Power couples are normally a famous duo married to each other, or partners with individual or joint accomplishments. Wealth is not a factor; fame could be the game; however, singular achievement matters most.
The other common requisite of a power couple, whether wholly or individually: they are bold-faced names whenever they’re mentioned in columns like this one.
These folks are newsworthy because they make news or are commonly in the gossip mill. In my world of dealing with bold face names, if you’re a somebody, you earn b.f. status.
This compilation/discussion/reflection is the result of brainstorming about PCs – with recognition a key for inclusion. If you know their names, you know why they’re powerful and popular, without a descriptive tag.
Famous politicos
Politicos easily are PCs: Barack and Michelle Obama. Bill and Hillary Clinton. Perhaps George H. and Laura Bush and George H.W. and Barbara Bush, Richard and Pat Nixon, Jimmy and Rossalyn Carter. Indeed, John and Jackie Kennedy, too! Clearly, presidents and their FLOTUS easily fall in this PC. category. Joe and Jill Biden certainly are newbies in this elitist realm, a work in progress still earning stripes; Donald and Melania Trump are a dubious PC, since he was dominant and she remained in the shadows, survivors amid the political snipes.
The Hollywood crowd
Power couples are especially plentiful in show biz or in the performance arena. In no particular order: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, Beyonce and Jay-Z, Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks, Amal and George Clooney, Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley, Victoria and David Beckham, Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, Lisa Bonet and Jason Momoa, Jada Pickett Smith and Will Smith, Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley, Scarlet Johansson and Colin Jost and Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka.
More power couples, you ask? How about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz , Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett, Carrie Fisher and Paul Simon, Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman, John Travolta and Kelly Preston, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, Sean Penn and Madonna, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenneger and Maria Shriver, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, Sonny and Cher? And you could include partners, or exes, of Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Robert Downey, Ben Affleck, J-Lo, and, well, you get the idea. A few have died; some relationships have dissolved, but these folks were relevant in their prime.
Prolific and creative
Surely, a few PCs are mighty prolific and creative, too: Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg.
In many instances, PCs don’t have to be married to each other but are prominent nonetheless, because of compatibility and creativity. First names not necessary, too, when you think of Abbott and Costello, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Bacharach and David, Lennon and McCartney, Astaire and Rogers, Garland and Rooney, Simon and Garfunkel.
Infrequently, a PC could have a pseudonym, like The Property Brothers, who are actually twins Jonathan and Drew Scott, and The Blues Brothers, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.
Extend this concept, and you can also have fictional PCs with individual potency and presence: Tom and Jerry, The Phantom and Christine, Romeo and Juliet, King Arthur and Guinevere, Batman and Robin, Jack and Jill, The Lone Ranger and Tonto, and Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, or expand to real life, with Susannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb, Pat Sajak and Vanna White, even Barnes and Noble. (Yes, real people; go to Wikipedia, to track who’s who).
One PC duo lacking last names: Barbie and Ken; another PC duo have last names you don’t know: Ben and Jerry are real people, whose surnames are Cohen and Greenfield, respectively.
The island list
Hawaii has had its share of winsome twosomes, too. In the distant past, PCs included Duke and Nadine Kahanamoku, Eddie and Peggy Sherman, Jack and Marie Lord, Ed Kenney and Beverly Noa, Kimo and Betsy McVay, Fred and Myrtle Lee, Wisa D’Orso and Jim Hutchison, John and Beatrice Burns, Neal and Lucy Blaisdell and Frank and Joyce Fasi. All but Joyce Fasi are deceased.
Current island PCs qualifiers include Ben and Vicky Cayetano, George and Jean Ariyoshi, John and Lynne Waihee, Jack and Cha Thompson, Henry Kapono and Lezlee Ka‘aihue, Paul Theroux and Sheila Donnelly, Thomas and Mia Kosasa, Denise Hayashi and Roy Yamaguchi, Alan Wong and Alice Inoue, Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka,
Troy Terorotua and Lisa Kim, Guy Hagi and Kim Gennaula, Kathy Muneno and Nainoa Thompson, Nina Keali‘iwahamana and Gordon Rapozo, Akemi and Rene Paulo, Han and Meredith Ching, Keali‘i Reichel and Fred “Punahele” Krauss, Kuana Torres Kahele and Marc Turner, Steven Ai and Carol Ai May, Keith and Carmen Haugen, Indru and Gulab Watumull, Michael W. Perry and Larry Price, Judge James Burn and Emme Tomimbang, Jack and Maydelle Cione, Cecilio and Kapono and Eddie and Myrna Kamae. A few aforementioned — Judge Burns, Maydelle Cione, Eddie Kamae and Gulab Watumull — are deceased; Kapono continues on as a soloist, ever since Cecilio had legal issues; Price retired, ending his partnership with Perry.
Cleary, with time, PCs come and go.
If you have a suggestion or two, add to the list.
Carole Kai and Eddie Onouye
Please add Martin & June Denny (both deceased).
Good one; in honesty, had included ’em in an early list and for some bizarre reason, a few names “disappeared” inadvertently without my catching it. Thanks.