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In the fickle land of Hollywood it seems like celebrities can rise or fall in a matter of months, and while nearly everyone in the entertainment industry dreams of making it to the A-List, the vast majority of them never make it there. Some seem to have a bit more determination to get there than others though, or maybe they just have the dumb luck of legitimately falling in love with someone who is or becomes super famous. We won't assume that these D-list stars wanted to get with these A-listers simply because they could get more fame through them, but let's not pretend like that isn't an added bonus for them. Either way, they get a brief glimpse into the rarefied echelon of an A-lister's life and might even get more recognition because of it.
I'm sure being a D-lister who suddenly finds themselves getting A-list treatment because of their significant other is not a bad place to be, but like all things, there are some upsides to it as well as some downsides. It can't be easy to have people criticize you and assume that you're the loser in the relationship. For a lot of these D-list stars, it must be disheartening to feel like their partner outshines them whenever they go out in public. Regardless, there are many perks that come with dating a megastar. Who out of the moderately famous or successful entertainers not only aimed for a partner who was out of their league, but actually managed to bag them?
Calvin Harris Bagged Taylor Swift
At this point, Taylor Swift's dating history (and the music that has been borne out of that dating history) is almost legendary, but one mediocre entry on her list of exes is DJ Calvin Harris. It's kind of understandable how someone on Calvin Harris' level might score a girlfriend on the level of Taylor Swift. I mean, at least they have an interest in music in common. It's hard to see what else drew them to each other, though. Taylor has dated musicians a lot in her past but they were usually on or near her level of success and public visibility, while Harris' name is barely recognizable and most people probably didn't know what he looked like until they started dating. And apparently that success disparity wasn't lost on the couple. Harris reportedly had a hard time dealing with the fact that Swift was so much more successful than he was, and that purportedly contributed to their eventual breakup.
Jonny Lee Miller Bagged Angelina Jolie
Now this one is a real throwback couple. Did any of you know that Angelina Jolie's first husband was actually our very own Sherlock Holmes (the American edition, anyway)? The pair met each other while filming the campy computer film Hackers, and they wound up getting hitched in 1996. The marriage didn't last, though, as the couple broke up in 1999, which coincidentally was the same year that Girl, Interrupted was released and Angelina's public profile rocketed into the stratosphere. It was apparently an amicable split though. Both actors still consider each other friends (and have even been snapped together at events), and honestly, out of all of Angelina's public relationships this seems like one of her mellowest. Jonny Lee Miller is certainly no slouch, but Angelina Jolie is, well, Angelina Jolie. If you're dating her or married to her you're pretty much always going to be punching way above your weight class.
Nina Agdal Bagged Leonardo DiCaprio
It's really no surprise to see Leonardo DiCaprio on this list since giving D-list models a higher public profile seems to be one of his favorite charitable endeavors, and Nina Agdal is just the most recent entry on the recipient list. The superstar's preference for young blonde models is no secret, and considering his longtime casual "friendship" with Agdal it seems like Nina had been angling for a spot on Leo's girlfriend list for quite a few years. I don't know if all of that work was worth it, though. Leonardo would only claim Agdal as his official girlfriend after months of dating, and their relationship ultimately lasted about a year. I can't say it was much of a surprise, though. I mean, dating Leo is like a real life Logan's Run and Agdal was at the ripe old age of 25 (to his 42 years old) when the couple split.
Amber Heard Bagged Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp first met Amber Heard while filming The Rum Diary, when he was really at his peak in his career and when he had been in a very serious long term relationship with French singer Vanessa Paradis for over a decade. Apparently Amber made a really strong impression on him, though. Depp broke it off with Paradis and went in hard wooing Amber Heard. And apparently his overtures worked, because the couple got married in early 2015. The wedded bliss didn't seem to last too long, though, and the relationship seemed to have some pretty dark aspects to it behind closed doors. When the marriage fell apart, Amber said that Depp was abusive and had a drinking problem, and frankly considering his appearance and behavior, plus the evidence she shared publicly, it seemed like a pretty credible claim. And Amber still isn't nearly as well known as Johnny is, but considering her new role in Justice League and Depp's recent legal and financial problems, it's possible that she actually exited that relationship a winner.
Darren Aronofsky Bagged Jennifer Lawrence
Darren Aronofsky has spent his directing career building up a whole lot of artsy filmmaker credibility, but before hooking up with Jennifer Lawrence (as well as casting her as the lead in his latest art flick mother!), the world at large probably didn't know who he was. There is no doubt Aronofsky was dating up in this relationship, though. I mean, he has made some pretty great movies (and a few crappy ones), but Jennifer Lawrence is currently the queen of Hollywood and quite frankly could have been doing a lot better than dating a moderately successful director who's nearly twice her age. And an age difference isn't always a deal breaker, but Aronofsky has publicly complained about Lawrence's lack of maturity and taste, which seems more than a little ridiculous considering that Jennifer Lawrence could really have her pick of any guy in the business, and is just generally an uncool thing to say about your own girlfriend. I mean come on dude, it's not like you didn't know she was 27. Luckily, these two broke it off. They seemed poorly-matched, anyway.
