15 Most Powerful Celeb Squads Of All Time
What's more powerful than one celebrity? A whole group of celebrities! While Taylor Swift's girl group may have started the idea of #squadgoals, celebrity power squads have actually been around for a while and aren't stopping their quest for Hollywood domination. While some squads grow out of working together on film or TV sets, other squads form from mutual interests and interconnected social circles. Celebrity squads rock the red carpet during awards shows, show the love in Instagram photos and Snapchat stories, and even take their friends along for the ride by giving them a role in their next project.
We love seeing celebrity squads because they're like our own friend groups - just way cooler. They jet off together on fancy vacations, sit in the front row at fashion shows, and take each other out for expensive dinners. Their combined star power makes them more influential and memorable than any one of them alone. While they may become notorious for their antics or their exclusionary tactics, we can't deny that we'd love to be a part of any of these 15 powerful celebrity squads. If they'd let one of us normies in that is…
15 The SNL Funny Ladies
The members of this celebrity #squad are all your favorite SNL alum ladies! We've got Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Kristen Wiig as the main girls, with fringe members Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, and Melissa McCarthy (who is basically an honorary SNL member).
The ringleaders of this squad are clearly Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, because they have a best friendship that can't be beat (hello, hosting gigs at the Golden Globes and Academy Awards). With this squad, you can guarantee hilarity and intelligent conversations that'll still make you bust a gut. The members of this squad have moved beyond their Saturday Night Live days to star together in films like Baby Mama (Tina and Amy), Sisters (Tina, Amy, Rachel, and Maya), Bridesmaids (Kristen, Maya, and Melissa), and Mean Girls (Tina, Amy, and Ana). Talk about a multi-talented group of ladies! And that's how b!tches get stuff done!
14 The Girls Girls
It's no surprise that the four main stars of HBO's Girls have made their own girl squad! Actresses Lena Dunham, Jemima Kirke, Allison Williams, and Zosia Mamet have been working together for the past five seasons of the show (and have recently wrapped filming the final one), and have grown closer throughout their work. In fact, Jemima and Lena have a long history together - they were classmates in grade school!
A more politically active squad than others on this list, the girls of Girls have used their fame and Lena's popular Lenny Letter to show their support for Hillary Clinton throughout the 2016 presidential election and campaign for women and LGBTQ rights. While not within the main cast of Girls (although she did have a guesting stint), Lena's real-life BFF, Audrey Gelman, is an honorary #squad member and the inspiration behind Allison's tightly-wound character, Marnie Michaels! If you're looking for a girl group that's comprised of intellectual outsiders, then the Girls girls are where it's at!
13 The Kardashian-Jenner Klan
More than just a #squad, the Kardian-Jenner clan has got family on its side, too. The core squad members are of course Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, Kendall, and Kylie, but their SOs, bro, and momager Kris make appearances regularly, too. Sisterhood and growing up in the glare of the spotlight can make for a pretty unbreakable bond, so even though some of these squad members drop in to other celebrity groups (ahem, Kendall), we know that for them, family is forever.
A squad that rules social media and fashion runways, the Kardashian-Jenners are pretty much unrivaled in terms of sex appeal and plastic surgery. While not without controversy, the sisters know how to work it to their advantage and keep their name on everyone's lips. This family is uber powerful in the age of social media and have earned millions by being everywhere at all times, and if that's not the mark of a powerful squad, I don't know what is!
12 The Old Bros
Getting their start on SNL (like the funny ladies earlier on this list), the Old Bros' group includes Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider. If that sounds like the cast of Grown Ups, it's because the Old Bros like to keep things in the funny family by casting their friends in all their films. (Otherwise, how else would Rob Schneider have a career if not for his BFF Adam Sandler?)
Fringe members of this squad include funnyman Kevin James, and the late Chris Farley, who David Spade brought into the group and also worked with the Old Bros during their SNL days. This past May in fact, Rob, Adam, and David even got together to get back to their stand-up roots on their Do-Over comedy tour! Having started from the bottom to now stand at millionaire status, it makes sense that the Old Bros' squad would stick together through thick and thin to keep their fans laughing.
11 Team J-Law
This squad is a smaller one, but no less powerful. Made up of the ladies you'd want to be your own BFFs, Team J-Law is led by Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence and includes such talented A-listers as Emma Stone and Adele, with occasional guest appearances by actress, comedian, and author Amy Schumer. Considered to be some of the most real people in fake Hollywood, these ladies are almost universally beloved for their beauty, talent, and down-to-earth personalities.
