Love Is In the Air and We Want to Celebrate

Like most things in life, a relationship looks different on everyone. Navigating a long-term relationship takes work and requires a certain amount of discipline – who hasn’t been blindsided by the first waves of love? While, some people let their romances consume them, we want to get inspired by some of Hollywood’s most powerful love stories.

Though coupled, these stars continue to shine in their own rights. As individuals, they’ve continued to grow their careers and talents while also tending to their relationships. And – with their powers combined – they somehow manage to even outshine themselves.

Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield
The recently engaged couple began dating in 2011, when they met on the set of the first Amazing Spider-Man. Their on-screen chemistry is one of the few things that makes the latest webbed superhero films worth watching, but off-screen the pair have been respectably tight-lipped about their love affair.

When the two aren’t filming movies, they’re frequently making headlines about their public personas. The couple has become notorious for hiding their faces with signs declaring: “We don’t need the attention, but these wonderful organizations do.” Each time, they’ve listed charities they’re both passionate about, including Autism Speaks, Gilda’s Club, and Youth Mentoring. Stone has also made a public point of calling Garfield out on a sexist statement or two.

Since the release of the first Spider-Man in 2012, which arguably neglected Stone’s talent, she’s starred in six films – including the Amazing Spider-Man 2 – and has three more in post-production. For her role in last fall’s Birdman she received her second Golden Globe nomination, a SAG nomination, and – most notably – her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. According to NY Daily, Garfield considers her a genius. “I think everyone who works with her, everyone who brushes shoulders with her or even makes eye contact with her gets a shot of sunshine.”

Kathleen Hanna and Adam Horovitz aka Ad-Rock
Hanna (frontwoman of Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, and most recently, Julie Ruin) and Horovitz (aka Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys) are a longstanding power couple. Though they tied the knot in 2006, the pair has been an item since 1997. Together and separately they’ve been political activists for decades, infusing their music with messages of equality and women’s empowerment. However, the Beastie Boys of the eighties and early nineties were known for being brash kids with a reputation for making ignorant statements (ahem “Girls”). But those days are long gone. In 1999, when the band won MTV’s Best Hip Hop Video Award for “Intergalactic,” Horovitz used the platform to address the sexual assaults reported during Woodstock 99. According to a recent documentary on Hanna, The Punk Singer, she inspired Horovitz’s speech where he asked fellow bands to make more of an effort to stop assaults during their shows.

Unlike her husband, Hanna has always been an activist. With Bikini Kill she helped start Riot Grrl – a punk revolution that fought to make the scene a safe place for women. Of her many contributions to music, Hanna started the Girls to The Front movement, where she literally ushered women to the front of the stage to be safe from rowdy moshers. Throughout the years, she’s been a crucial voice in the pro-choice movement, and a huge supporter of women working together for equality.

Samira Wiley and Lauren Morelli
Wiley had her big Hollywood break in 2013, playing inmate Poussey Washington on Orange is the New Black. Morelli, on the other hand, didn’t snag media attention until last May. As a writer for Orange is the New Black, Morelli slowly realized she was gay during the writing and filming of season one. In fact, she admits –in a very beautifully written essay for Mic – that she used Piper and Alex’s relationship as a sounding board for her personal life.

By the time the 2014 Emmy’s aired in September – OITNB landed 12 nominations and three wins – Wiley and Morelli were an out-in-public couple. Since taking their relationship to the next level, Wiley, who’s gained more onscreen time in season two, has been more vocal about supporting LGBT rights. In November, Out Magazine named her one their Out100 honorees for 2014. She was also one of four to grace the issue’s cover. Look for Wiley in season three of Orange is the New Black this summer.

Solange Knowles and Alan Ferguson
The Knowles sisters are not short on talent, but – aside from their musical ability – they sure know how to pick a partner. The youngest Knowles – who’s been making music since 2001, originally with Destiny’s Child ­– married her longtime beau in November.

Ferguson is an esteemed music video director. He’s worked with artists across all genres, including his sister-in-law and her husband, as well as Katy Perry, John Legend, and Gym Class Heroes. As for Knowles, not only has she been producing her own work since 2003 – when her debut album, Solo Star, was released – she’s also penned songs for Beyoncé (remember “Why Don’t You Love Me?”), Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. This mother of one – from her previous marriage – has also tried her hand at acting, modeling, and fashion. She and Ferguson have been a tight-lipped item since 2008. In an interview from 2013, Knowles, who’s currently 28, admitted she pursued the director who’s more than 20 years her senior.

Alicia Keys and Kasseem Dean aka Swizz Beatz
Rumors of the pair’s budding relationship popped up in 2008. But, like many of the couples on this list, the R&B singer and her hip-hop artist and producer worked tirelessly to keep their romance away from public eye. As a couple they’ve worked together as producers – specifically for the late Whitney Houston’s single “Million Dollar Bill.” In May of 2010, the pair announced their engagement and Keys’ pregnancy with their first child (her only, his third). Keys gave birth to their second child in December.

As a musician, Keys has won 15 Grammy Awards. Billboard has named her the top R&B songs artist of the 2000s, and VH1 listed her as one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2010. Two years later they ranked her number 14 on their 100 Greatest Women in Music list. Keys’ has also starred in multiple films, including The Secret Life of Bees for which she was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Aside from her artistic work, Keys is also a respected activist. She’s frequently spoken up about AIDS awareness and education, and in 2003 she co-founded Keep a Child Alive with Leigh Blake. The nonprofit works to offer treatment, care, and support to children and families living with HIV.

According to Kayne West, Dean is “the best rap producer of all time.” in 2001, he founded his own record label, Full Surface Records, and has worked with music’s biggest names. During the 2010 Winter Olympic Open Ceremonies, Dean was one of many performers to work on “We Are the World 25 for Haiti.”

Of course, there’s also the more classic – and obvious – Hollywood power couples. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have been an iconic duo since the filming of Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 2004 (yes, he was still married to Jennifer Aniston at the time). Together they have six children, impressive careers – Jolie is now known as a writer, producer and director, and Pitt has also become an award-winning producer. They have a net worth of $425 million.

Though the exact time that Beyoncé and Jay-Z began dating is a bit unclear, the couple has been together for approximately 15 years. They married in April of 2008, and their one and only child – Blue Ivy – was born in early 2012. They’re quite arguably, music’s most unstoppable pair with a net worth of $1 billion plus.

As Jimmy Kimmel recently summed up, “For those who don’t know, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw are the Beyoncé and Jay Z of country music.” Basically, they’re a big deal couple. The country superstars have been married since 1996 – making them the longest linked pair on this list. The couple – who are no strangers to working together – have three daughters, and a net worth of approximately $145 million.

In November, talk show superstar, Ellen DeGeneres and her wife – Scandal’s latest scandalous lady, Portia de Rossi celebrated their 10 year anniversary (the pair wed four years after meeting, in 2008). The two have been tabloid favorites, but are frequently seen supporting each others’ work. Rossi – whose legal name is actually DeGeneres – has even appeared on DeGeneres’ talk show. Their net worth is $270 million.

Tom Brady (NFL Patriots quarterback and winner of this year’s Super Bowl), and supermodel Gisele Bündchen have been romantically linked since early 2007. The said their vows two years later. Together they have two children, and Brady has another son with his ex-girlfriend. As of June 2014, Bündchen once again reigned as the world’s highest-paid model for eight years running. Combined, their net worth is $470 million – with the larger portion coming from her side of the income line.

Who’s your favorite famous duo?

Photos courtesy of Nerdtralista, Wikipedia, Netflix, incelebstyle