Recently, Taylor Swift was given the title of godmother to the new son of her pal, actress Jaime King. But what exactly is a godparent in the first place and what the heck makes Taylor Swift qualified to be one? Are there more celebrity godparents to children of other famous people?
The dictionary defines the godparent as "a person who presents a child at baptism and responds on the child's behalf, promising to take responsibility for the child's religious education." Though the term has lost its religious connotations over the years, it still refers to the person who is not only a supportive friend, but also a mentor figure for the child, especially if something ever were to happen to the parents.
In Hollywood however, a godparent often has a different definition. The Hollywood godmother or godfather is often a celebrity who lends some credibility to another famous person's potentially famous offspring. Sure, they can mentors, but famous godparents can also give a celebrity child's upbringing even more star power.
This is a list of some of the big stars who have agreed to be godparents for their famous friends and it's guaranteed to surprise you.
Celebrities Who Are Godparents for Their Famous Friends,
Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore paid the Spielberg godparent title forward by becoming a godmother herself to Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain's daughter Frances Bean Cobain. Their friendship dates way back to when they were both party girls. They've both become parents since, though, putting their days of revelry behind them.
Source: US Magazine
Elton John
Marlon Brando isn't the true Godfather, Elton John is. John is the godfather to a bevy of kids including two of the Beckham children, Brooklyn and Romeo, Elizabeth Hurley's son Damien, and John Lennon's son Sean. To top it off, he's got about 10 other kids he's a godfather to. But according to Romeo Beckham, John is the "coolest godfather ever".
Source: The Mirror
Jake Gyllenhaal
Having two famous godparents himself, Jake Gyllenhaal was happy to become a godparent in turn when his Brokeback Mountain co-stars Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams asked him to be the godfather of their daughter, Matilda, whose godmother is Michelle's former Dawson's Creek co-star Busy Phillips. Gyllenhaal has a strong relationship with his goddaughter, especially after the loss of Heath Ledger in 2008.
Source: Daily Mail
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jake Gyllenhaal's parents are both in show business which explains why he has two of the oddest godparents around: Jamie Lee Curtis and the late Paul Newman. Mom Naomi Foner is a dear friend of Jamie's which garnered her the godmother title. As for Newman, apparently Jake received his first driving lesson ever from him... and Newman was a professional race car driver!
Source: LA Times
Jennifer Aniston
In 2005, Jennifer Aniston joined her Friends co-star and real life best pal Courteney Cox at the baptism of Cox and husband David Arquette's daughter Coco, where Aniston was named godmother to the girl. Coco and Jennifer have actually developed a strong relationship over the years.
Source: People
Johnny Depp
Having Jack Sparrow as your godfather must be pretty cool. When longtime friend and director Tim Burton asked Depp to be his son Billy's godfather (actually it was Burton's parter Helena Bonham Carter who asked), Depp was happy to accept the the role. "I was honored. It doesn't get heavier than saying I'd like you to be the godfather of my son," Depp said.
Source: Esquire
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie were good pals, co-writing "We Are the World" together back in 1985. Ritchie named Jackson his daughter Nicole's godfather alongside Quincy Jones. Jackson was also the godfather to Barry Gibb's son Michael. When Jackson had children, he named both Elizabeth Taylor and Diana Ross as godmothers to the kids.
Source: Popcrush
Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg is the godfather to not one but two of Hollywood's biggest actresses. A good friend to Bruce Paltrow and Blythe Danner, Spielberg was happy to become godfather to their daughter Gwyneth Paltrow when asked. He also took the duty on with his E.T. star Drew Barrymore (whose godmother is Sofia Loren). When she posed for Playboy, he reportedly sent her a quilt along with a note advising, "Cover yourself up".
Source: Popsugar
Taylor Swift
Sin City actress Jaime King gets to be part of Taylor Swift's cool posse, so to return the favor, she named the singer godmother of her newborn baby boy. King has a history of picking celebrities as godparents; both Jessica Alba and Topher Grace are godparents to her first son, James Knight. King explained that she chose Swift "because she's incredibly thoughtful."
Sources: LA Times, Elle
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga was named godmother of Elton John and David Furnish's new son Elijah back in 2013 after she had already been given the role with their other son Zachary. "She's a great role model, she's young, [and] she's been a great godmother to Zachary," John said. "We're all bonkers in this business, but we're human beings at the same time."
Source: Extra via Us Weekly