You Probably Never Realized These Celebs Went To High School Together

Hollywood can often feel like a carefully curated, PR-orchestrated bubble within which optics and professional alliances reign supreme. Among the industry's often transactional relationships, however, there exist some friendships that trace their way back to purer, more innocent days when these celebrities were just regular kids going to school.

A lot of high-profile public figures have known each other well before they found the spotlight doing what they are now famous for, all the way from politics to music and acting. And several of these childhood or teenage friendships — which were forged in family neighborhoods, school hallways, senior year plays — successfully managed to survive the onslaught of exacting work schedules, professional rivalries, and motions of adulthood. 

Here's a list of celebs you probably didn't know went to high school together. 

One of the most unlikely celebrity crossover stories that goes back decades involves Cameron Diaz and Snoop Dogg. They may not belong to the same entertainment circuit today, but during their younger years, the two actually ran in the same circles at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in California. Diaz came into Snoop Dogg's orbit when she transferred in from a different institution — which the rapper said on "The Howard Stern Show" was a "hood school" — and built street cred as a popular cheerleader. 

"She was under my class so I didn't pay no attention to her because she was a little younger than me," Snoop Dogg recalled. "Some of her friends are my friends ... I wasn't paying no attention 'cause my mind was on the older girls." Diaz, meanwhile, has a far more vivid memory of her school senior, from whom, she famously joked, she might have bought weed at some point. "He was a year older than me ... I remember him. He was very tall and skinny, wore lots of ponytails in his head," she said on "Lopez Tonight" (via YouTube). 

The bond between Jonah Hill and Adam Levine may seem like one of those mismatched celebrity friendships one can't quite wrap their head around. But the two stars, who grew up together in Los Angeles, share a brotherhood that transcends the realm of Hollywood optics. From carpooling to Brentwood School together to spending time at each other's houses, the duo did it all as children. Their own friendship, however, wasn't the be-all and end-all of their boyhood years. Even their families knew each other well. 

Hill and Levine's mothers had been friends since their own teenage years, and their bond only strengthened after they began families of their own in Los Angeles. Over time, their dads met, as did their siblings, with Hill's older brother Jordan eventually turning manager for Levine's band Maroon 5. Tragically, Jordan died in 2017 following lung issues. "This is a kid I've known since we were in diapers," Levine told Variety. The Hill and Levine families have continued to remain close over the years, with the "Stutz" star even officiating the musician's wedding to Behati Prinsloo. 

For every narrative that pits women against women in the world of showbiz, Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman stand out as shining examples of what healthy, long-term female friendship in the industry looks like. The Aussie stars have known each other since they were at school in Sydney together, both harboring dreams of making it big in the movies. 

"We hung out in all of the same places. We dreamed the same dreams, pretty much laying the road map to where we are now here in Los Angeles, decades deep into our friendship," Watts shared in her speech for Kidman's AFI Life Achievement Award win (via YouTube). She went on to recall the moment the pair actually forged a friendship during an audition in the '80s, going on to build a rare sisterhood in a competitive industry. 

The two co-starred in the 1991 film "Flirting" and have been photographed by each other's side across events. "She's made me feel like a part of her family. She was like the sister I never had," Watts said, with Kidman too, echoing the sentiment on multiple occasions. 

Matthew Perry couldn't ever have imagined that the kid he once beat up at school would eventually make it to one of the highest offices in the world as Canada's prime minister. Justin Trudeau and the "Friends" star famously attended school together in Ottawa, where the political headquarters of the country are located, and where Trudeau and Perry spent several years. 

Trudeau's father was running the country as prime minister at the time, while Perry's mother was press secretary to him. It wasn't a political power tussle that kindled the fight between the two schoolboys, though. Perry, a senior of Trudeau's, recounted on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" how he roughed up the future politician in fifth grade over boyish envy: "I think he was excelling in a sport that we weren't ... I was a stupid kid." 

In signature Chandler-esque humor, he went on to claim credit for igniting Trudeau's drive to lead Canada: "I think he said, you know, 'I'm going to rise above this and I'm going to become prime minister.'" Trudeau seemingly buried the hatchet and, years later, upon Matthew Perry's tragic passing, paid him a touching tribute: "I'll never forget the schoolyard games we used to play ... Thanks for all the laughs, Matthew" (via X). 

Kate Hudson and Zooey Deschanel's foremost renown as a duo is as co-stars from "Almost Famous." But that is not the only thread that ties them together. Long before they were starring in films beside each other, Hudson and Deschanel were walking down the same hallways at Crossroads School in Santa Monica in the '90s. "She was a year older than me. We had a couple of classes together," Deschanel said (via The Hollywood Interview). 

