The 1970s gave the world some of its most talked-about pairs, from rock stars to movie idols. Their weddings, breakups, and public moments filled magazines and television screens.
Looking back at these duos shows how fame, music, and film shaped the decade. Here are fifteen couples who defined the era.
1. Sonny Bono and Cher
Few couples could turn a punchline into a prime-time hit like this pair. Sonny Bono and Cher built The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, which first aired on CBS in 1971 and brought their playful banter into millions of living rooms.
Cher stood out for her deadpan humor and bold, glittering outfits designed by Bob Mackie. Sonny played the good-natured sidekick, and the contrast became the heart of the show.
Viewers felt like they knew them personally.
Behind the cameras, the story grew more complicated. The couple separated in 1974, and their divorce was finalized in 1975.
Even so, they briefly reunited on television in a new show later that year.
Their run showed how a married act could become a full entertainment brand. Their songs, jokes, and fashion made them one of the most recognizable duos of the early decade.
2. John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Bed-ins, bold art, and peace slogans: this couple turned their private life into a public message. John Lennon and Yoko Ono moved to New York City in 1971 and quickly became fixtures of the city’s creative scene.
Their partnership blended music and conceptual art. Albums such as Imagine and Some Time in New York City reflected their interest in peace and social change.
Billboards and posters carried their messages far beyond the concert hall.
Not everyone approved. Critics questioned their methods, and the couple faced immigration battles during the early part of the decade.
Lennon and Ono also separated for roughly eighteen months starting in 1973 before reconciling.
In 1975, they welcomed their son Sean. For many people, the pair became a lasting symbol of the counterculture movement and its hopes for a more peaceful world.
3. Farrah Fawcett and Lee Majors
Picture a poster that sold millions of copies and a husband who starred in one of television’s biggest action shows. That was daily life for Farrah Fawcett and Lee Majors after their 1973 wedding.
Majors was already famous as the star of The Six Million Dollar Man, which ran from 1974 to 1978. Fawcett was building her own path through commercials and guest roles.
Her breakthrough came with Charlie’s Angels in 1976.
As her fame surged, magazines followed the couple closely. Her red swimsuit poster became one of the best-known images of the decade, and her feathered hairstyle was copied across the country.
The pair announced their separation in 1979, and their divorce followed in 1982. Still, during the mid-1970s, they were seen as a leading television power couple.
4. Burt Reynolds and Sally Field
A black Trans Am, a fast-talking trucker, and a runaway bride set the stage for a famous off-screen romance. Burt Reynolds and Sally Field met while filming Smokey and the Bandit in 1976.
The movie arrived in 1977 and became one of the year’s biggest box-office hits. Audiences loved the playful chemistry between the two leads, and many fans hoped it reflected real life.
Reynolds was one of the most popular movie stars in America at the time. Field, who had already won over viewers in television roles like Gidget and The Flying Nun, was growing into a major film actress.
The pair stayed together for several years and appeared in more projects, including Hooper and The End. Their time together remains a favorite chapter of late-1970s Hollywood.
5. Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley
Their story began in 1959 in Germany, but the early 1970s brought the final act. Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley had been married since 1967 and welcomed their daughter, Lisa Marie, in 1968.
By 1972, the couple had separated. Elvis was in the middle of a busy performing schedule, including his famous Las Vegas shows and the 1973 Aloha from Hawaii broadcast.
Priscilla was building a life of her own.
Their divorce was finalized in October 1973. The couple stayed on friendly terms, and Priscilla later helped manage Elvis’s business interests after his death in 1977.
Because Elvis was a global star, every detail of the marriage drew interest. Their story remains one of entertainment’s best-known love stories, even with its difficult ending.
6. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor
Diamonds, drama, and a second wedding: few couples kept the press as busy as this one. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor first married in 1964, and by the 1970s their relationship was already legendary.
They divorced in 1974 after years of public ups and downs. Just months later, in October 1975, they remarried in Botswana.
Newspapers around the world covered the news.
Both were respected actors. Taylor had won Academy Awards, and Burton had earned multiple nominations.
Their joint work, including The Taming of the Shrew and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, had made them a famous screen pairing.
The second marriage was short, ending in 1976. Even so, their ties remained strong, and they later acted together again on stage.
Their on-and-off story still fascinates film fans.
7. Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston
Cool sunglasses, sharp wit, and a Hollywood family tree: this pairing had it all. Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston began their relationship in 1973, when he was an established star and she was just starting out.
Huston was the daughter of famed director John Huston. She worked as a model and took small acting parts while Nicholson was making films like Chinatown in 1974 and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1975.
The couple were often seen at industry parties and events. Their relationship lasted well beyond the decade, running on and off for about seventeen years.
Huston later won an Academy Award for Prizzi’s Honor in 1985, a film in which Nicholson also starred. Looking back, their pairing is remembered as one of Hollywood’s most enduring partnerships.
8. Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw
They met on a movie set and married a few months later. Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw worked together on The Getaway in 1972, and their wedding followed in 1973.
