All of Taylor Swift's Celebrity Friends, From Selena Gomez to Beyoncé
Outside of her extensive and successful music career, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is also equally known for her high-profile platonic relationships as she is for her romantic ones. Over the years, Swift has accumulated a large number of friends, many of them fellow celebrities, to stand by her side. By the mid-2010s, the "Anti-Hero" singer was frequently spotted with a circle of friends that included stars like Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne, and Emma Stone.
The close-knit group, commonly referred to as Swift's "Squad," has evolved over time, though some of the original members have stuck around for good. On July 7, the day "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" was released, Swift shared a few photos of herself celebrating the Fourth of July with some of her oldest pals, including Gomez and the Haim sisters, showing that her bonds with them still hold strong. "Happy belated Independence Day from your local neighborhood independent girlies 😎," Swift wrote in the caption.
(The photos also appeared to evoke Swift's "1989"-era aesthetic, which seemed to make sense, considering the 2014 classic is her next rerecorded album to release.)
Over the years, the "Marjorie" singer hasn't been shy about discussing her friendships, touching on the nature of her relationships subliminally in her songs and candidly in interviews. In a 2019 Elle essay, she wrote, "Something about 'we're in our young twenties!' hurls people together into groups that can feel like your chosen family. And maybe they will be for the rest of your life. Or maybe they'll just be your comrades for an important phase, but not forever. It's sad but sometimes when you grow, you outgrow relationships. You may leave behind friendships along the way, but you'll always keep the memories."
Flash forward a few years, and many of Swift's famous friends have popped up at various spots on her Eras Tour, showing that some of the bonds Swift formed in her early 20s really did go the distance. Even Beyoncé did a surprise pop-up at Swift's "Eras Tour" movie premiere on Oct. 11, reminding everyone that they've actually been friends for years.
Read on to learn all about Swift's celebrity BFFs.
Blake Lively
According to Entertainment Tonight, Swift and Blake Lively were first publicly spotted together in 2015, and their friendship has been blossoming ever since. In 2016, Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, attended Swift's Fourth of July party, and they've frequently interacted and supported one another on social media — but their friendship hasn't stopped there.
The track "Gorgeous" from Swift's 2017 album, "Reputation," features the voice of Lively and Reynolds's daughter James, and throughout her 2020 "Folklore" album, Swift included the names of Lively's children James, Inez, and Betty, per People. In 2021, Lively made her directorial debut and directed the music video for Swift's "I Bet You Think About Me."
Hayley Williams
Swift and Paramore's Hayley Williams have been friends since they were teens, and Swift even brought Williams out to sing "That's What You Get" during a 2011 show on her "Speak Now" tour. While their friendship has been a little more under-the-radar over the years than some of Swift's other relationships, they've started to open up about their bond more in recent years.
Williams appears on the "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" track "Castles Crumbling," and she paid tribute to Swift in a January Instagram post celebrating the album's then-upcoming re-release. "Taylor was the first industry friend I ever made and hung out with outside of work things," Williams wrote in the caption. "When 'Speak Now' dropped, I bought my friend's record (as you do!) and listened to the whole thing in my first car, sitting still in the driveway. It's my favorite Taylor Swift album for so many reasons. I wish I could go back to this moment at my 21st birthday and tell her one day she'll legitimately own 'Speak Now' and we'll get to sing together on one of the songs."
In February, Williams shared a bit more about their early bond. "I remember when we were 19 and I was closer with Taylor Swift at that point because we both lived in Nashville and we're both experiencing our own versions of real success for the first time," she told Zane Lowe during an interview on Apple Music 1. "I went over to hang out. She's a really good cook, by the way. She's a really good cook. She has taught me how to make stuff that I did not retain at all."
A month later, Williams revealed that she texted Swift for the first time after Kanye West interrupted her onstage at the VMAs in 2009. "I did not text her until a certain VMA scandal. That was the first time that I felt like, 'I have to reach out because this person is really cool and did not deserve that,'" Williams told the crowd during a show, per Variety.