While Hudson's schooltime friendship with Liv Tyler tends to draw more attention, the "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" star also seemed to have been well-acquainted with Deschanel during her youth. The two ran in the same theater circles in school, having performed together in productions like "Man of La Mancha" and "Don Quixote." Interestingly enough, Deschanel revealed that director Cameron Crowe didn't know of the women's past connection when they were cast in his 2000 cult classic. What's more, Hudson had originally read for the role of Anita, which eventually went to Deschanel. 

Lauryn Hill and Zach Braff's paths may never have crossed professionally but the two stars share a connection that goes far beyond entertainment. As kids growing up in New Jersey, Hill and Braff both attended Columbia High School in Maplewood and shared a niche as aspiring local creatives. "We were the two actors ... who were commuting into the city to audition when we were both young," Braff shared on "The View," saying that he had known the iconic rapper since "forever."  

Braff further invigorated the talk show panel, which also included Hill's "Sister Act 2" costar Whoopi Goldberg, by revealing that Hill was actually present at his bar mitzvah — although the future Grammy winner didn't sing at his ceremony. Hill, who has had an on-again, off-again relationship with the spotlight since her music peak, hasn't been as forthcoming about her childhood stories with Braff as the "Scrubs" star has. But though they may not be BFFs today, together they stand out as two of their alma mater's most notable success stories. 

New York's prestigious LaGuardia High School has a long, star-studded history of producing alumni who go on to make big leaps in entertainment. Two of its youngest success stories, who have become defining faces of a new generation of Hollywood talent, are Timothee Chalamet and Ansel Elgort — both of whom were schoolmates at the arts institution and were trained under the same drama teacher, who dished to Vanity Fair: "They were both like rock stars in a way, in a school full of rock stars. Everybody recognized them as being particularly gifted."  

Elgort and Chalamet, meanwhile, have famously debated over who was cooler in school. "Ansel had a calendar with him in it. Are you kidding me?" Chalamet told MTV, saying that his popularity was nowhere close to that of Elgort, who always outshone him by snagging major roles in school musicals. Elgort, meanwhile, argued that while he managed to accrue some haters, Chalamet was well-loved by all. After school, Elgort and Chalamet's Hollywood trajectories took different turns, with both actors making good on their LaGuardia pedigree with their respective award winners "Baby Driver" and "Call Me by Your Name" in 2017.

Over her decades-long career in Hollywood, Jada Pinkett Smith has built many high-profile friendships with the upper crust of the entertainment world. Among her most cherished of such bonds was with someone she had known long before the spotlight found either of them: Tupac Shakur. The iconic rapper, who died in 1996, attended the Baltimore School for the Arts at the same time as the talk show host did. It didn't take long for Shakur and Pinkett Smith to take a liking to each other. 

"We became inseparable from the moment we met. We were kindred spirits in so many ways," Pinkett Smith, who has spoken extensively about her childhood friendship with Shakur, wrote in her memoir "Worthy" (via Time). "We could be raw and authentic without the constraints of having to impress each other." Though the dynamic between them naively straddled the blurry boundaries between kinship and romance at times — with the pair even apparently attempting a failed kiss once — it eventually blossomed into "a friendship of a powerful strength." 

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's friendship, over the years, has evolved into one of Hollywood's most endearing success stories. Their saga began over 40 years ago when they were growing up in the same Massachusetts neighborhood and eventually attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin together. In fact, it was at school that their budding friendship deepened when Affleck, Damon's junior, defended him in a violent fight. 

"He tackled this kid off of me ... literally at the risk of his own life," Damon recalled on "Conan," saying that the moment was significant, in that it gave him a preview of Affleck's loyalty. "This guy will put himself in a really bad spot for me. Like, this is a good friend." And sure enough, Affleck and Damon have been by each other's side through thick and thin ever since. 

They found greater common ground when Damon joined Affleck in his acting pursuits, with the pair going for auditions as teens, appearing in films like "School Ties" and "Glory Daze" together, and eventually hitting pay dirt with the Oscar-winning "Good Will Hunting," which they co-wrote and starred in. Though they figure among Hollywood's most formidable creative partnerships today, their friendship is what keeps everything grounded. As Affleck told GQ: "It's just been such an asset to me—and, I think, I hope, to Matt—this relationship that we've had." 

