Since becoming a global superstar, Taylor Swift has amassed quite the crew of celebrity friends.
The Grammy winner aligned herself with the likes of Cara Delevingne, Gigi Hadid and Karlie Kloss in the early 2010s. That exclusive squad eventually evolved to a smaller, tight-knit group.
“In my 20s I found myself surrounded by girls who wanted to be my friend,” Swift wrote in a May 2019 Elle essay. “So I shouted it from the rooftops, posted pictures and celebrated my newfound acceptance into a sisterhood, without realizing that other people might still feel the way I did when I felt so alone.”
Swift noted the importance of “learning the difference between lifelong friendships” and “situationships,” explaining, “It’s sad but sometimes when you grow, you outgrow relationships.”
She realized true friends were “the ones who stuck around” through highs and lows. “I have friends and fans in my life who don’t care if I’m #canceled,” she wrote. “They were there in the worst times and they’re here now.”
Scroll down to see Swift’s A-list BFFs through the years!
Jack Antonoff
The duo seemingly met at the 2012 MTV European Music Awards, and they began their prolific songwriting relationship in 2013 with the track “Sweeter Than Fiction” (written for the movie The One). Antonoff, who was dating Swift’s pal Lena Dunham at the time, went on to write three songs with Swift for her album 1989, including the hit “Out of the Woods.” He has worked on every subsequent Swift album, including her re-recordings.
Antonoff’s two Album of the Year Grammy Awards were won for Swift’s 1989 and Folklore.
“@taylorswift , from 1989 to here … goddmann. you are the one who let me produce records first,” Antonoff wrote via Instagram in a tribute to Swift after scoring their Folklore Grammy in 2021. “Before you i just “wasn’t a producer” according to the herbs. i just wasnt let in that room. then i met you, we made out of the woods and you said, “that’s the version” and that changed my life right there.”
He later appeared in her 2022 music video for “Bejeweled” and made a May 2023 appearance at the Eras Tour as a guest performer.
Swift was spotted at his New Jersey wedding to Margaret Qualley in August 2023.
Suki Waterhouse
The Daisy Jones and the Six actress has been close with Swift since the mid-2000s. In October 2016, Waterhouse was spotted among Swift’s squad going to a Kings of Leon concert. Us confirmed in June 2019 that Swift and Waterhouse went on a double date with Joe Alwyn and Robert Pattinson in Hollywood. (Swift and Alwyn called it quits in April 2023.)
In August 2023, Swift gushed over Waterhouse’s talent as a singer and sang her praises for being a loyal friend. “Suki has always seemed like she stepped out of a time machine. Her music is so raw and hopelessly romantic because that’s how she moves through the world,” Swift told Ssence. “When we hang out, I often come away wondering how someone can be simultaneously spontaneous and free — and also preternaturally wise. She is the wildest person I know who I would also trust to keep any secret.”
Phoebe Bridgers
Bridgers was featured on the song “Nothing New” from Swift’s rerecorded album Red (Taylor’s Version), which was released in November 2021.
“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,” the “Maroon” musician told the Los Angeles Times for its April 2022 profile of Bridgers, who was one of many artists opening for Swift on her Eras tour.
In March 2023, the “Motion Sickness” singer presented Swift with the Innovator Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. In her introduction, Bridgers gushed about her fellow songwriter’s authenticity.
“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. Or, ‘The World (Taylor’s Version),'” she said.
Lana Del Rey
The “Summertime Sadness” singer has a featured appearance on Swift’s Midnights album on the track “Snow on the Beach.” She also cowrote the song.
During Swift’s Eras Tour concert in Las Vegas, she gave a shoutout to her pal while introducing her “Snow on the Beach” live rendition. “I just think she’s the best that we have,” she gushed about Del Rey in March 2023. “So I think we need to make it a priority, as a group, to stream, buy, support this album and this artist.”
John Early
The comedian landed a role in Swift’s “Anti-Hero” music video in October 2022 as one of Swift’s future 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren.
Mike Birbiglia
The Orange Is the New Black actor plays one of the singer’s 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren in her music video for “Anti-Hero.” Birbiglia is also friends with Swift’s frequent collaborator, Antonoff.
Mary Elizabeth Ellis
The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia actress portrays Swift’s future daughter-in-law in the “Anti-Hero” music video. In 2021, Ellis had a featured role in the film Licorice Pizza, which stars Swift’s good friend Alana Haim.
Kelsea Ballerini
The “Hole in the Bottle” songstress gushed over her close friend while speaking to E! News on the Grammys red carpet in April 2022, raving, “I feel like she constantly makes people proud whether you know her or not. She’s always just advocating for change and pushing everything forward for everyone.” Swift had the chance to break her own record by winning her fourth Album of the Year trophy, and although she lost to Jon Batiste, Ballerini said she’s “always on [Taylor’s] team.”
Antoni Porowski
The Queer Eye star — who appeared in Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” music video — and his boyfriend, Kevin Harrington, enjoyed a night out with Swift in New York City in March 2022. “Does anyone else remember the show Big Comfy Couch or was that just a fever dream I had?” Harrington wrote via Instagram, alongside a photo of the “I Bet You Think About Me” singer photo bombing the couple as they relaxed on a sofa.
Dylan O’Brien
The Teen Wolf alum was Swift’s “first choice” to star in the “All Too Well” music video, and the pair formed a tight bond as they worked on the project together. “I had a feeling he would be great at ad libbing and adding nuance to his character, which enriched the story tenfold,” the “Nothing New” singer wrote in an email to Bustle in March 2022. “He absolutely blew me away and I feel really lucky that I gained such a great friend from the experience too.
“O’Brien was equally effusive about his new BFF, praising her for allowing him and costar Sadie Sink to contribute to the creative process with the dramatic post-dinner party argument. “For someone who’s that meticulous, she’s so trusting. … Everything was planned to be to music,” he told the outlet. “But then when we played out that scene [with dialogue]. [Taylor] immediately marched over and was just like, ‘This is it. I’m going to play this in the video.’ The confidence to just identify that in the moment on set and take in what we were bringing to it [shows how] she’s so sound with relationships and her instincts.”
The “All Too Well” short film star made a subtle appearance on Swift’s Midnights album in October 2022. In the song, “Question…” clapping can be heard, and the album’s credits reveal that O’Brien, Swift’s brother Austin, music producer Jack Antonoff and his sister Rachel proves the sound effect. The actor also played the drums on the track “Snow on the Beach.”