On July 6, Swift revealed that Paramore would be opening for her on all of her UK and European Eras Tour dates. "Really can't contain my excitement because . . . we're adding 14 new shows to The Eras Tour. And I get to travel the world doing shows with @paramore!!" Swift wrote in her social media post. "@yelyahwilliams and I have been friends since we were teens in Nashville and now we get to frolic around the UK/Europe next summer??? I'm screaming???"
Gigi Hadid
Gigi Hadid first made note of her friendship with Swift on Instagram back in 2014. The model shared a picture of herself along with Swift at an Oscars afterparty that year, writing in the caption, "surrounded by talent and beauty last night at @vanityfair #vfoscars."
After the two connected, they were photographed together frequently, and Hadid became a core member of Swift's squad of friends. In 2015, Hadid starred in the singer's iconic "Bad Blood" music video and joined Swift on stage at a show during her "1989" tour, as reported by People. And after the birth of Hadid's daughter in September 2020, she shared a picture of a handmade blanket Swift had sent her, writing (via Elle), "auntie @taylorswift made this!!"
Selena Gomez
One of Swift's longest celebrity friendships is with Selena Gomez, whom she met around 2008 when Swift was dating Joe Jonas and Gomez was dating Nick Jonas, according to a 2017 interview with KISS. Over the years, Swift and Gomez have taken their friendship on stage, at events like the Met Gala, and even in music videos (Gomez was another friend featured in the 2015 "Bad Blood" video). The two can often be seen posting about one another on social media and gushing about each other in interviews.
Gomez notably called Swift "my only friend in the industry" in a November 2022 cover story with Rolling Stone, their friendship appears to be stronger than ever.
Haim
Swift's friendship with Haim singers and sisters Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim started in 2014. Per UMusic, Haim tweeted, "blasting 'this love' while driving on the freeway late at night might be our favorite thing right now yessss @taylorswift13," to which Swift responded, "@HAIM this tweet made me so happy, I forgot that I'm up at 5am and just did a little awkward celebratory dance. As I do."
After sharing their mutual love for one another, Swift and Haim were seen at the former's 25th birthday party, the 2015 Golden Globes, and a group vacation to Hawaii, according to Teen Vogue. They also appeared in Swift's Instagram photos from July 4th, showing that their friendship is still going strong.
Along with being close friends, Haim and Swift have also collaborated together, with the group joining Swift on her "1989" tour in 2015, singing on the 2020 "Evermore" track "No Body, No Crime," and performing on stage together on Swift's 2023 Eras tour. Regarding the ongoing tour, the sisters excitedly told E! News, "[We're] still getting over the fact that we're going on tour . . . We get to do it with our friend, which is going to be so much fun."
Dylan O'Brien
Before their collaboration in the short-film adaptation of "All Too Well" in 2021, Dylan O'Brien was a fan of Swift's music. After Swift announced the release of "Evermore" in December 2020, the "Teen Wolf" star tweeted a "thank you" GIF in response and later revealed in a 2021 interview with Coup de Main that he personally loves the songs "Mirrorball," "My Tears Ricochet," "Mad Woman," "Epiphany," and "The 1."
In November 2021, O'Brien starred alongside "The Whale" actor Sadie Sink in Swift's short-film version of "All Too Well." Reflecting on O'Brien's performance, Swift told Bustle via email in March 2022, "I had a feeling he would be great at ad libbing and adding nuance to his character, which enriched the story tenfold . . . He absolutely blew me away and I feel really lucky that I gained such a great friend from the experience too."
