Celebrity couples’ yearbook photos: From Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson to Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart

They might be loved up and happily married now, but these eight celebrity couples were once just single high school students trying to get through algebra homework and exams. 

While they’re now often spotted walking arm in arm at the biggest events across the globe from the Oscars red carpet to Donald Trump’s inauguration, there was a time when they rocked back-brushed hair and big cheesy grins.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, DailyMail.com takes a look at celebrity couples in their school days – before they found love with their respective partners.

From legendary Hollywood actor Tom Hanks and actress Rita Wilson, to former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, it’s time to take a peak at how they appeared in high school. 

And there’s one question on our lips: would any of these couples have dated back in high school?  

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were once doe-eyed teens who both enjoyed participating in school sports.

Forrest Gump star Tom, 68, attended Skyline High School, in Oakland, California, where he was an active member on the track team, while his now-wife, also 68, flourished as a cheerleader at Hollywood High School. 

The pair, who have been married since 1988, first met when Rita was cast in an episode of the TV sitcom Bosom Buddies in 1980 and could never have imagined they would end up at one of Hollywood’s most respected couples.

Tom was marred to first wife Samantha Lewes at the time he co-starred in the comedy with Peter Scolari.

The show followed two junior advertising executives who dressed as women so they could live in the one apartment they could afford.

They met again a few years later when Rita was cast as Tom’s love interest in 1985’s Volunteers, in which he starred as a spoiled rich kid who joined the Peace Corps to avoid a gambling debt.

After he divorced in 1987, Tom began dating his future wife and they married in 1988.

Tom had two children from his first marriage, Colin, 47, and Elizabeth, 42. They expanded their family, welcoming sons Chester, aka Chet, 34, and Truman, 29.

In an interview with Oprah in 2001, The Philadelphia star gushed about his relationship with Rita. 

‘The success of our relationship was a matter of timing, maturity, and our willingness to have an intimate connection,’ he said. 

‘When I married Rita, I thought, “This is going to require some change on my part.”

‘I won’t deny that providence was part of us finding each other, but our relationship isn’t magic — the way it’s shown in movies.

‘In real life, our connection is as concrete as me sitting here. Not that marriage doesn’t come close to being hell in a handbasket sometimes. But we both know that no matter what, we’ll be with each other — and we’ll get through it.’

In April, the couple celebrated 36 years of wedded bliss.

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith

Almost a decade before they married, Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith were finishing up with high school. 

The prominent Hollywood couple married in 1997 and share two children together, Willow, 24, and Jaden, 26, as well as son Trey, 32, from Will’s first marriage to Sheree Zampino.

Jada, 53, famously went to Baltimore School for the Arts with the late rapper Tupac Shakur and the pair were inseparable.

Meanwhile, Will, 56, attended Overbrook High School in Philadelphia. 

In recent years, the pair have been plagued with marital troubles.

While appearing on the Today Show in October 2023, Jada told Hoda Kotb that she and Will made the decision to separate seven years earlier, after feeling ‘exhausted with trying’ to work on their marriage.

‘I think we were both still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be,’ she explained of what caused them to drift apart.

In her memoir book, Worthy, Jada described the separation as a ‘divorce,’ but clarified they never filed any paperwork.

‘It was not a divorce on paper. But it was a divorce,’ she said.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

Although they attended school four decades ago, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill look like they haven’t aged a day. 

Singer songwriter Tim was a pupil at Start High School in Louisiana while Faith went to McLaurin Attendance Center in Florence, Mississippi. 

The husband and wife duo, both 57, recently celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary in October.

The longtime couple are parents to three daughters Gracie, 27, Maggie, 26, and Audrey, 22.

In 2023, Tim credited his wife Faith for helping him survive.

‘I guarantee you, had I not gotten married to Faith at 29 years old,’ he told Zane Lowe on the Apple Music podcast ahead of Friday’s release of his new album Standing Room Only.

‘A, I probably would have run my career into the ground and B, I would have died or ran my career into the ground, one or the other.

