Star Unions That Lasted as Long As

From the Beckhams to Tim and Faith, find out which star unions have stood the test of time as long as these iconic touchstones

01 of 20

NINE YEARS: ROBIN & PAULA

NINE YEARS: ROBIN & PAULA
Seth Browarnik/Startraks

Though Thicke and Patton haven't quite made it to a decade in marriage, this scorching-hot duo, who met at an L.A. teen club in the early '90s, have actually been together for 20 years. The "Blurred Lines" singer and 2 Guns actress married in 2005 and have a son, Julian, 3.

02 of 20

NINE YEARS: YOUTUBE IS FOUNDED

NINE YEARS: YOUTUBE IS FOUNDED
YouTube

Hard to believe it's only been nine years since the video-sharing website was launched. (First video on the site: "Me at the zoo," uploaded by a YouTube cofounder.) Today it's grown to more than one billion unique visitors every month, and offers everything from DIY home repairs to original comedy sketches.

03 of 20

12 YEARS: GAVIN & GWEN

12 YEARS: GAVIN & GWEN
Fred Prouser/Landov

"My biggest accomplishment is my marriage so far," Stefani gushed to Marie Claire. "Because it's hard, everyone knows it's hard." The singer/fashion designer married Rossdale in 2002 and has two boys, with a third child on the way.

04 of 20

12 YEARS: AMERICAN IDOL PREMIERES

12 YEARS: AMERICAN IDOL PREMIERES
Fred Prouser/Landov/Corbis

The show that launched the careers of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson was a British import and the highest-rated American television program for its first six seasons starting in 2002. And it still produces hit singers, like 2012 winner Phillip Phillips.

05 of 20

13 YEARS: TINA & JEFF

13 YEARS: TINA & JEFF
Dennis Van Tine/Abaca

Living and working together seems to be key for Fey and her musician-director hubby Richmond, who have collaborated since their days at the Second City comedy troupe and then at Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. "We have a nice shorthand," she told Reader's Digest. Wed since 2001, the couple, parents of daughters Alice, 8, and Penelope, 2, are currently developing Fey's 2004 film Mean Girls into a stage musical.

06 of 20

13 YEARS: THE IPOD DEBUTS

13 YEARS: THE IPOD DEBUTS
Apple

When Apple introduced their so-called digital jukebox in 2001, it promised “1,000 songs in your pocket” and changed the way we listened and purchased music forever. The latest iPod stores about 40,000 songs, plus videos and photos.

07 of 20

15 YEARS: DAVID & VICTORIA

15 YEARS: DAVID & VICTORIA
David and Victoria Beckham in 2012. Kevin Mazur/VF12/WireImage

Four kids and two thriving careers haven't put out the fire in the Beckhams’ marriage. This super-couple, who exchanged "I dos" in a lavish wedding in Ireland in 1999, are still madly in love. "We always make time for each other, " said the former soccer star, with a date night every Wednesday, according to Hello! magazine.

08 of 20

15 YEARS: SPONGEBOB IS BORN

15 YEARS: SPONGEBOB IS BORN
Nickelodeon

SpongeBob, a cartoon about a yellow sponge who lives under the sea in a pineapple, aired its first episode and became among the top-rated shows on all of cable television, according to ABCNews. Bill Fagerbakke, who voices Patrick, attributes its appeal to SpongeBob's “whimsical optimism that he cannot be defeated.”

09 of 20

17 YEARS: SARAH JESSICA & MATTHEW

17 YEARS: SARAH JESSICA & MATTHEW
Jackson Lee/Splash News Online

Unlike the unlucky-in-love character she played on Sex and the City, Parker has enjoyed a steady relationship with Broderick, whom she married in 1997. "I love our life," the fashion icon told Harper's Bazaar. "I love that he's the father of my children" – son James Wilkie, 11, and twins Loretta and Tabitha, 4 – "and it's because of him that there's this whole other world that I love."

10 of 20

17 YEARS: GOOGLE IS CREATED

17 YEARS: GOOGLE IS CREATED
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty

When Larry Page and Sergey Brin registered their Internet search engine, Google.com, as a domain in 1997, they could hardly know that they were not just creating a company but a verb. Today Google’s influence extends beyond online searches: The company also owns YouTube, Android, Picasa and Gmail.

