Accomplishing goals is incredible itself, but it’s more exciting when it can be shared with your partner. This year’s Oscars is the first time we have two real-life couples, Kristen Dunst and Jesse Plemons, and Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, that are nominated for the Academy Awards in four acting categories. Along with them, we’re highlighting other power couples that are having a big year!
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem
The previous Oscar winners, Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem are making more Oscar history by receiving dual nominations as a married couple. Cruz is nominated for Best Actress for her leading role in Parallel Mothers while Bardem snagged a Best Actor nomination for playing Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos. The global superstar couple first met in 1992, co-starring in then-18-year-old Penélope Cruz’s debut film, Jamón Jamón. Later, they starred in Woody Allen’s movie, Vicky Cristina Barcelona where they were seen together on the big screen for the first time since Jamón Jamón. Cruz’s fiery performance earned her the Best Supporting Actress in 2009 making her the first Spanish actress to win an Oscar. After launching their European careers, they married in 2010 and still respectfully support each other for their individual work as Bardem tells Deadline, “I think both did a fantastic job. But Penelope did something extraordinary because she’s nominated for the second time for a role in Spanish—that’s really historic. Of course, I am rooting for her.”
Kristen Dunst and Jesse Plemons
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The engaged couple who play Rose and George in the Oscar nominated film, Power of the Dog, are both celebrating their first Oscar nominations together for Best Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor. The couple first met playing a couple’s role through Fargo and have continued showing their chemistry on screen. In Power of the Dog, Dunst plays a widow who later marries George, a wealthy ranch owner. They go through a complicated triangular relationship with George’s cruel brother who is doubtful of Rose and protective of his brother. The iconic pair share an emotional scene in the film, where Rose teaches George how to waltz. Dunst revealed to Los Angeles Times that this scene with her real-life finacé brought her tears, “When he says, ‘It’s just so nice to not be alone,’ is, I think, one of the best lines of the film. When he did that, I cried off camera. I was so moved by his performance that day.” How blown away Dunst feels about her partner’s performance is mutual. In an exclusive interview with People, Jesse Plemons confesses, “I don’t wanna do another project without her.”
Tom Brady and Gisel Bündchen
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As the legendary quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement, he and his wife Gisel Bündchen are stronger than ever. During his public announcement of his retirement, the former football player shared that he wanted to focus on family, especially being there for his wife, “It pains her to see me get hit out there, and she deserves what she needs from me as a husband, and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad…they’ve really been giving me what I need the last six months…It’s what relationships are all about. It’s not always about what I want. It’s about what we want as a family. And I’m gonna spend a lot of time with them and figure out in the future what’s next.” The Brazilian supermodel left a heart-felt personal post to her husband sharing her support on Instagram.
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Madison Chock & Evan Bates
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The U.S. Olympic figure skating couple is hard to miss with their chemistry on the ice. The two veteran ice skaters, Madison Chock and Evan Bates took home a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics this winter. After experiencing some mishaps in their freestyle performance in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, they spoke to NBC News, ”we were like, “well we can’t stop now. We have to keep going,” and they faced their third Olympics this year. The medalists, who have been dating for five years, danced on ice with their outer space-themed performance, Chock as an extraterrestrial and Bates dressed up as an astronaut, as Bates tells PEOPLE, “our own little corner of the universe.” The captains of the U.S. skating team hope their outstanding performance “expand[s] the sport and draw new fans and hopefully inspire people to take to the ice themselves and dream of being in the Olympics themselves someday.”
Madison Bailey & Mariah Linney
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TikTok may be the next alternative way to find love because we have yet another cute couple who met through the app. The Outer Banks star Madison Bailey and the basketball player Mariah Linney are definitely not shy to share their relationship with us on social media and we can’t get enough of them! Bailey came out as pansexual in 2019 via TikTok which was later followed with another TikTok confirming her relationship with her girlfriend. While Bailey is cruising with her Outer Banks career, Linney is also an accomplished player for the Charlotte 49ers. The Gen-Z couple is a fashionista duo walking in style at New York Fashion Week last summer as well as their recent partnership with Fendi promoting its matching sneakers.
Elton John & David Furnish
In honor of the Oscars, legendary rock star Elton John and his husband David Furnish are bringing the party back! Their annual Oscar viewing party for the Elton John AIDS Foundation will be in-person, the first time in two years due to the pandemic. John showed appreciation for the growing number of supporters the couple has been able to bring together saying in a statement, “David and I are so grateful to celebrate 30 years of the foundation…Our success reflects the passion, commitment, and generosity of our supporters. Together, we are making a difference and bringing light and hope to people living with HIV around the world.” Fellow HIV activist and John’s nearly 30-year-long partner Furnish also shared his excitement via Instagram vowing to his guests, “we promise nothing but a spectacular evening.”
