A star is born… and another star celebrates! Over the years, many celebrities have named their famous friends as godparents of their children — and those lucky enough to grow up with an iconic godparent know that the bond is hard to break.
Jennifer Aniston was named godmother of Courteney Cox’s daughter, Coco, in 2004. The famous kiddo, who Cox shares with her ex-husband, David Arquette, was born one month after the Friends season 10 finale.
“Happy birthday my sweet Cocolicious!” Aniston captioned an Instagram Story to celebrate Coco’s 17th birthday in June 2021 — showing that the longtime bond is stronger than ever.
Garrett Hedlund also chose a former costar as the godfather of his first child, Rhodes, whom he shares with Emma Roberts. When making his choice, the Minnesota native chose someone he considered a father-figure himself: Tim McGraw, who played his dad in the 2004 movie Friday Night Lights.
“He’s somebody that I admire and respect, not only as an amazing father and an amazing husband [but as an] amazing musician and amazing actor,” Hedlund, who also worked with McGraw on 2011’s Country Strong, said during a February 2021 episode of the Kelly Clarkson Show. “I got to first experience him as a father — in that film, somewhat more of an abusive one — but then we did Country Strong together, and we’ve remained such close friends.”
There are also many grown-up stars who’ve long had famous figures in their lives. Iconic filmmaker Steven Spielberg counts both Drew Barrymore and Gwyneth Paltrow as his goddaughters.
“Your life is crazy. Has he documented any moments of your life, and do they look epic?” Kelly Clarkson asked the Goop owner during a March interview while talking about her famous godfather.
After the It’s All Good author revealed the Jaws director was the only one to take any videos at her September 2018 wedding to Brad Falchuk, the singer had a follow-up question.
“You had a great wedding videographer. Did he charge you?” she asked Paltrow, who giggled in response.
Barrymore has a close bond with Spielberg as well, having noted that the producer’s advice has carried her through her career. The pair met when the talk show host acted in his film E.T. at age 6.
“Steven told me, ‘Don’t act your characters. Be your characters,” Barrymore told The New York Times in 2014. “Once I got older and kept continuing acting, I don’t know if I would have succeeded without that advice, because that’s the thing that saved me. I’m not an actor, I’m a pretender.”
Scroll to see which stars have famous godparents (or have given their children famous godparents of their own):
A star is born… and another star celebrates! Over the years, many celebrities have named their famous friends as godparents of their children — and those lucky enough to grow up with an iconic godparent know that the bond is hard to break.
Jennifer Aniston was named godmother of Courteney Cox’s daughter, Coco, in 2004. The famous kiddo, who Cox shares with her ex-husband, David Arquette, was born one month after the Friends season 10 finale.
“Happy birthday my sweet Cocolicious!” Aniston captioned an Instagram Story to celebrate Coco’s 17th birthday in June 2021 — showing that the longtime bond is stronger than ever.
Garrett Hedlund also chose a former costar as the godfather of his first child, Rhodes, whom he shares with Emma Roberts. When making his choice, the Minnesota native chose someone he considered a father-figure himself: Tim McGraw, who played his dad in the 2004 movie Friday Night Lights.
“He’s somebody that I admire and respect, not only as an amazing father and an amazing husband [but as an] amazing musician and amazing actor,” Hedlund, who also worked with McGraw on 2011’s Country Strong, said during a February 2021 episode of the Kelly Clarkson Show. “I got to first experience him as a father — in that film, somewhat more of an abusive one — but then we did Country Strong together, and we’ve remained such close friends.”
There are also many grown-up stars who’ve long had famous figures in their lives. Iconic filmmaker Steven Spielberg counts both Drew Barrymore and Gwyneth Paltrow as his goddaughters.
“Your life is crazy. Has he documented any moments of your life, and do they look epic?” Kelly Clarkson asked the Goop owner during a March interview while talking about her famous godfather.
After the It’s All Good author revealed the Jaws director was the only one to take any videos at her September 2018 wedding to Brad Falchuk, the singer had a follow-up question.
“You had a great wedding videographer. Did he charge you?” she asked Paltrow, who giggled in response.
Barrymore has a close bond with Spielberg as well, having noted that the producer’s advice has carried her through her career. The pair met when the talk show host acted in his film E.T. at age 6.