Zoë Kravitz
Swift's friendship with Zoë Kravitz traces back to 2016, when People reported that Kravitz and then-boyfriend Karl Glusman had dinner with Swift, Dakota Johnson, and Cara Delevingne. The duo's friendship has been low-key for the most part, but they were reportedly in the same quarantine pod in 2020 (via E! News) and have even collaborated together on Swift's 2022 "Midnights" album, with Kravitz credited on two tracks: "Lavender Haze" and "Karma." In an Instagram post highlighting "Midnights," Swift mentioned Kravitz as one of the "brilliant collaborators" on the album.
Lana Del Rey
Swift and Lana Del Rey first connected at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards (via Spin) and have been fans of each other ever since. In 2022, the "Summertime Sadness" singer was featured on Swift's "Midnights" album on the song "Snow on the Beach."
During a stop in Las Vegas on Swift's Eras tour in March 2023, the singer gave Del Rey a shout-out, telling fans (via People), "I do want to talk about something, because Lana Del Rey put out a new album, and it's called 'Did You Know There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.' And, guys, it's so good. You probably already know that. But it's just extraordinary. I just think she's the best that we have. And so I think we need to make it a priority as a group to stream, buy, support this album and this artist."
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift first collaborated together on the song "Everything Has Changed" from her 2012 album, "Red." Over the years, Swift and Sheeran have performed the song together on a variety of tours and rerecorded the song on Swift's "Red (Taylor's Version)" album in 2021. The two have also collaborated on Swift's 2017 song "End Game," as well as Sheeran's 2022 song "The Joker and the Queen."
Sheeran revealed just how close he and Swift are in a May 2023 interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music 1. "I have long, long, long conversations with Taylor about stuff just because I feel like she's one of the only people that actually truly understands where I'm at," the "Shape of You" singer shared (via Billboard). "I had an hour-20 conversation with her yesterday and we were just . . . everything that was on our minds we talked about."
Phoebe Bridgers
Phoebe Bridgers and Swift collaborated on the song "Nothing New" from "Red (Taylor's Version)" in 2021, as reported by Us Weekly. In an April 2022 profile of Bridgers by the LA Times, Swift told the publication, "I think that the specificity of Phoebe's lyrics and the vulnerability she expresses in her voice when she delivers them is what makes her music so deeply impactful and moving for me as a fan."
In March 2023, Bridgers presented Swift with the innovator award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards and said in part (via Rolling Stone), "Taylor has always told the truth. She's written songs from exactly where she is. Her music shifted genre in the same way life does —in the same way being 16 is totally incomparable to being 18, 22, 25, 28. I'm grateful that I've grown up in a world with Taylor Swift in it."
Lena Dunham
Swift first connected with "Girls" creator and actor Lena Dunham via Twitter in 2013, per Insider. The two shared a mutual love for one another and were first pictured together at the Grammys that same year. Dunham, who previously dated producer Jack Antonoff (whom Swift frequently collaborates with), served as the inspiration for Swift's 2015 song "You Are in Love" from her "1989" album.
In an interview with Elle, the singer referenced the lyric "You're my best friend," explaining, "Yeah. I've never had that, so I wrote that song about things that Lena [Dunham] has told me about her and Jack [Antonoff]. That's just basically stuff she's told me. And I think that that kind of relationship—God, it sounds like it would just be so beautiful—would also be hard. It would also be mundane at times."
Like many of Swift's other friends, Dunham also made an appearance in the "Bad Blood" music video. At Dunham's September 2021 wedding to Luis Felber, Swift had a special role as a bridesmaid, per W magazine.
Emma Stone
Emma Stone and Swift first met in April 2008 at the Young Hollywood Awards, as reported by People. Stone later revealed in an interview with MTV that their friendship began with an email. "We met there three years ago, and then I listened to some of her music, and I wrote her an e-mail saying I liked her music, I swear. And then we started talking and hanging out," she said.
As their friendship continued to blossom, the two were frequently spotted in public together during casual outings or for formal events like the "Easy A" premiere in 2010, the 2011 Met Gala, and on Broadway for Stone's role in "Cabaret" in 2014.