McQueen was known as the king of cool, famous for roles in Bullitt and The Great Escape. MacGraw had become a star after Love Story in 1970, and her natural, relaxed style made her a fashion favorite.
The Getaway was a hit, and many viewers enjoyed the pair’s chemistry on screen. Off screen, they lived a quieter life on a ranch in California.
The marriage lasted until 1978. Though it ended, the pairing left a lasting mark.
Photographs from the era still show two of the decade’s most stylish movie stars side by side.
9. Mick Jagger and Bianca Jagger
A white suit, a wide-brimmed hat, and a wedding in Saint-Tropez set the tone for 1971. Mick Jagger married Bianca Perez-Mora Macias that May, and the couple were soon fixtures in fashion and music circles.
Bianca was born in Nicaragua and moved in artistic social circles in Paris and London. Her sharp, polished style made her a magazine favorite and a regular at the famous New York nightclub Studio 54.
Jagger was already the lead singer of the Rolling Stones, one of the biggest bands in the world. Together, the two came to represent the glamour of the era.
They welcomed a daughter, Jade, in 1971. The couple split in the late 1970s, and their divorce was finalized in 1980.
Their fashionable image still influences designers today.
10. Warren Beatty and Julie Christie
Two Oscar-level talents, one famously private romance. Warren Beatty and Julie Christie were linked for several years, and their relationship continued into the early 1970s.
They starred together in McCabe and Mrs. Miller in 1971, a Robert Altman western that critics have praised for its moody look and music by Leonard Cohen. Christie earned an Academy Award nomination for her role.
Beatty was a leading man and a rising filmmaker. Christie had won an Academy Award for Darling in 1965 and became a symbol of the swinging London era.
They later appeared together again in Shampoo in 1975. Both stars were also active in political causes, which gave their partnership an added layer of interest.
They remained friends and collaborators long after their romance ended.
11. Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett
When one of Hollywood’s most famous hairstyles met one of its most charming leading men, the cameras followed. Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett became a couple in 1979, near the end of the decade.
O’Neal had risen to fame with the TV series Peyton Place and the 1970 film Love Story. He later starred in Paper Moon and Barry Lyndon, and he was known as a major box-office name.
Fawcett was by then a household face thanks to Charlie’s Angels and her best-selling poster. After her split from Lee Majors, she and O’Neal began a relationship that lasted many years.
They had a son, Redmond, in 1985. Although the relationship had many ups and downs, it remained a steady source of headlines for decades.
12. David Bowie and Angie Bowie
Glitter, bright hair, and a taste for the unexpected: this couple helped shape the glam-rock look. David Bowie married Angela Barnett in 1970, and the two soon became a creative team.
Angie played a big role in the early Ziggy Stardust era. She had strong opinions about style and helped promote David’s music and image.
His 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars became a landmark release.
They welcomed their son, Duncan, in 1971. The family lived in London and later moved through different cities as Bowie’s career grew.
The marriage ended in 1980. Even so, the pair left a mark on how fans think about the glam-rock movement, with its daring outfits and fearless approach to performance.
13. Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney
After the Beatles broke up, Paul McCartney needed a new band, and his wife stepped onto the stage beside him. Paul and Linda McCartney had married in 1969, and in 1971 they formed Wings.
Linda played keyboards and sang backing vocals. She had been a well-known photographer before joining the group, and she was open about learning as she went.
Fans often noted how at ease the couple seemed together.
Wings produced hits such as Band on the Run, Live and Let Die, and Mull of Kintyre. The group toured the world and sold millions of records.
The McCartneys raised their children while touring, and they favored a simple family life. Their partnership lasted until Linda’s death in 1998, and it remains a model of musical teamwork.
14. Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash
A deep voice, a lively laugh, and a duet that still gives listeners chills. Johnny Cash and June Carter married in 1968, and the 1970s became a busy decade for them both on stage and on television.
They toured together and appeared on The Johnny Cash Show, which ran on ABC from 1969 to 1971. Songs like Jackson, which won them a Grammy in 1968, remained crowd favorites.
June came from the famous Carter Family, one of the first great groups in country music. She brought humor and warmth to the stage and balanced Johnny’s serious image.
Their son, John Carter Cash, was born in 1970. The couple stayed together until June’s death in 2003, and Johnny died just months later.
Their bond still defines country music royalty.
15. Robert Redford and Lola Van Wagenen
In a decade known for fast romances and quick breakups, this pair stayed the course. Robert Redford married Lola Van Wagenen in 1958, and they remained together throughout the 1970s.
Redford became one of the era’s top box-office stars with films such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, and All the President’s Men. Despite his fame, the couple kept their family life in Utah.
Lola was an activist and historian who cared deeply about environmental and community causes. Redford shared those interests, and in the late 1970s he helped build the Sundance Institute to support independent filmmakers.
They raised their children away from the Hollywood spotlight. The marriage ended in 1985, but their long run through the 1970s stands out as a steady counterpoint to the decade’s flashier couples.
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