Kris Humphries Bagged Kim Kardashian
Kris Humphries has been doing alright for himself since his professional basketball career began in 2006, but honestly, most people who weren't avid basketball fans didn't even know his name until he snagged media princess Kim Kardashian. But of course, as soon as they started dating, Humphries' media profile went through the roof. The pair started dating in October of 2010 and Humphries proposed less than a year later, and the couple got married in a lavish E! sponsored wedding just three months after that. But just 72 days later, Kardashian decided the whole debacle was a mistake and wanted a divorce. Humphries was extremely displeased and accused Kardashian of using him for publicity, despite the fact that she was crazy famous and most people didn't know who he was before their relationship. Kris was bitter enough that he dragged out their divorce as long as he possibly could (Kim was actually pregnant with North West by the time the divorce was actually finalized), but once it was all over, Humphries seemed to avoid the spotlight while Kim's profile has only gotten higher.
Portia De Rossi Bagged Ellen DeGeneres
In the grand scheme of things, Portia de Rossi has done very well for herself. She has been a series regular on two really successful TV shows (Ally McBeal and Arrested Development) which is more than most professional actors can say for their careers. However that success seems pretty in comparison to her wife and media mogul Ellen DeGeneres, who has had two successful shows that were titled after herself as well as a decades-long stand-up comic career. It apparently took Portia a while to get up the courage to even tell Ellen about her feelings for her, and it took even longer for her to be fully comfortable being openly gay, but once this pair took the plunge they never looked back. When same-s*x marriage was legalized in 2008 Ellen and Portia tied the knot, and have been happily married for the last 9 years.
Orlando Bloom Bagged Katy Perry
In the early aughts, Orlando Bloom seemed poised to become the next superstar heartthrob because of his string of blockbuster hits like Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings trilogy, but it was a momentum that Bloom couldn't really hold on to for long. He ultimately faded to an actor who consistently works but isn't really on the Hollywood radar anymore. But he apparently has a gift for dating up; he was previously married to Victoria's Secret supermodel Miranda Kerr, and after the end of that relationship he hooked up with superstar singer Katy Perry. Most people in the entertainment industry will probably never reach the success level of Katy Perry, which is probably why she also seems to have a habit of dating down, but her previous relationships seemed to at least be with other people in the entertainment industry who were actually doing something besides being her boyfriend.
Travis Scott Bagged Kylie Jenner
Out of the entire Kardashian/Jenner clan Kylie has probably gotten the most fame out of the least work.I mean, aside from her makeup line and appearances on her family's shows, she doesn't seem to do anything particularly exceptional, but despite that she is undeniably one of the most visible celebrities in the entertainment industry today. Kylie is only 20 years old, so it's not like having your own makeup brand by that age is slacking or something, but because she's so young that also means that she has had relatively few public relationships. However, when it comes to her relationships, it seems like Kylie has a preference for D-list rappers. Travis Scott is definitely a huge improvement over talentless creeper Tyga, but Travis seems to have it made in the shade since he and Kylie apparently conceived a child a few months into their relationship. So whether either of them like it or not, this D-lister is permanently tied to this A-lister.
Blake Lively Bagged Ryan Reynolds
When Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds initially got together both actors seemed to be comfortably seated on the B-list. Their film collaboration The Green Lantern was probably a project that both actors wanted to push them up to the A-list, but the movie bombed hard enough that it forced DC comics to completely reevaluate its film franchise strategy. The movie wasn't entirely pointless, though. Blake and Ryan apparently hit it off and even though Reynolds was married to Scarlett Johansson at the time, that marriage ended shortly after they met and their relationship began almost immediately. But as time has gone on Ryan's profile has gone way up while Blake's has kind of petered out. With the success of Deadpool it seems like Reynolds finally had the hit film franchise he's been trying to launch for years, while Blake's most notable recent work was the C-list horror film The Shallows.
Jay-Z Bagged Beyonce
Okay, so calling Jay-Z a D-lister might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I still think that this relationship is one of the most noticeable chasms in a Hollywood relationship because Jay-Z is a successful rapper and Beyonce is... Beyonce. Plus Jay gets a serious demerit as a significant other because of his apparent history of cheating (who would cheat on Beyonce?!). The pair seems to have worked through their relationship problems and decided to stay together, but I think Beyonce could pretty obviously do better (and probably deserves better). Jay seems to have put his rap career on the back burner and focused more on his business endeavors in the past few years, but Beyonce's success level is higher than ever since her surprise release of the album Lemonade, and her career certainly shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. It's possible that this pairing is just true love, but I think Jay should consider himself incredibly lucky to have ever bagged Beyonce in the first place, let alone getting her to stick around after cheating on her.
