20 Stars Open Up About Their Celebrity Idols, Because Not All Heroes Wear Capes

In addition to playing sisters on Euphoria, Zendaya has been Storm’s idol since she was a little girl. “I’ve always looked up to her . . . she’s gone through all the experiences that I’m going through now,” Storm told The Hollywood Reporter. “I can talk to her about the industry thing or just talk to her about being, like, a regular teenager growing up here in LA. That is really special, so I’m glad I have that.”

Prior to working together, Storm first met Zendaya when she was 9 at a Ben & Jerry’s in California. “I literally froze for a good two minutes and just stared at her,” Storm recalled in an interview with Variety. “And then I finally asked her for a picture.”

Harry and Stevie forged a friendship after the two met at a Fleetwood Mac concert in 2015, and the two have not stopped gushing about each other ever since. In March 2019, Harry helped induct Stevie into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by giving a heartwarming speech, in which he called her one of his musical heroes.

“In my family we listened at home, we listened in the car, we listened wherever we could. ‘Dreams’ was the first song I knew all the words to, before I really knew what all the words meant. I thought it was a song about the weather. But I knew it was a beautiful song about the weather. I always knew the words and I love them all,” Harry said. “She is more than a role model – she’s a beacon to all of us. Whenever you hear her voice, life gets a little bit better. When she sings, the world is hers, and it is yours. She is everything you’ve ever wanted in a lady, in a lover, in a friend.”

Zendaya’s goal in life is simple: “to be like Oprah.” In an interview with Glamour in 2017, the actress discussed her obsession with Oprah, and who else can relate?

“She’s someone who, even with everything stacked against her, has soared to unbelievable heights,” Zendaya said of her idol. “If she wants to create a network, she can do it. She wants to produce a movie? She can do it. But then also there’s this level of realness to her. You feel like she’s your auntie.” In addition to Oprah, Zendaya also looks up to her mom, Shonda Rhimes, and Beyoncé.

Given the fact that Willow comes from a famous family, it’s no surprise that her parents, Will and Jada, inspired her to become a singer. However, when it comes to her career, she wants to follow in Lady Gaga and Billy Idol’s footsteps. While speaking with Billboard in 2010, Willow revealed that she’s a fan of Gaga’s because “she cares about everybody and she writes songs about herself and everybody.” In a separate interview with Elle, Willow added, “I would like to be a very well known artist. I would like to be as big as Lady Gaga. I would like to be bigger. I’d like to be a big rock star.”

And it looks like the feeling is mutual because when Gaga previously stopped by The Jay Leno Show, she couldn’t help but gush about Willow. “I love Willow,” Gaga said. “I told her that she inspires me to whip my hair back and forth on stage.”

Not only are these two friends, but Christina was one of Demi’s idols growing up. “I grew up listening to Christina Aguilera,” Demi told People in September 2017. “She was one of my idols growing up. She still is. Her voice is incredible, and in [Christina’s 2002 album] Stripped you really got to hear that. I think it was her breakout album that really transformed her into the icon that she is today. So that inspired me . . . she really inspired this album [Tell Me You Love Me]. I was even inspired by the black and white artwork!”

In 2018, Christina and Demi teamed up for an inspiring self-empowerment duet titled “Fall in Line,” and the two are constantly cheering each other on on social media.

Cardi’s prayers were finally answered when she met Gaga at the 2019 Grammys. The rapper has always been open about her admiration for Gaga, and back in 2016, she tweeted, “When I was a teenager lady Gaga changed my life. She inspired me to be myself & be different.”

Gaga also supported Cardi after she received backlash over her rap album of the year Grammy win. “It is so hard to be a woman in this industry,” Gaga wrote alongside a photo of the two on Twitter. “What it takes, how hard we work through the disrespectful challenges, just to make art. I love you Cardi. You deserve your awards. Let’s celebrate her fight. Lift her up & honor her. She is brave.”

Both Adele and Beyoncé have expressed love for each other, but the “Hello” singer really made her admiration known when she praised Beyoncé at the 2017 Grammys. After winning record of the year and album of the year, beating out Beyoncé in both categories, Adele made sure her idol still got all the recognition she deserved.

“I can’t possibly accept this award, and I’m very humbled, and I’m very grateful and gracious, but the artist of my life is Beyoncé,” she said. “And this album to me, the Lemonade album, was just so monumental, Beyoncé, so monumental, and so well thought out, and so beautiful and soul-bearing, and we all got to see another side to you that you don’t always let us see. And we appreciate that, and all us artists here f*cking adore you. You are our light, and the way that you make me and my friends feel-the way that you make my Black friends feel is empowering, and you make them stand up for themselves. And I love you, I always have, and I always will.”

Kim and Jennifer’s friendship is proof that dreams do come true. The reality TV star and singer have been close for over a decade now, and Kim has always been open about her love for Jennifer. In 2018, Kim totally fangirled when she had Jennifer over for a movie night at her house.

“Never in my life would I have imagined that my idol would want to come have a movie night with me,” she said. “My inspiration for everything has been Jennifer Lopez. I would try and see what shoes she’d wear, what makeup, what hair – I became obsessed with glam because of Jennifer. I never would have imagined this would have been my life. I always fangirl for her. Dreams do come true, guys!”

Not only is Kelly married to Reba’s stepson Brandon Blackstock, but Kelly has always looked up to Reba. When Kelly brought her out on stage to perform “A Minute + a Glass of Wine” in 2019, she told the crowd, “I’m super excited about my guest . . . I asked this person because this person has been such an influence, not just musically but personally. It’s just a really rare thing to like – meet your hero and they live up to it. I think everybody knows what’s about to happen.”

Lea’s love for Barbra is pretty well known, and in her 2014 memoir Brunette Ambition, Lea reflected on what it was like meeting her idol. “In January, 2011, Barbra Streisand was honored at the Grammys, and as is the tradition there was a Music Cares Benefit on her behalf a few nights before the ceremony. I was invited to sing,” she wrote. “There she was in the audience, right in front of me. I was incredibly nervous – there was nothing that could have fully prepared me to sing in front of my idol – but I was so honored and happy to be on that stage that I just powered through my performance . . . sometimes you meet your idols and they don’t live up to your expectations, but that moment was one of the best in my life.”