This squad can usually be found heading out to girly dinner dates or even vacationing together (although that mostly seems reserved for Jennifer and Amy). In fact, Jennifer and Amy are also working on writing a film together, which is pretty much the stuff dreams are made of! These girls are totally gushy about one another, too, calling each other some of the sweetest, most adorable people they've ever met - and we bet the lot of them are a laugh riot when they get together as well!
10 The Cast of Game of Thrones
Even though everyone on HBO's Game of Thrones seems to be either killing each other or bedding each other, we love seeing the whole cast get together for some silly moments on the set. Since filming the show takes so much time, it's natural that the cast would bond over their long hours and a shared experience that others just can't quite get. One of our favorite BFF-ships in this squad is of course between Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner aka sisters Arya and Sansa Stark. These two girls are just the cutest together! (Seriously, if you haven't checked out their Instagram accounts, visit @sophiet and @maisie_williams for more behind-the-scenes awesomeness.)
It's great to see this powerful squad take a break from cutting each others heads off to goof around and lighten the mood, and since they seem so different in real life from the characters they play, we can't help but love them all the more!
9 The A-List
If you've ever worried about your friend group not being cool enough, you may want to skip this entry. The A-List squad is made up of the award-winning actresses who have been silver screen and magazine mainstays for decades - and have won our hearts time and time again. This squad counts Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Reese Witherspoon, and Jennifer Aniston among its genetically-blessed members. These gal pals are not only gorgeous, but likable too! As some of our go-to romantic comedy leading women, these actresses have been around the Hollywood sets for a while, but we never seem to get tired of them.
The A-List squad's favorite activities include vacationing together, cooking classes, and beach getaways, but you can also spot them working their look during award shows, where they're sure to land on all the best-dressed lists. Instead of annoying us with their perfection, the A-List keeps things down-to-earth and feel-good, which is why they're so powerful and will probably stick around for years to come.
8 The Elite
If you thought the A-List was powerful, you haven't yet met the Elite. This #squad is a small group of people but that doesn't mean you can sit with them. The Elite is made up of two celebrity power couples, which is why it's such a force to be reckoned with. GOOP goddess Gwyneth Paltrow and consciously-uncoupled ex-husband Chris Martin have been rubbing elbows with the King and Queen of music, Beyoncé and Jay-Z for years. By virtue of birth, kids Apple, Moses, and Blue Ivy are also squad members and this is a playgroup that has a loooong waiting list.
Gwyneth and Bey are clearly the ringleaders of this squad, with their men just coming along for the ride, but as cultural taste-makers, they have an obligation to provide the rest of us with the knowledge about the best in everything. While Kim and Kanye have made a big stink over North not getting together for play dates with Blue, we can't blame Bey and Jay for setting their sights on something a little higher.
7 The Brat Pack
We're reaching further back for this celebrity #squad! One of the original celebrity squads before the term was ever used, the Brat Pack was the hottest group in the '80s. They were the stuff of adolescent dreams, with members like Breakfast Clubbers Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, and Ally Sheedy, plus Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, and Demi Moore.
The Brat Pack earned the name for their multiple appearances in popular coming-of-age films in the 1980s and their hard partying ways. (Hey, it was the '80s!) Full of bad hair and drug problems, the careers of the Brat Pack members derailed a bit as the decade wore on, with only a few members able to regain the same level of fame they once had. Although the squad's name was initially negative and meant to be representative of the nihilistic and angsty teenagers of the '80s, the term 'Brat Pack' has since transformed into a bit of an endearment, and was tweaked to apply to other subsequent celebrity squads.
6 The Frat Pack
The Frat Pack is one of the most famous celebrity guy squads in recent memory, and its members have shaped modern comedy as we know it. Frequent collaborators Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughan, and Will Ferrell are considered the core members of the group, but they're often joined by fellow funnymen Jack Black, Luke Wilson (brother of Owen), and Steve Carell. Like the Old Bros, the Frat Pack are major players in comedy and choose to work together in such major hits as Zoolander (Ben, Owen, and Will), Wedding Crashers (Owen, Will, and Vince), Tropic Thunder (Ben and Jack), and Anchorman (Will and Steve).
They've used their hilarious antics to get themselves to the A-List, and have been mainstays in comedy since the early '00s. Their penchant for crude, bro-type humor has given them an edge among fans and critics alike, and their popularity has actually spawned a squad offshoot, which is the next entry on this list!
