously so.

Savannah, Bernie, Glo, and Robin, Waiting to Exhale

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Waiting to Exhale, Forrest Whitaker’s 1995 adaptation of Terry McMillen’s novel of the same name, still holds a special place in the hearts and minds of Black women across generations. (Not least of all because of the absolutely no-skips soundtrack produced by Babyface). The quartet at the center of the film—played by Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Divine, and Lela Rochon—navigate issues both universal and specific to the experience of Black women, including dating in a pool that feels a little too shallow, rebuilding a life after divorce, and empty nesting. Throughout the film, they rely on each other (and regular girls’ nights) to find the courage to make the tough decisions and choose themselves. And they do it all in some of the most underrated ‘90s fits memorialized on screen.

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie

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Childhood besties Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie met in the 1980s and became tabloid mainstays when their reality tv series The Simple Life premiered in late 2003. What happened next was a tale as old as time: Girls get big, and girls have falling out. The two reunited several months later, however, and have remained in one another’s lives ever since. Indeed, the two returned to the small screen nearly 20 years after their big debut with Paris & Nicole: The Encore.

Tina Fey and Amy Poheler 

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Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have been friends for decades, and from their connection has sprung an iconic Saturday Night Live Weekend Update desk, films including Mean Girls and Baby Mama, and some of the funniest Golden Globes ceremonies to date. It’s given Fey and Pohler themselves something even more meaningful: A sister. “My mom always says it’s very important to have people in your life who knew you when,” Poehler told People. “The older you get, the more you treasure that idea of someone knowing your family and where you came from, and being around during these times and these times.”

Taylor Swift’s “Squad” 

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Forever immortalized in the “Bad Blood” music video, Taylor Swift’s “Squad,” a large, rotating group of actors, singers, and models, arguably reached its zenith at the 2015 VMAs, when the singer arrived on the multicolored carpet with Cara Delevingne, Selena Gomez, Hailee Steinfeld, Mariska Hargitay, and Gigi Hadid, among others. (Blake Lively, Emma Stone, Lorde, and Ed Sheeran have also held membership at various points.) While the group has seemingly thinned out over the years—such is life—for a relatively brief, shining moment in the Tumblr era, Swift regularly shared Valencia-filtered snaps of backstage hangouts and Fourth of July festivities with her robust retinue. 

Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, and Shoshanna, Girls 

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Speaking of the Swift Squad, the pop superstar’s good friend Lena Dunham burst on the scene in 2012 with Girls, a sometimes brash, often controversial depiction of the 20-something (white woman) millennial experience. Unlike the countless cabs and buzzy restaurants that characterized the New York of SATC, the Girls took the train, regularly faced underemployment, and lived with roommates or in matchbook-sized studios. While the generational markers were spot on–I still think of the show every time I hear “Dancing On My Own”—the ups and downs of the Girls’ friendships as they grow up and, ultimately, apart, prove that some things never change.

Issa and Molly, Insecure 

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While most television shows focus on the ins and outs of larger friend groups, Insecure took a different approach, treating the relationship between Issa Rae’s Issa Dee and Yvonne Orji’s Molly Carter with a level of introspection and nuance that’s often only reserved for romantic relationships. Over five seasons, the duo weave in and out of a healthy bond, codependency, projection, pettiness, and unconditional love. And that complex depiction of female friendship, specifically between two Black women, still resonates: Search “Molly and Issa” on TikTok today, nearly a decade after the show’s premiere, and see for yourself. 

Serena Page, Leah Kateb, and JaNa Craig (AKA “PPG”), Love Island USA Season 6

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Love Island USA had its biggest season ever in the summer of 2025, due in no small part to the buzz generated by a trio of besties from the previous season. Serena Page, Leah Kateb, and JaNa Craig—affectionately known as “PPG” after the Powerpuff Girls—forged a strong bond amid the couplings, recouplings, and over-the-top challenges that characterize Love Island. They served as one another’s sounding boards, confidents, and fiercest defenders in the villa, and have carried that energy into the outside world, as seen on the spin-off, Beyond the Villa.

Honorable Mention: Famous Work Spouses

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From Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift to Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet, celebrity work spouses—creatives with undeniable chemistry who frequently collaborate—make for great podcast deep dives, great press tours, and, of course, great art. Some of the all-star pairings: Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio (who have been going strong for more than two decades), Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn (occasionally featuring Scott Foley), Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and Cardi B and Bruno Mars.