Over the years, the pair have appeared to maintain a low-key friendship, and in June 2023, Stone revealed to Vanity Fair just how special their near 15-year relationship is and how she snagged some tickets to the coveted Eras tour. "I was lucky 'cause we've been friends for a really long time . . . I've known her since we were 17 and 18, so she hooked me up, which was very nice 'cause I know those tickets are impossible to get. She's a wonderful friend," Stone explained.
Karlie Kloss
The beginning of Karlie Kloss and Swift's friendship began in 2012 when the singer gushed about Kloss in an interview with Vogue. "I love Karlie Kloss . . . I want to bake cookies with her," Swift exclaimed. Kloss responded to Swift's comment on Twitter and wrote, "Hey @taylorswift13 love the @voguemagazine cover! Your kitchen or mine? :)"
According to Elle, the two were first publicly spotted in November 2013 at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. After taking their friendship public, Kloss and Swift were often seen hanging out in New York City together, going to public events like the Met Gala, and even at sports games. Kloss made an appearance with Swift's other friends in the "Bad Blood" music video in 2015, and by 2016, the two made one of their last public appearances together for a while, which led fans to speculate about the status of their friendship.
Kloss has repeatedly claimed that she and Swift are still friends in various interviews, including ones with Vogue, "Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen," and The New York Times, but fans have also observed that Swift was not in attendance at Kloss's wedding in 2019 and that some of the singer's "Evermore" songs may have indirectly addressed their friendship.
Cara Delevingne
According to Insider, Swift and model Cara Delevingne met at the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. After they connected, Delevingne quickly became part of Swift's squad and was frequently spotted with the singer during casual outings together in 2014. In 2015, Delevingne starred in the "Bad Blood" music video, and she attended one of Swift's "1989" tour shows that same year, per Us Weekly.
While the official status of their friendship remains unknown, it appears that at least as of a couple of years ago, the two were on good terms. After Swift released "Folklore" in 2020, the singer gifted Delevingne a replica of the cardigan worn in the "Cardigan" music video, per People.
Lorde
Swift and Lorde's friendship blossomed after the "Cruel Summer" singer sent Lorde a bouquet of flowers after a live performance, and the two met in person at Shake Shack to get to know each more, per People. From there, Lorde and Swift performed together during Swift's "1989" tour show in Washington DC in 2015, but they haven't been seen much in public since.
In 2017, Lorde sparked rumors about tensions with Swift after she revealed in a June 2017 interview with Australia's Sunrise (via E! News) that "I don't hang out with these people at all," allegedly in regard to Swift and the "Squad."
Shortly after, however, the "Royals" artist clarified her comments on Twitter, writing in part (via Associated Press), "I want to say one more time that Taylor has been there for me in all my dark and light moments these past 5 years. All of them. I feel truly terrible that it would ever seem like I wasn't faithfully her person."
Since this mild drama, Lorde and Swift have not been seen in public together. However, on June 16, 2023, Lorde shared an Instagram Story showing off a text Swift sent her the week her album "Melodrama" dropped in 2017. "You will always be imagined in my mind in a rowboat with Annie Lennox floating down a river of cool cerebral ethereal dreams but don't-f*ck-with-me vibes all around you," Swift wrote in the text. "And I don't think first week record sales singularly define a legacy."
Lorde captioned the Story, "Taylor was very kind and not wrong," added a heart emoji and tagged Swift in the post, showing that the pair still seem to have a lot of love for one another.
Camila Cabello
Before Camila Cabello became friends with Swift, she was a huge fan of her music. In March 2015, the former Fifth Harmony singer shared a video of her singing at a concert that was part of Swift's "1989" tour and wrote a lengthy caption expressing her love for the "Shake It Off" singer, writing in part on Instagram, "tonight i sang at the top of my lungs to all the Taylor songs that have been the soundtrack to my life- that have understood how I felt more than anybody else did."