11 of 20

18 YEARS: TIM & FAITH

18 YEARS: TIM & FAITH
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

If country music had royalty, these two would be king and queen. Both superstars in their own right, the singers don't let work take precedence over family – they have three daughters – or each other. "Marriage takes work, but it's a labor of love," Hill tells PEOPLE. Adds McGraw: "Love and fame can't [coexist] if fame has the power, but love has the power in our house."

12 of 20

18 YEARS: OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB IS FORMED

18 YEARS: OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB IS FORMED
Stephen Green

To motivate viewers to read, the influential TV show host started a book club in 1996. Her first pick: The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Over the years, the club became so powerful that "Oprah books" often saw a giant leap in sales. Today it operates through Winfrey's website.

13 of 20

21 YEARS: MICHELLE & DAVID

21 YEARS: MICHELLE & DAVID
Christopher Polk/Getty

"If you choose badly, no matter what you do, it’s going to fail and you’re going to be unhappy," Pfeiffer told Parade. Fortunately the actress chose wisely: After meeting writer-producer Kelley on a blind date in 1993, the two quickly married. The Hollywood vets then did the unthinkable: They left L.A. behind and moved to San Francisco to raise a daughter and son.

14 of 20

21 YEARS: POWER RANGERS HIT STORES

21 YEARS: POWER RANGERS HIT STORES
Saban Brands/AP

Little boys everywhere couldn't get enough of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, teenage action-figures with superpowers that were introduced in 1993. Though the TV series of the same name didn't last, the toys – now simply called Power Rangers – are still saving the world from bedrooms and basements everywhere.

15 of 20

22 YEARS: WARREN & ANNETTE

WARREN BEATTY
WireImage

One of Hollywood's most legendary bachelors, Beatty, 54, ditched his single status when he wed his Bugsy costar, who was 21 years his junior, in 1992. How have they kept the spark going? Said Bening, who has four children with Beatty, "You've got to get away, just the two of you, with no kids."

16 of 20

22 YEARS: THE REAL WORLD DEBUTS

22 YEARS: THE REAL WORLD DEBUTS
MTV

Before we were setting our DVRs to the Kardashians and Real Housewives of every zip code, there was this MTV show, which depicted seven young adults living together in a New York City apartment and dealing with sex, drugs, politics, relationships and ever-present TV cameras. Now in its 29th season, The Real World was credited, for better or worse, with ushering in reality TV.

17 of 20

26 YEARS: TOM & RITA

26 YEARS: TOM & RITA
Andrew Toth/Startraks

The same year Hanks jumped on a giant keyboard in Big, he also jumped into a happy marriage with Wilson, an actress and producer, with whom he has two sons. He told Oprah Winfrey that his wife is "the greatest thing that's happened to the planet Earth. Our eyes will still meet across a crowded room, and there's a little something."

18 of 20

26 YEARS: 'JUST DO IT' WAS BORN

26 YEARS: 'JUST DO IT' WAS BORN
Nike

Nike's slogan launched in 1988 as a way to motivate Americans of all fitness levels to get out there and do it. It did its job: considered one of the most successful campaigns of the 20th century, Nike has enlisted some of the world's biggest star athletes to "Just Do It," from basketball star Kobe Bryant to tennis ace Roger Federer.

19 of 20

31 YEARS: DENZEL & PAULETTA

31 YEARS: DENZEL & PAULETTA
Jim Spellman/WireImage

After meeting Pearson on the set of the TV movie Wilma in 1977, marrying her six years later and having four kids together, Washington knows the “simple to wedded bliss: "Do what your wife tells you and keep your mouth shut."

20 of 20

31 YEARS: HOOTERS OPENS FIRST RESTAURANT

31 YEARS: HOOTERS OPENS FIRST RESTAURANT
Courtesy Hooters

Back in 1983, six guys with no restaurant experience stumbled on a successful formula when they opened the original Hooters in Clearwater, Fla. – beach theme, bar food and buxom waitresses in short shorts with big… well, you get the idea. Today the franchise has 430 locations in 28 countries and can count Golden Globes winner Amy Adams as a former Hooters girl!

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