What makes a power couple? In layman’s terms—and by the order of the Cambridge Dictionary—a power couple is made up of two people, often from the worlds of politics or entertainment, who are extremely successful in their respective careers. Ideally, the pair also publicly lift each other up—whether that means cheering from the finish line at the Olympics, leading the theater’s standing ovation, or walking the red carpet with their glamorous, award-winning other half.
Power couples have existed across centuries and industries, from kings and queens of the silver screen to sports stars linking up with pop stars and socialites coupling up with politicians. And everyone has their own favorite power couple, when you really think about it. Are you shipping Taylor and Travis? Yearning for a fiery love like Elizabeth and Richard’s? Dreaming of a Mick for your Bianca?
Below, Vogue breaks down some of our greatest contemporary power couples.
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Barack and Michelle Obama
First meeting as young lawyers at the Chicago firm Sidley & Austin, the former president and first lady were a history-making couple: When Barack won the presidency in 2008, he became the first Black person ever to do so. Over the years since, the Obamas have supported each other through their political and philanthropic endeavors, with plenty of cutesy birthday tributes and anniversary posts on social media along the way.
“For me, coexisting with Barack’s strong sense of purpose—sleeping in the same bed with it, sitting at the breakfast table with it—was something to which I had to adjust, not because he flaunted it, exactly, but because it was so alive,” Michelle wrote in her 2018 memoir, Becoming.
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Courtney B. Vance and Angela Bassett
Together since the ’80s and married since 1997, both award-winning actors exemplify Black excellence in Hollywood—and have made plenty of iconic red carpet turns at each other’s side.
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Victoria and David Beckham
The British blueprint for iconic couples style, the pop star turned fashion designer and sporting legend and businessman have built a global brand around their sprawling family.
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Beyoncé and Jay-Z
She’s a 99-time Grammy nominee and 35-time winner, he’s a legendary rapper and businessman; can we make it any more obvious? The Carters have been a top-flight power couple since marrying in 2008, going on to bear three children together.
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Prince William and Catherine Princess of Wales
Balancing tradition and modernity, Prince William and Catherine Princess of Wales represent the future of the British monarchy, sharing a commitment to causes like mental health and early childhood development. Their 2011 marriage remains one of the royals’ grandest affairs, while Princess Catherine’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent remission proved their bond could weather anything.
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Amal and George Clooney
British international human rights lawyer Amal and Hollywood-heartthrob actor George Clooney married in a gorgeous, Venice-set wedding in September 2014, later welcoming twins together.
“She’s the professional, and I’m the amateur,” George told Nathan Heller of his wife in 2018. “I get to see someone at the absolute top of their game doing their job better than anybody I’ve ever seen.”
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Leighton Meester and Adam Brody
The actor couple, who quietly married in 2014 and share two young children, have enjoyed a largely low-key life together, despite their outsize impact on pop culture in Gossip Girl and The O.C., respectively.
During a speech at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards, Brody addressed his “darling, darling, darling wife” in the audience, saying: “Thank you for sharing this life with me and this journey with me. Thank you for our family. Love you with all my heart. Thank you so much.”
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Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade
Beyond being seriously sweet together—the actor and former professional basketball player have been married since 2014—they’re also wonderfully supportive parents to Wade’s three children from prior relationships and the couple’s one daughter together, Kaavia, born in 2018.
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Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor
Both celebrated actresses with decades of success under their belts, Paulson and Taylor knew each other for years before they got together.
“There’s a very big age difference between us which I’m sure shocks a lot of people, and it startles me. But as they say, ‘If she dies, she dies,’” Taylor joked on the Death, Sex, and Money podcast in 2015, before she and Paulson had gone public. She went on, “It’s the most wonderful, extraordinary thing that could have ever possibly happened in my life.”
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Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons
Admirable low-key, the beloved actors, who share two sons, have been together since 2016, reportedly marrying in 2022. “We laugh about the fact that we were two child actors,” Dunst told the New York Times in 2020, “and we both made it out OK.”
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Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex
With their joint foundation, myriad media ventures, and advocacy around issues ranging from mental health to racial equality, “H” and “M” continue to be each other’s staunchest supporters.
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Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig
Beyond being enormously successful creative partners, collaborating on films including Frances Ha, Mistress America, and Barbie, Baumbach and Gerwig are also husband and wife, sharing two sons.
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Rihanna and A$AP Rocky
Friends since about 2012, the rapper and singer-slash-businesswoman only became romantically linked in 2019. Then, in 2022, they welcomed their first child, a son named RZA, followed by a second, Riot Rose, in 2023. Now, a third bundle of joy is on the way.
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Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost
Johansson and Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost began dating in 2017, marrying three years later. Together, they share one son named Cosmo. “I didn’t know what I wanted or needed from somebody else. I think identifying those things was a game-changer for me,” Johansson told Gwyneth Paltrow on the Goop podcast in 2023. “I never realized, Oh…I need to be with a compassionate person. That’s a fundamental characteristic that has to be there.’”
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Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden
Declining to make any major public appearances together until after they quiety wed in Edinburgh in 2024, Ronan, a four-time Oscar nominee, and Lowden, the popular star of Slow Horses, are now expecting their first child.
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Margaret Qualley and Jack Antonoff
The actress and Grammy-winning producer were first spotted out and about together in New York in 2021. They became engaged in 2022 and married in 2023, their New Jersey wedding attended by the likes of Taylor Swift, Zoë Kravitz, and Cara Delevingne.
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John Mulaney and Olivia Munn
The comedian and actor, known for her work on The Newsroom and The Daily Show, began seeing each other in 2021, welcoming a son, Malcolm, in November of that year and a daughter, Méi, in 2024.
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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
Though they’ve been dating since 2023, are often photographed having dinner out with friends, and Swift shouted Kelce out during a speech at the 2024 MTV VMAs (“Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic”), the couple has yet to make an official public appearance on a red carpet. But if Kelce has a game and Swift’s schedule allows it, you’re sure to see her in the box with his mother, Donna, cheering him on.
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Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet
Though the first months of their relationship largely unfolded outside of the public eye, Jenner and Chalamet have since appeared at a string of high-profile events together, ranging from the 2023 US Open to the 2025 Oscars. Then, after more than a year of dating, the businesswoman and Oscar-nominated actor made their red carpet debut in Rome.
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Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco
The global pop star, actor, and beauty brand mogul and the hit-after-hit-making music producer became engaged in December 2024, announcing the news in their signature style. “Forever begins now,” Gomez captioned a post on Instagram, showing off her ring. In the comments, Blanco responded: “Hey wait…that’s my wife.” Their first collaborative album, I Said I Love You First, came a few months later.