Months later, in July 2015, Swift and Selena Gomez threw Cabello a party to celebrate the "Señorita" singer's 18th birthday, as reported by MTV. From that point on, the two became close friends, with Cabello opening for Swift during her "Reputation" tour in 2018.
Touching on their friendship, Cabello revealed to Bustle in a 2021 interview, "Taylor has always been so kind and supportive and also goes out of her way to give you artist advice. [She's] really about making friendships and relationships the most important thing. She is so brave at watering those seeds of friendships and relationships."
While the two have been busy with their own musical projects, their friendship is going strong. In April 2022, Cabello took a brief moment to highlight Swift in an interview with Deezer. When asked who would write the soundtrack to her life, the "Havana" singer smiled and said, "Taylor Swift."
Jack Antonoff
Swift met musician Jack Antonoff in November 2012 at the MTV European Music Awards, as reported by People. The two hit it off right away and bonded over a mutual love for the '80s band Yazoo, which led to their collaboration on the song "Sweeter Than Fiction" and later on Swift's 2014 album, "1989." The beloved album won album of the year at the 2016 Grammys, with Antonoff credited for cowriting and producing "OuWt of the Woods" and "I Wish You Would."
In a 2017 feature story by The New York Times about Antonoff, Swift revealed her love and respect for the musician and producer, saying, "His excitement and exuberance about writing songs is contagious. He's an absolute joy. That's why everyone loves him. I personally wouldn't trust someone who didn't."
The powerful duo went on to work together on a number of other music projects, including many of Swift's later albums, like "Reputation," "Lover," "Folklore," "Evermore," "Fearless (Taylor's Version)", "Red (Taylor's Version)," and "Midnights."
Sophie Turner
Swift's friendship with Sophie Turner is an unexpected one, to say the least, considering they both share an ex: Joe Jonas. It all started back in May 2019, when they both appeared on "The Graham Norton Show." Their episode aired shortly after Turner married Jonas; Swift briefly dated the Jonas Brothers singer back in 2008.
A month after their TV appearance, Turner confirmed that she and Swift had met "a couple of times" in person and that they're friends. In the years since, the two stars have had a few encounters — including an alleged reference to Turner on one of Swift's "Folklore" songs, "Invisible String," in 2020, though the singer never confirmed it.
Most recently, Turner and Swift's friendship has been thrust back into the spotlight amid the former's divorce from Jonas. On Sept. 20, roughly two weeks after Jonas and Turner confirmed their split on Instagram, the Turner and Swift were photographed out in New York City, where a source told Page Six the pair were out grabbing drinks. A day later, the two friends were seen in NYC again, per Cosmopolitan, then at a Kansas City Chiefs game on Oct. 1 cheering on Swift's rumored beau Travis Kelce.
Beyoncé
Beyoncé made a surprise appearance at Swift's "Eras Tour" movie premiere on Oct. 11, but the two posing on the red carpet together shouldn't be a huge shock. If fans can recall, the two icons have been friends for at least a decade. The disastrous 2009 MTV VMAs may have been where it all began, as Beyoncé invited Swift back on stage to finish her acceptance speech after being famously interrupted by Kanye West. Since then, the two have kept in touch, though we've rarely seen them in the same place together.
In December 2014, the singers took photos together at Swift's 25th birthday party. Then, at the 2016 Grammy Awards, they were photographed hugging backstage. We've seen other glimpses of their friendship through the years, from birthday wishes to celebrating each other's accomplishments. But the two sitting together and goofing around at Swift's film premiere was an extra sweet moment fans didn't expect.
"I'm so glad I'll never know what my life would've been like without @beyonce's influence," Swift wrote in an Instagram post following their reunion. "The way she's taught me and every artist out here to break rules and defy industry norms. Her generosity of spirit. Her resilience and versatility. She's been a guiding light throughout my career and the fact that she showed up tonight was like an actual fairytale. 😇🙏"