‘It wouldn’t have ever been where it is now.’

The Grammy winner got sober in 2008, but admits his wife had to put up with his wild ways for ‘a while because I was pretty sneaky about it,’ but the Breathe artist put her foot down as their three daughters grew up.

‘When the kids got old enough to notice things is when she finally said “You gotta figure this out.”‘

Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart

Long before he became known as archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford was busy getting stuck into after school activities. 

The beloved A-lister, 82, was an active member of the Maine Township High School’s social science club in Illinois and his voice was the first student voice broadcast on his high school’s new radio station.

Meanwhile, Harrison’s wife, Calista Flockhart, attended Shawnee High School in New Jersey where she was also an active member of the school community.

Harrison and Calista have been married for 15 years.

The couple met at the 59th Golden Globes in 2002 – but it wasn’t exactly love at first sight when Harrison sidled up to her table.

Speaking to The Times last April, the actress admitted she was initially underwhelmed when Harrison endeavored to introduce himself ‘because I had never seen Star Wars, which I know sounds really crazy.’

She continued to the publication: ‘But I grew up in a small town without movie theatre.

‘I was aware of who Harrison Ford was! But I didn’t think, “Oh this is Indiana Jones.” It was more along the lines of, “This is some lascivious old man and what is he doing at our table?” I was being a smartass.’

The couple would marry in 2010, and she readily admits to being the yin to Harrison’s yang.

Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn

Before he became a household name in the world of cinema, baby faced Kurt Russell played a key role in his school’s baseball team. 

The Silkwood actor, now 73, attended Thousand Oaks High School in California.

Meanwhile, his long-term partner Goldie Hawn went to school on the other side of the country in Silver Spring, Maryland. 

The couple have been in a relationship since 1983 but have never married.

Lovebirds Kurt and Goldie, 79, initially crossed paths on the set of the 1968 film The One And Only, Genuine, Original Family Band when she was 21 and he was just 16.

However, it wasn’t until they reunited for the filming of Swing Shift in 1983 that they decided to embark on a romance, a move that could have easily gone awry.

Goldie shares children Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson with ex-husband Bill Hudson, with whom she was married from 1976 to 1982.

She and Kurt are parents to actor and former ice hockey player Wyatt Hawn Russell.

Kurt is also father to son Boston Russell from his past marriage to retired actress Season Hubley.

Last March, Kurt gushed over his other half in an interview with Esquire, while sharing the secret to their lasting romance.

‘If you’re lucky enough to get with Goldie Hawn, it’s just how long she can put up with you,’ he said with a huge smile.

‘Talk about the whole package,’ he continued. ‘Goldie’s what you think she is: women adore her, men love her.

‘And if you don’t, there’s something wrong with you.’

Joe and Jill Biden

Ahead of his political career, Joe Biden attended the private Catholic preparatory school Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware, where he played baseball and was a standout halfback on the football team.

And as fate would have it, he even served as class president in his junior and senior years.

Meanwhile, his future wife Jill Biden was a student at Upper Moreland High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

While she’s previously admitted to being rebellious and being a prankster, Jill enjoyed lessons in English. 

Joe and Jill married at the Chapel of The United Nations in New York in June 1977. 

Together they share daughter Ashley, 43, the youngest of Joe’s children.

He is also father to Hunter Biden, 54, who he shared with his late first wife, Neilia Biden. She died in a 1972 car crash with their one-year-old daughter, Naomi. 

Their second son, Beau, died in 2015 aged 46 following a battle with brain cancer. 

In her 2019 memoir, Where the Light Enters, Jill detailed how their first date was set up over a cold call from Joe.

‘How did you get this number?’ were the first words she said to then-Delaware Senator Biden in 1975.

A confident Joe said he got her number from his brother Frank after he saw Jill on a poster at the Wilmington, Delaware, airport.

Barack and Michelle Obama

Barack went to school in Hawaii, attending the private college preparatory school Punahou School with the help of a scholarship.