Marc Anthony Bagged Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez is one of those rare superstar A-listers who has succeeded at literally everything she has ever done, and boy, has she done everything. Movies, television, music, fashion, fragrance, pretty much anything any celebrity has ever done Jennifer has done too and she always seems to succeed at it. Combine that with her inhuman good looks and bizarre ability to just never age, and you really have one of the greatest catches imaginable. But Jennifer is still Jenny from the block at heart, and her relatively down to earth sensibilities seem to be reflected in her habit of dating way down. Jennifer has no aversion to dating or even marrying a total regular Joe, so her marriage to moderately successful singer Marc Anthony isn't too much of a shock. But still, someone as mediocre as Anthony made an enormous score when he bagged Jennifer Lopez, and although the pair eventually divorced they apparently still get along well enough that they teamed up to create a charity for Puerto Rico's hurricane relief.
Justin Theroux Bagged Jennifer Aniston
Out of all of the Friends alums, Jennifer Aniston has probably been the most visible member of the cast since the show ended, and the fact that she was even on Friends automatically makes her TV royalty (and presumably, crazy rich). Aniston was also previously married to superstar Brad Pitt, which you'd assume would be a pretty tough act to follow. But after their divorce and a few failed relationships, Jennifer finally hooked up with actor and writer Justin Theroux. Justin's success level was nowhere near Jen's (and probably never will be), but he was pretty well known in the art film circuit for his work with David Lynch and has gone on to bigger successes with projects like his HBO show The Leftovers. His writing resumé was no joke either. His credits include writing films like Iron Man 2 and Tropic Thunder. So he might have scored someone out of his league when he married Jen, but he's a pretty decent catch in his own right.
Ayesha Curry Bagged Steph Curry
The Curry family is probably the cutest squad in professional sports and the relationship between Steph and Ayesha seems to be pretty strong, but since Stephen's spectacular performance with the Golden State Warriors he has become one of the most visible superstar athletes in sports. Ayesha has done well for herself too, along with some acting and modelling gigs she has found some pretty significant success as a professional food writer/TV presenter, but comparatively speaking her husband is pretty clearly in a league of his own. But one massive thumbs up for this couple stems from the fact that they've known each other since they were teenagers and before they were famous and successful, so they can at least rest easy knowing that they both actually love each other for who they are. Steph might be on the A+ list now, but Ayesha bagged him when he was a Z-lister just hoping to make it big in basketball.
Joe Manganiello Bagged Sofia Vergara
Actor Joe Manganiello first really made a name for himself when he began to play werewolf Alcide on True Blood, but when you're married to the highest paid actress in television it's pretty hard to compete. The stunning Colombian actress Sofia Vergara showed off her comedic chops when she started as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on Modern Family, and her character and performance became so popular that Vergara was nominated for dozens of acting awards and earning over 40 million dollars in her salary and endorsement deals. Manganiello might not be as successful as Vergara (after all, most people aren't as successful as she is), but he's certainly a massive upgrade from Vergara's previous fiancé Nick Loeb. Their relationship was reportedly troubled long before they broke it off, but once Sofia had moved on Loeb seemed to have a bit of a Fatal Attraction moment. He sued the actress for the rights to the embryos they had created while together and seemed to want to have some other woman birth the children of himself and his ex. So the apparently sane Manganiello is definitely a step up.
Danny Moder Bagged Julia Roberts
Honestly, calling Danny Moder even D-list is being beyond generous. Before hooking up with Julia Roberts Moder was a camera man, and since getting together with Julia his main occupation seems to be being Julia Roberts' husband with some cinematography credits thrown in there. And by all accounts their marriage may be a very happy one. I mean, it'd have to be at least halfway decent to endure for 15 years and 3 children, but their origin story is more than a little sketchy. The couple met on the set of Julia's forgettable film The Mexican, while Moder was still married to his first wife Vera. Moder decided to divorce his wife so that he could marry Julia, but apparently Vera wasn't very quick to roll over and give the new couple what they wanted (or at least it wasn't quick enough for Miss Roberts). Julia started making some very public digs at Vera for holding up the divorce, which seems pretty ballsy considering that she was the side chick in this scenario.
Keith Urban Bagged Nicole Kidman
Keith Urban is probably the most successful Australian country singer of his generation (and possibly ever), but that success really pales in comparison to the success of world renowned actress Nicole Kidman. Nicole Kidman found her way on to the A-list through her marriage to film superstar Tom Cruise. However, she stayed on that list by being one of the most consistently performing actors in film and television for her decades-long career. Nicole has recently hit another high with the success of the award winning HBO series Big Little Lies, and considering her body of work in the past few years it seems safe to assume that she won't be leaving the public consciousness any time soon. Her relationship with Urban seems like a massive step up from her seemingly endless divorce drama with Tom Cruise, though, and their marriage and family life seems incredibly stable for a Hollywood relationship.
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