“Steven told me, ‘Don’t act your characters. Be your characters,” Barrymore told The New York Times in 2014. “Once I got older and kept continuing acting, I don’t know if I would have succeeded without that advice, because that’s the thing that saved me. I’m not an actor, I’m a pretender.”
Scroll to see which stars have famous godparents (or have given their children famous godparents of their own):
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Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
Tyler Perry and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor
Godparent: Tyler Perry
Godchild: Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor
The Madea: Homecoming star is the proud godfather to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter, who was born in June 2021.
“We’ll call [and] we’ll chat, and we’ll talk about silly things and they were pretty serious on the phone. I go, ‘OK, what’s going on?’ They said, ‘Well, we’d like for you to be Lili’s godfather.’ I go, ‘Whoa.’ I had to take a minute to take that in,” Perry remembered in the pair’s Harry & Meghan docuseries, which premiered in December 2022. “I thought, ‘I’d be honored. I’d absolutely be honored.’”
He added: “And I got off the phone, took it all in and then called them back. I go, ‘Uh, hold on a second. Does this mean we got to go over there and do all of that in the church with [the royal family] and figure all that out? I don’t want to do that. Maybe we can do a little private ceremony here and let that be that, and if you have to do it there, then that’s OK.’”
Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
Bryan Cranston and Rydin Paul
Godparent: Bryan Cranston
Godchild: Rydin Paul
“I asked Bryan on his birthday if he would be our baby’s godfather,” Aaron Paul revealed to Jimmy Kimmel in April 2022 after welcoming son Rydin with Lauren Parsekian. “He’s very excited, very honored. I love the man to death. He’s one of my best friends in the world, so yeah, it was just a no-brainer.”
Credit: Charbonneau/BEI/Shutterstock
Jamie Lee Curtis and Jake Gyllenhaal
Godparent: Jamie Lee Curtis
Godchild: Jake Gyllenhaal
“She is just one of the most generous, loving, giving people,” the Brokeback Mountain star said during a 2021 interview on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show of the Knives Out actress, who let him stay in her guest house during the COVID-19 crisis. “It was so incredible. We became even closer than we had been. … Every day [I] would make bread and I would walk it over to her window. And she’d say, ‘Put it over there,’ show up at the window and I’d give her bread. That was basically what I did.”
The Scream Queens actress is close with Gyllenhaal’s parents, Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Foner.
Credit: Shutterstock; Inset: Courtesy of Kristen Bell/Instagram
Ryan Hansen and Kristen Bell’s Daughters
Godparent: Ryan Hansen
Godchildren: Lincoln and Delta Bell Shepard
Bell’s former Veronica Mars costar is also a godparent to her two daughters with husband Dax Shepard. “I have known @hiryanhansen since we were baby-people,” the Frozen star wrote via Instagram in July 2021. “He was my arch nemesis on Veronica Mars, but became my Best Friend in real life. After VMars we became roommates, and (self proclaimed) Brothers. We hang out almost everyday because we love hanging out together.”
Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock; Courtesy of Meadow Walker/Instagram
Vin Diesel and Meadow Walker
Godparent: Vin Diesel
Godchild: Paul Walker’s daughter, Meadow Walker
“She takes good care of me,” the Furious 7 actor told Extra of his late costar’s only child in June 2021. “She’s the first person on Father’s Day to wish me Happy Father’s Day. To see her with my children is one of the most beautiful things. There are moments when I see her playing with [my daughter] Pauline and it hits me so deep ’cause I can only imagine what my brother sees when he sees that. … I feel very protective. It goes beyond the movie.”
Credit: Shutterstock; Inset: Courtesy of Coco Arquette/Instagram
Jennifer Aniston and Coco Arquette
Godparent: Jennifer Aniston
Godchild: Courteney Cox’s daughter, Coco Arquette
Friends had just come to a close when Cox chose Aniston as her daughter’s godmother in 2004.
Credit: Shutterstock; Inset: Courtesy of Emma Roberts/Instagram
Tim McGraw and Emma Roberts’ Son
Godparent: Tim McGraw
Godchild: Emma Roberts and Garrett Hedlund’s son, Rhodes
Hedlund met Tim McGraw when they starred together in the 2004 film Friday Night Lights.
