Entertainment
All the celebrities that have famous godparents you might not know about
We love a surprising family connection, especially in the world of showbiz, and there’s plenty of celebrities out there who actually have a rather famous face for a godparent.
It’s a pretty important role for a person and how cool to have one of the world’s biggest superstars supporting you through life, eh?
Some celebrity godparents are well known – take Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus for example. Dolly is Miley’s godmother and they’re often seen hanging out together and duetting on stage.
However, there are some celebrity links that might just surprise you, with Gwyneth Paltrow casually reminding us all that critically-acclaimed director Steven Spielberg is her godfather. Yes, really.
So, which stars have celebrity godparents we hear you ask? Keep scrolling to find out.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Stephen Spielberg
Gwyneth opened up about having filmmaker Spielberg as her godfather during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show and the perks that come with it, as she revealed he ended up videoing her wedding to husband Brad Falchuk.
The Iron Man actress joked: ‘He always has a video camera in his hands, so any family event – the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, whatever the case may be – he is always videoing.
‘He definitely has videoed me over the years and he was actually, you know, the only person who was videoing at my wedding two and a half years ago. I guess I had a pretty good videographer.’
Drew Barrymore and Steven Spielberg
Spielberg is also godfather to yet another Hollywood actress, Drew Barrymore.
Drew found fame after being cast in the filmmaker’s classic movie ET and he later became her godfather when the star was in her teens.
Crediting Spielberg for being her mentor, Drew has said the director has ‘always been there for me’.
‘I love his consistency. If he says he’ll be there for you at a certain time then he will. He has never let me down,’ she revealed.
Frances Bean Cobain and Drew Barrymore
Drew is actually a godmother herself to Frances Bean Cobain – the daughter of Courtney Love and Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain, who died in 1994.
She had been good pals with Frances’ mum Courtney, but it seems like they lost touch, with Drew revealing in 2007 that she hopes to reconnect with Frances.
‘Courtney and I have not seen each other in a while, so I haven’t had the pleasure of being in Frances’ life for a few years. That’s a great loss for me,’ she said in a past interview.
Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton
Dolly has long been a part of Miley’s life and was asked to be her godmother by Miley’s dad Billy Ray Cyrus, who Dolly has always been close friends with.
Miley is often seen hanging out with Dolly and likes to cover her hits like Jolene. She praised the iconic country star for being a ‘great role model’.
‘If you don’t like Dolly then you’re weird. And if I’m telling you you’re weird then there’s something really wrong because I’m one of the weirdest people on the planet,’ Miley joked back in 2017.
‘No one doesn’t like Dolly. I’ve had such a great role model as a musician but also as a person, she’s the kindest of all.’
Elton John’s sons and Lady Gaga
When you’re Sir Elton John, you have a famous friend or three you can call on to be a godparent to your children – and he chose Lady Gaga to be godmum to his sons Zachary, 10, and Elijah, eight.
It’s said the boys call Gaga their Gaga-mother and they sweetly sent her a huge bouquet after she won an Oscar for A Star Is Born in 2019.
Sir Elton’s husband David Furnish revealed: ‘They said, “if Gaga mother wins we’ll have to send her a congratulations note” and we are big on handwritten notes and of course flowers.’
Brooklyn Beckham and Elton John
Sir Elton is also a famous godparent for quite a handful of his celebrity friends’ children, including Brooklyn Beckham.
David and Victoria Beckham called on the Crocodile Rock hit-maker to be godfather to their eldest son Brooklyn, now 21, and their son Romeo, 18, too, who cutely refer to the music legend as ‘Uncle Elton’.
Harper Beckham and Eva Longoria
Of course, the Beckhams have an A-list phonebook, so it’s no surprise that Victoria’s bestie Eva Longoria was first in line when it came to the Spice Girl and husband David picking a godmother for their daughter Harper, nine.
Eva was ‘thrilled’ to be asked to be a godparent and is often seen spending time with Harper when she can.
The Desperate Housewives star and Victoria first struck up a friendship in 2007, when the Beckhams set up home across the pond in LA when Becks was playing for LA Galaxy.
Coco Arquette and Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston was the obvious choice for Courteney Cox when it came to choosing a godmother for her daughter Coco, who she shares with ex-husband David Arquette.
Jen and Courteney are the ultimate BFFs and go way back, thanks to starring on hit US sitcom Friends together.
Cara Delevingne and Joan Collins
Cara Delevingne’s famous godparent is Dame Joan Collins. Joan is lifelong friends of model Cara’s parents and she credited Cara for being an ‘amazing child’ growing up.
Speaking to Tatler, Joan joked: ‘Cara was an amazing child. Her favourite expression was “mine”. That’s the youngest of three: “Mine, mine.”‘
Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Lee Curtis
Your parents having cool celebrity friends is definitely a trend here, as Jamie Lee Curtis was good pals with Jake Gyllenhaal’s mum and dad, director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner.
Jake, meanwhile, is a godparent himself to Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams’ daughter Matilda.
Paris Jackson and Macaulay Culkin
Paris Jackson’s godfather is none other than Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin.
Macaulay was friends with her late dad Michael Jackson, who asked the actor to be a godparent to his children, and Macaulay have remained close ever since.
Opening up about their relationship to Esquire, Macaulay revealed he passed on his tendency to steal spoons as a bit of ‘harmless fun’ to Paris and they now gift each other spoons – and even have a matching spoon tattoo on their arms.
Sharing some advice with Paris, Macaulay told her: ‘Don’t forget to be silly, don’t forget to take something away from this whole experience and don’t forget to stick something up your sleeve.’
Nicole Richie and Michael Jackson
Nicole Richie’s adopted dad Lionel Richie has rubbed shoulders with a few famous celebs over the years and he chose not one, but two of his pals to be godfathers to The Simple Life star.
Michael Jackson is one of Nicole’s godparents – Lionel and Michael, who died in 2009, worked closely together on hits such as We Are The World.
Nicole’s second godfather is Grammy Award-winning record producer Quincy Jones.
Vivienne and Knox Pitt and Bono
Angelina Jolie’s biological children with Brad Pitt, twins Vivienne and Knox, 12, have one pretty cool rocker for a godfather in U2 star Bono.
A source told the Sunday Mirror at the time: ‘Brad and Angie think the world of Bono. They have been friends for years. Brad is a massive U2 fan and told Bono how much he admired him when they were introduced at a party a few years back.’
They added: ‘Since then, they’ve become very close, which Brad is thrilled about. Angelina is inspired by Bono’s humanitarian work and gets on with his wife Ali Hewson.’
Apple Martin and Simon Pegg
Apple Martin is the daughter of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Iron Man actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
The couple, who consciously uncoupled in 2014 after 10 years of marriage, turned to actor Simon Pegg, who has starred in Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead and The World’s End, when it came to enlisting a godfather for Apple.
Bryce Dallas Howard and Henry Winkler
Jurassic World star Bryce Dallas Howard has a famous godfather in actor Henry Winkler, who fans will recognise from movies such as Here Comes The Boom and The Waterboy.
Bryce’s dad Ron Howard had starred on ABC’s Happy Days with Henry in the 70s and the pair became such good pals, that Ron asked Henry to be a godparent to his daughter.
Billie Lourd and Meryl Streep
Imagine having Meryl Streep for a godmother – pretty cool right?
Billie Lourd gets to live that dream, as the honour was bestowed on Meryl by Star Wars legend, the late Carrie Fisher, who Meryl was basically BFFs with.
Carrie died in December 2016, aged 60, after having a heart attack and Meryl had performed at a memorial service for the iconic actress.
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