The BuzzFeed community recently shared the most wholesome meetings they’ve had with celebrities — and a whole bunch of them were about women. Take a read and enjoy the ‘awwww!!!’ feeling!
1. Princess Diana
“In 1993, my heavily pregnant mother was waiting to see Princess Diana (who was opening up a charity in our city center). My mum had been waiting ages just to get a glimpse of her, while balancing a toddler on her bump. As soon as Princess Diana saw my mum, she demanded someone get my mum a chair and chatted with her until they brought it.”
2. Scarlett Johansson
“My wife took my son to the zoo, and he wanted to read every little plaque in the reptile area. My wife was distracted for a moment, so he asked the nearest stranger to read the plaque for him. My wife turned around to see Scarlett Johansson happily reading the info to him.”
3. Raven-Symoné
“When I was 8 years old, I was in New York City and went to the Disney store with my parents. I walked upstairs and guess who I saw: Raven-Symoné! I shyly approached her and asked for a picture and she said, ‘Of course, sweetheart! I love your outfit, by the way!’ I walked away singing the That’s So Raven theme song, and she sang it along with me!”
4. Angelina Jolie
“I met Angelina Jolie when she was filming Girl, Interrupted (they were filming across the street from the daycare/after-school program I went to). One day, she came over during a break and brought us tons of new toys, games, clothes, and snacks. I will never forget how genuinely kind and warm and lovely she was to all of us.
“I was a little bit older than most of the other kids (I was 12), and Angelina took the time to talk to me. She asked what I was interested in, and I said I loved reading classic experimental fiction — she came back the next day before she left town to give me a copy of The Sheltering Sky. She wasn’t super famous at the time, and she was just the sweetest and funniest person — I still have the book.”
5. Jennifer Garner
“I help my husband host academic event tournaments at his school and sold concessions to Jennifer Garner. She bought a water for the kid in front of her so they didn’t have to break their $20 bill — just a nice parent supporting a kid in need of some snacks.”
6. Whitney Houston
“Whitney Houston was a producer on The Princess Diaries movies, and my mom worked on set for the sequel. My mom happened to mention that it was my birthday, and Whitney took some of the balloons that can be seen on screen during Mia’s bachelorette party and told her to give them to me as a present. It was the best birthday ever!”
7. Rosario Dawson
“My best friend and I met Rosario Dawson at a Women’s March — we were so overwhelmed by meeting such an incredible woman, we ended up crying. When we told her why we admired her so much, she started crying too. It was one of the best encounters of my life.”
8. Madonna
“In 1989, teenage me was learning to rollerblade in Central Park — I hadn’t mastered stopping yet, so I usually just crashed into something stationary or threw myself on the ground. Well, I was trying to move out of the path of a biker and fell into two joggers, one of whom turned out to be Madonna. She was very sweet, she brushed off my apologies, and she reminded me to always wear my helmet.”
9. Beyoncé
“My friend was super nervous and panicked when she met Beyoncé, so Bey held her hand until she felt OK.”
10. Amy Poehler
“I sat next to Amy Poehler on a flight from NYC to LA, and funnily enough, Aziz Ansari was sitting in front of us. She wanted to mess with him because he didn’t know she was sitting behind him — he thought it was me messing with him and looked annoyed until he realized Amy was there. She also made small talk with me during the whole flight, and she seemed so genuine and nice.”
11. Tyra Banks
“I met Tyra Banks in line at an amusement park (everyone kept coming up to her asking her if she was Tyra Banks). I kept quiet and pretended I didn’t notice who she was. In line, Tyra and I talked about the other rides and she even said she liked my glitter makeup and that I was pretty — as an overweight teen, that always stuck with me.”
12. Reba McEntire
“I was waiting to board a plane with friends when I swore I saw Reba — they told me I was imagining it, and not a minute later, those same people rose to their feet and ran over to meet the legend herself (I remained frozen in my chair). All of a sudden, I heard the most country-sounding voice yell ‘Paige!’ from across the room — Reba called my name, I walked over to her, and she immediately grabbed my hand and asked if I would like a hug. I nodded. She took photos and talked with us until it was time to board. She was unbelievably kind, genuine, and down to earth, and I was so lucky to have met her.”
13. Retta
“Retta (Donna from Parks & Rec) came to my school to do stand-up. She was extremely nice and easy to work with — she took pictures with everyone and gave autographs, even though her knees were bad that day. Apparently, she also gave the person in charge of the event her complimentary bottle of wine that her hotel had given her.”
14. Renée Zellweger
“I served Renée Zellweger once when I was honestly having a really shitty day. She had three kids in tow, she was dressed in yoga pants and a T-shirt — nothing about her screamed ‘celebrity,’ and I was focused on other stuff. I messed up on her order twice, and she honestly couldn’t have been nicer about it (‘Oh, no problem! Just bring it when you can’). She went out of her way to make small talk, her kids all thanked me after the meal was over, and she gave me a hug on the way out and an amazing tip for subpar service. I only found out who she was when I went to run her credit card and it said ‘R K Zellweger.’ She was a total dream.”
15. Whoopi Goldberg
“I met Whoopi Goldberg at Comic-Con a couple of years ago (she was interviewing cosplayers for a hobby segment). She seemed genuinely interested when asking about which characters people were dressed as, and having them explain the setting they came from.
“She liked my Slenderman costume and called me out of a crowd to come get interviewed. After it was done and she and her posse were walking away, she lagged behind them and I sort of stammered out, ‘Thank you, Ms. Goldberg!’ She stopped, turned around, and said, ‘Please — it’s just Whoopi!'”
16. Jessie J
“I met Jessie J back in 2008 when I was 10 years old, and she was the opening act for a British girl group called Girls Aloud. At one of their shows, I got separated from my friend and her parents (cue the tears). Jessie came over, helped me locate my friend and her family, and stood with us for a bit while some other acts were performing. She was so nice, so talented, and called my friend and I adorable!”
17. Kamala Harris
“I met Kamala Harris on a flight to Detroit when she was going for the Democratic debates. I said, ‘I’m so sorry, but could I get a picture with you?’ and she told me, ‘Only if you don’t say sorry.’ It warms my heart to this day that I heard that from one of my biggest inspirations.”
18. Cyndi Lauper
“I work at a local BBQ restaurant in Kansas City and I had a party of eight who showed up late, and we almost had to move them out of my section. One man told me they were waiting for two more women to show up, and about 30 minutes later, they showed up and it was mother-fucking CYNDI LAUPER. I didn’t even know it was her, so the whole time I was talking to her and joking with her — she played it so cool and was so happy I wasn’t gawking at her the whole time.
“Once I figured it out, I of course lost my mind. A few tables recognized her and she happily went to sit and chat with each table who recognized her — she bought them all drinks without a second thought. She is such an underrated woman.”
19. Nichelle Nichols
“I was at a Star Trek convention in Boston, where I was able to meet Nichelle Nichols. I made a tricorder and asked her to sign it, and she was more than happy to. I told her she was such an inspiration to me as a woman, and she told me that I was beautiful and to pursue whatever I wanted to in life. As an insecure teen, hearing that was so comforting, and I still think about how incredibly sweet she was to this day.”
20. Julie Andrews
“I met Julie Andrews during my job as a hostess. She was running late for her reservation and was going to a show, so I took her order over the phone. When she got to the restaurant, she said, ‘A thousand thank yous and apologies.’ Then as she was leaving, she slipped $50 into my hand and told me I was amazing. I straight-up cried.”