Credit: Shutterstock (2)
Steven Spielberg and Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow
Godparent: Steven Spielberg
Godchildren: Drew Barrymore and Gwyneth Paltrow
While Spielberg was selected as Paltrow’s godfather by her parents, Blythe Danner and Bruce Paltrow, when she was a baby, he took on the role for Barrymore later in life.
Credit: Shutterstock (2)
Marisa Tomei and Zoe Kravitz
Godparent: Marisa Tomei
Godchild: Zoë Kravitz
“I’ve known you since you were a tiny babe,” Tomei told Kravitz while interviewing her for InStyle in April 2018. “To see you cultivate your own style and watch you move through the world as you grow up — you just keep grabbing more of who you are, stepping into yourself.”
While “godmama” Tomei was chosen because she’s best friends with Kravitz’s mom, Lisa Bonet, the Big Little Lies star’s father, Lenny Kravitz, has a famous godparent of his own: the late Cicely Tyson.
Credit: Andrew Madichini/AP/Shutterstock
Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore’s Daughter
Godparent: Cameron Diaz
Godchild: Drew Barrymore’s daughter, Frankie
The Charlie’s Angels stars have been friends for a very long time, leading Barrymore to select the Holiday actress as her younger daughter’s godmother.
“Cameron and I, we just talk about everything,” the 50 First Dates star told Extra in September 2020. “We’ve been through life, death, birth, love, loss, humor, heart, travel, work and play.”
Credit: Rob Latour/Shutterstock
Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus
Godparent: Dolly Parton
Godchild: Miley Cyrus
Aunt Dolly! Over the years, the “Malibu” singer has paid tribute to the country icon multiple times by performing her songs.
“I’ve always loved her since she was a little baby. I got to know [Billy Ray Cyrus] when he was ‘Romeo’ and was just the hottest thing going—‘Achy Breaky Heart,’—and I did a song called ‘Romeo’ and I had him in my video. So I’ve known her since she was a baby and I’m her fairy Godmother and I was on the Hannah Montana show quite a bit with her and I kind of got a whole new little audience because of her,” Parton told Us Weekly exclusively in May 2014. “She’s a very smart and talented girl and I really hope she does as great as I think she can and will because she’s a lot more gifted that a lot of people realize right now. So I hope her choices are good, I hope she takes what she’s done now and really turns it into everything that she wants it to be.”
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Elton John and the Beckham Boys
Godparent: Elton John
Godchildren: Romeo and Brooklyn Beckham
While Harper and Cruz both count stars Eva Longoria and Marc Anthony as their godparents, the “Benny and the Jets” singer was given the honor of being named godfather to Victoria and David’s eldest two children. The Grammy winner is also godfather to John Lennon’s son, Sean, and Elizabeth Hurley‘s son, Damien.
Credit: Shutterstock; Inset: Courtesy of Mindy Kaling/Instagram
B.J. Novak and Mindy Kaling’s Daughter
Godparent: B.J. Novak
Godchild: Mindy Kaling‘s daughter, Katherine
“B.J. is so much more like family now than a platonic friend,” the Mindy Project alum told Good Housekeeping in May 2019. “He’s the godfather to my daughter. He comes over like once a week. Sometimes he’ll come over just to hang out with her.”
Credit: Shutterstock; Inset: Courtesy of Jaime King/Instagram
Taylor Swift and Jaime King’s Son
Godparent: Taylor Swift
Godchild: Jaime King‘s son, Leo Thames
“She’s amazing [as a godmother]. She’s great!” King told Us in December 2016. “As she is with everybody around her.”
Credit: Shutterstock (2)
Meryl Streep and Billie Lourd
Godparent: Meryl Streep
Godchild: Billie Lourd
Streep portrayed Billie’s late mother, Carrie Fisher, in Fisher’s autobiographical 1990 movie, Postcards from the Edge.
Credit: Stephen Coke/Shutterstock
Joan Collins and Cara Delevingne
Godparent: Joan Collins
Godchild: Cara Delevingne
“At Cara’s christening … she had 16 godparents, of which I was one,” Collins shared during a December 2015 episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “Her parents are really good friends of mine.”