During his school days, he played basketball and helped the Buff and Blue team win a state championship in 1979.

As for wife Michelle, she attended Whitney Young High School in Chicago.

It was there where she learned the importance of determination, after her teachers told her she was ‘setting her sights too high.’ 

‘I used that negativity to fuel me, to keep me going,’ she said in 2013. ‘And at the end, I got into Princeton, and that was one of the proudest days of my entire life.’ 

The couple met as young lawyers working for the same Chicago firm in 1989 and celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary in October.

‘I couldn’t have asked for a better partner and friend to go through life with,’ said Mr Obama in a message accompanying the photo.

She echoed the sentiment, saying: ’32 action-packed years with my honey! Through it all, thank you for always having my back, being by my side, and finding ways to make me smile. I love you, @Barack Obama.’

Speculation erupted that the couple of more than 30 years was having marital problems after fans began to notice that Michelle has been mysteriously absent from her husband’s side in recent weeks.

But the former President, 63, proved that they’re still going strong when he uploaded a sweet message to his wife for her birthday.

The couple, who first met in 1989 when they both worked at a law firm in Chicago, married in 1992.

They welcomed their first daughter, Malia, six years later in 1998, and their second daughter, Sasha, in 2001.

Over the years, the couple has spoken candidly about their martial struggles, with Michelle previously describing the ‘resentment’ she had over having to put her career on hold to be a mother while Barack’s continued to flourish.

And tensions only grew during their time in the White House – thanks to the immense ‘pressure’ that came with ‘needing to get everything right and be ‘on’ at every moment,’ as well as Barack’s focus on his work rather than his family.

But even at their worst, Barack explained to The Breakfast Club that they never let their arguments turn too ugly – and that they always ‘respected’ one another.

And he made it clear that even when they would fight, he never considered a divorce.

George W. and Laura Bush

George W. was a pupil at Phillips Academy, a boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts.

During his youth, he played baseball and was the head cheerleader during his senior year.

Meanwhile, in the south of the country, Laura Bush was enrolled at Robert E. Lee High School in Midland, Texas. She graduated from Lee in 1964.

The Bushes were set up by their mutual friends Joe and Jan O’Neill, who invited both of them over for burgers in Midland, Texas, in July 1977.

They went on to marry later that same year. 

They reflected on their courtship during an interview with The Wall Street Journal in 2021.

‘The moment I saw Laura’s blue eyes I felt heart palpitations,’ he said. 

‘She was a beautiful, stately woman. A little shy but very engaging.’

Mr. Bush told WSJ that they had only been dating for a ‘few months’ when he popped the question.

Mrs. Bush noted that they had actually crossed paths in school years prior.

‘Jan had talked up George quite a bit,’ she recalled. ‘I vaguely remembered him from seventh grade as someone who talked a lot. I put on a blue sundress and went over.’

Bill and Hillary Clinton

Long before he became the 42nd president of the United Sates, Bill Clinton was immersed in music.

During his time at the segregated Hot Springs High School in Arkansas, he played the tenor saxophone and performed in a jazz trio for two years.

For her senior year, Bill’s now wife Hillary Clinton attended Maine South High School in Illinois.

Before graduating in the top five per cent of her class in 1965, Hillary was a National Merit Finalist and was voted ‘most likely to succeed.’

Bill and Hillary Clinton married in 1975 and have one daughter, Chelsea, together.

Their marriage has long been fraught with rumors of affairs and sexual harassment accusations against Bill Clinton.

Among the scandals was Gennifer Flowers, whose 12-year affair with Bill during his time as attorney general and governor of Arkansas wrought havoc on his presidential bid in 1992.

Bill denied the affair in a Sixty Minutes special in 1992 during which Hillary sat by her husband’s side silently supporting his protestations of innocence.

In 1998, a news report emerged that then-President Bill Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky, who was a White House intern.

At the time the affair began between the president and his intern in November 1995, Clinton was 49 years old and Lewinsky was a 22-year-old White House employee.