Friendships have a way of evolving with time; there's no telling, though, if they'll evolve for better or worse. For Rami Malek and Rachel Bilson, it landed somewhere in the middle. The two actors ran in the same circles at Notre Dame High School in California during their pre-fame days. "Rami was a good friend of mine. We were in the same crew. We did 'The Crucible' together senior year," she said on "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard," adding that they remained friendly even afterward. 

Years after school ended, when Malek shot to fame for "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Bilson had established her place as a television darling on "The O.C.," she shared a nostalgic throwback on social media of their time together as schoolmates visiting New York. And as friends often do, the picture Bilson picked showed Malek in an unrecognizable phase of his life — complete with gold chains and gelled hair — that he might have liked to have kept hidden. 

Malek, who was then on track to earn his first Oscar, was apparently not amused and made a rather straightforward request to Bilson on Instagram: "I would really appreciate if you take that down. I'm a really private person." The curt interaction admittedly threw Bilson off balance, but the two eventually sorted things out and eased the tension. 

Adele and Jessie J have more in common than just powerhouse vocals and chart-topping musical legacies. The two Englishwomen have a shared past that stretches back years, all the way to their school days. Both alums of the BRIT School in Croydon, they were in the same batch and even then, were bonded to each other by music. "We used to sing at lunchtime together. Obviously at that time we didn't realize that we'd both [eventually] have music out," Jessie J told People. 

Jessie J famously belongs to a cohort of celebs who were bullied in school, and has spoken at length about facing a hard time because of her persistent health issues. Her encounters with Adele, however, seem to have been pleasant — considering that the "Price Tag" hitmaker remembers her industry colleague fondly. "Adele was the cool kid ... She was in music and everyone knew her. She wrote songs and wore dope, vintage clothes," she said at an event in Dubai (via Gulf News). While both award-winning singers lead busy lives, they do manage to touch base from time to time. 

Within the cast of "The Office," two actors share a relationship that goes deeper than the show's nine seasons. B.J. Novak and John Krasinski — respectively Ryan Howard and Jim Halpert on the sitcom — were school buddies and have known each other since before their Hollywood dreams took shape. Novak apparently caught the bug first, what with his schooltime grounding in theater. As for Krasinski: "He was a jock, a basketball captain, stuff like that. He found acting a little later," Novak shared on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" (via E! News). 

In fact, according to legend, it was Novak who nudged his friend toward dramatics by casting him in a play he wrote in school. Krasinski didn't have too impressive an acting resume at that point, but Novak was apparently confident about betting on him. Years later, history repeated itself when the Newton South High School graduates collaborated memorably on "The Office," for which Novak was a key writer. He later joked to the Boston Globe (via LiveJournal): "I think John started acting as a direct result of my casting him in the senior show. So technically, he has me to thank for all of this, right?" 

Eddie Redmayne may not have any direct relational links to the British royals, but he sure can claim to have rubbed shoulders with one of their most important members. Prince William, heir apparent to the throne, attended the prestigious Eton College at the same time as the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" star. While the two didn't seem to have been the bestest of friends, their paths crossed considerably often at boarding school — whether it was as members of the prefectorial team or teammates on the same rugby team. 

The latter is a core memory that Redmayne has spoken of often in interviews, but which William might like to forget. "I always felt a bit sorry for him because basically any school you played, all they wanted to do was tackle Prince William and they could say, 'I tackled Prince William,'" Redmayne revealed on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" in response to a fan question. "So if you were standing next to Prince William, like I was, it was actually quite easy and quite fun." His longstanding connection to the prince, unfortunately, did not score him invites to any royal weddings, though. 

Santa Monica High School in the '80s was a happening place; though at the time, no one must have quite realized what a rare moment in time it was to have five future Hollywood stars — and members of the iconic Brat Pack at that — walking the same hallways all at once. Rob Lowe, Robert Downey Jr., Sean Penn, Charlie Sheen, and his older brother Emilio Estevez all grew up around each other during their schoolboy days. And the internal dynamics were as entertaining as one would imagine. 

"I didn't understand how anyone could get where you were, let alone still have attendance in school," Downey Jr. told Lowe on his podcast "Literally," recalling the jealousy he felt over how Lowe successfully navigated his studies, acting commitments, and his riches. "I was a hot mess ... I was in school as infrequently as possible," Downey Jr., who later dropped out, added. 

As it often happens in school, the pecking order was rather fluid. What Downey Jr. felt toward Lowe was somewhat similar to how Lowe viewed Sheen's charmed life — complete with a shiny BMW, Häagen-Dazs ice cream, Polo cologne, and his dad Martin Sheen's industry clout. As Lowe put it on "The Howard Stern Show": "It was just a weird time and place for people I think. They just came out of that moment."