5 The Slacker Squad
Also known as the Apatow Chapter (named for producer, director, and writer Judd Apatow), the Slacker Squad grew from the members of the Frat Pack, and are often called a younger, cruder, and more drug-fuelled version of their forefathers. The Slacker Squad is hugely popular among millennials for their laugh-out-loud work and the fact that they seem so damn real. Members include Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, James Franco, and Jason Segel, but they don't limit themselves to the boys - Apatow's wife Leslie Mann and Girls co-creator Lena Dunham have also made appearances.
If you've noticed that these guys are almost always in movies together, it's because they are that close in real life. Many of them started out on Freaks and Geeks, a brilliant show that ended after only one season, but still managed to kick start the careers of Seth, James, and Jason. Since then, the Slacker Squad has gone on to make a name for themselves as hilarious everymen!
4 The Pu$$y Posse
We didn't name this squad - this is what they chose to call themselves! The Pu$$y Posse were the heartthrobs of the '90s, but they're still pretty tight decades later. They called themselves the Pu$$y Posse because - as major hotties - they were able to easily bed their fare share of models, singers, and actresses. Led by Leonardo DiCaprio, this squad of fellow actors Kevin Connolly, Lukas Haas, and Leo's childhood BFF Tobey Maguire regularly ran into each other at auditions and struck up a lasting friendship.
The squad members were just starting to gain steam in the early '90s, which is another reason why they banded together - not just for the women, but to have a friendly face among the power- and money-hungry Hollywood set. While most members have settled down with wives and children, model-chaser Leo is still a card-carrying member who may just be looking to bring newly-single Tobey back into the Pu$$y Posse game!
3 The Rat Pack
Let's hear it for the original celebrity squad! The group that started it all, including group naming, the Rat Pack was the hottest squad of the '50s and '60s. This was a true supergroup of influential celebrities who women wanted to be with and men wanted to be. The original leader of the group was Humphrey Bogart until his death in 1957, but the Rat Pack is perhaps best known for members Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammie Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. The name came from Humphrey's wife, Lauren Bacall, who observed the group coming back from a night in Vegas and exclaiming that they looked like a “g*ddamn rat pack”, and the cultural signifier stuck.
Like the Slacker Squad, Frat Pack, and Brat Pack that came after the Rat Pack worked together on famous films like Ocean's 11 (the original). And, like the Pu$$y Posse, the Rat Pack was as famous for their talents as they were for their womanizing and heavy partying.
2 The Mod(el) Squad
One of the hottest current squads, the Mod(el) Squad puts the supermodels of the '90s to shame with their powerful influence. Runway mainstays and social media sirens, these girls look gorgeous even when they're off-duty. Catwalk cuties Kendall Jenner and BFF Gigi Hadid are clearly the ringleaders, but sister Bella and friends Cara Delevingne, Hailey Baldwin, and Karlie Kloss are all vital members of this exclusive girl group.
To be a member of this group, one must be rich, beautiful, young, and famous, which is why the #squad holds such power among millennials. Their gorgeous faces cover magazines and TV, while they strut their stuff on the runway, looking just as glam during awards season as they are when they're running out to grab coffee. The girls of this group are also joined by a common career, but the members often flit among other squads, too. Kendall is a forever member of the Kardashian-Jenner Klan, while Cara, Gigi, and Karlie all count themselves among the inner circle of the largest, most powerful squad in celebrity existence, T-Swift's Girl Gang.
1 T-Swift's Girl Gang
The T-Swift Girl Gang is the group that started the original #squadgoals. One of the most well-known squads in existence, this girl group has musicians, models, actresses, and comedians in its ongoing roster. Aside from red carpets and endless Instagram shots, Taylor Swift has also shown off most of her squad in her 'Bad Blood' music video. Led by Taylor, permanent members include head BFF Karlie Kloss, Cara Delevingne, Martha Hunt, Gigi Hadid, Jaime King, Hailee Steinfeld, Selena Gomez, Lorde, the Haim sisters (Este, Danielle, and Alana), and childhood BFF Abigail Anderson. Phew! And that's not even mentioning the members that fall in and out of Taylor's favor on a regular basis!
This squad has gotten a lot of flak from other celebrities who refuse to join its ranks, because they see it as something of a Mean Girls situation and a bit of a cult of carefully-curated women used to bolster Taylor's public image. But, no other squad has gotten the media talking quite so much, which is why it's at the top of our list!