Hollywood’s Best Love Stories From Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward to Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward

Paul and Joanna were together from 1958 until the actor’s death in 2008. During their 50-year relationship, the couple became the loving parents of their three kids, Nell Newman, Claire Olivia Newman and Melissa Newman.

“There was no bulls—t about them at all,” their longtime friend A.E. Hotchner once told Closer about the Oscar-winning actors. “There was no sense they were part of the Hollywood establishment.”

At the height of their stardom, they moved to Connecticut, where they focused on charity work as much as they did on their big careers. “People always say they were great philanthropists and great people and had a spectacular marriage,” friend Annie Keefe told Closer of Joanne and Paul, who died at 83 in 2008. “But they were even better than their hype. It took a lot of hard work and a lot of understanding, and they were both willing to do it.”

Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner

When Frank Sinatra sang “I’ve got no defense for it / The heat is too intense for it” in “Witchcraft,” he may have been thinking about Ava Garnder. “They were two of a kind in a way,” biographer Larry Grobel once told Closer of the couple, whose tempestuous marriage lasted from 1951 to 1957.

Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh

Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh tied the knot in 1940. “He was the greatest actor of his era; she was the most beautiful woman many had ever seen,” Elizabeth Weitzman, author of Renegade Women in Film and TV, once told Closer.

What began as a scandalous affair became a 20-year marriage, yet it couldn’t survive her battle with mental illness, and they divorced in 1960. “Vivien’s vulnerabilities ultimately doomed their romance, but their connection was built on a tremendous electricity,” the author shared.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

They couldn’t live with each other, and they couldn’t live without each other. Elizabeth Taylor, a former child star, and Richard Burton, a hard-drinking Welshman, first met on the set of 1963’s Cleopatra, and their two star-crossed marriages and divorces dominated tabloid headlines for more than a dozen years afterward.

“They couldn’t really have a private life,” Gianni Bozzacchi, author of My Life in Focus: A Photographer’s Journey With Elizabeth Taylor, once told Closer. And though Liz wed eight times in her life, “She kept Richard in her heart until the end.”

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall

Humphrey Bogart found love with Lauren Bacall, who was 25 years his junior, in 1945. “He’d been married three times and was tired of wandering,” biographer Stefan Kantner once said of Humphrey and Lauren. Their marriage lasted 12 years till his death in 1957, but long after, grandson Jamie Bogart revealed “she would light up if you mentioned him.”

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard

“I’ve been known to like ladies,” Clark Gable once said after his 1939 marriage to comedian Carole Lombard, his costar from No Man of Her Own. “But with her, it’s different. Everything about her is different than with every other gal.”

That made it all the more tragic when Carole was killed in a plane crash on her way back from a tour to sell war bonds in 1942. She was only 33. “God damn it, why?” a heartbroken Clark said after her death. “There was never a person in this world who was so generous, so full of fun.”

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz

When Lucille caught Desi cheating, no amount of ’splainin’ could keep her from divorcing her I Love Lucy costar and business partner after a 20-year marriage in 1960.

Even though they both got remarried to other people, the bond between them remained unbreakable. “I believe they truly loved each other and were attracted and drawn to each other,” Keith Thibodeaux, who played their son, Little Ricky, on the classic sitcom, once told Closer. “There was always this certain energy when they would be together. They had this instant affection — you could tell that passionate tension was still there.”

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson

“What Tom and Rita have in common is that they are two of the most down to earth and unassuming stars today,” Turner Classic Movies host Dave Karger once told Closer of Tom and Rita, who played love interests in 1985’s Volunteers and have been married for more than 30 years. “They’re both completely at ease with their high level of celebrity and have managed to keep a regular family life along with their busy and varied careers.”

Tom and Rita are still together today, and throughout their marriage, they became the parents of their two kids, Chet and Truman.

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn were never married, but they were involved in a long affair for years. However, the Philadelphia Story kept this love hidden in the shadows because Spencer Tracy refused to divorce his wife, Louise Tracy.

“It was a complicated relationship,” biographer Christopher Andersen has said. “With anyone else other than Spencer, she was a tough cookie, but when they were around each other, she literally sat at his feet and worshipped him.”

Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell

Goldie and Kurt fell in love while filming Swing Shift in 1983 and have gone Overboard for each other ever since. Despite never saying “I do” to each other, they blended their families together and even welcomed their son, Wyatt.