If you used to think, "Jordyn Woods who?", we bet you know who she is now. She's the model/influencer/celebrity BFF whose longtime friendship with Kylie Jenner is majorly on the rocks.
Gory details aside, this pair has been through a lot together - and it's clear that pretty much all of it has fed into Jordyn's own celebrity status. Once a humble rich kid living in Kylie's hometown of Calabasas, Jordyn's friendship with Kylie led to her getting tons of exposure on Keeping Up With The Kardashians and its spinoffs, deals with fashion brands who liked her look and even a Kylie Cosmetics special edition makeup line.
Some other hometown friends in Kylie's inner circle (looking at you, Stassie Baby) have attempted to climb onto Kylie's famous coattails, but none of them have done it as successfully and lucratively as Jordyn Woods. That got us thinking: is there a name for the phenomena of besties benefiting from their friends' fame?
There is now. Let's call it the Jordyn Woods Effect. As we outline in this article, it's been happening since Gayle met Oprah and Nicole Richie shoveled hay on The Simple Life with Paris Hilton. Being friends with the famous has gotten people book deals, reality TV shows and literally hundreds of thousands of social media followers. Sometimes 'friends with benefits' means something entirely different.
Check out our round up of 20 so-called 'best friends' who have used their celeb BFF's fame to boost their own careers and personal lives, and let us know if you think of any we forgot.
20 Kim Kardashian’s BFF Jonathan Cheban
You might know Jonathan Cheban as the hanger-on who appears in the background of Kim's storylines on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. That's because he is her ride-or-die best friend, shopping buddy and spa treatment partner. They even got that blood facial together, according to People, so you know they're super close.
Jonathan used to work for a PR firm before getting in with the KarJenner clan. Since befriending Kim, he's appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, Celebs Go Dating, Millionaire Matchmaker and more - all based on the strength of his public image as Kim's BFF. Kim even produced an entire show for Jonathan alone called The Spin Crowd. It pays to be connected to this family!
19 Paris Hilton’s (Ex) BFF Nicole Richie
It's been over a decade since these BFFs tried The Simple Life, but that friendship is still paying off for Nicole Richie. She was the lesser-known heiress of the pair; just the daughter of an 80s icon (Lionel Richie). Compare that to Paris Hilton's A-list social status in the early 2000s and it's easy to see which one was more famous.
Paris's party girl reputation got her and her bestie signed onto a TV deal, and Nicole Richie's future as reality TV royalty was basically set. After an eventual split with Paris, Nicole can still be found on TV's Candidly Nicole and Great News.
18 Emma Roberts’s BFF Brit Smith
Emma Roberts was born into stardom herself as the daughter of Julia Roberts's famous brother, Eric. While she was able to parlay that into her own acting career, she pulled some friends up to the top along the way.
Emma's BFF Brit Smith has profited hugely from their friendship. So many amazing opportunities come from knowing (and befriending) the right people. Besides all the trips around the world she gets to enjoy with Emma, Brit has built an entire career from helping her friend choose what to wear. She's now Emma's paid stylist and gets to dress her for events as impressive as the MET Gala, according to The Daily Mail.
17 Amber Rose’s BFF Blac Chyna
They've had some ups and downs, but Blac Chyna owes a lot of her current fame (or infamy) to Amber Rose. They have had a lot in common over the years, starting from their humble beginnings working as club dancers and ending with their own respective Kardashian feuds.
Amber was the first one of the pair to rise to the public eye. She dated Kanye West and inspired a lot of his early music. When Kanye left her for Kim Kardashian, and Kylie started dating Blac Chyna's ex, Tyga, the friends united in their dislike of this famous fam. It's all confusing, but it got Chyna famous in the end.
16 RuPaul’s BFF Michelle Visage
As Ru says: "If you can't love yourself, how in the world can you love somebody else?" As the reigning queen of drag culture, RuPaul loves both himself and his longtime bestie Michelle Visage. We can only imagine what Ru has gotten from this friendship. Love and support, probably. We know exactly what Michelle has gotten, on the other hand.
Once an 80s girl-group member, Michelle has stayed relevant through her connection to RuPaul. He has featured her on his albums and had her sit on the judging panel of RuPaul's Drag Race for almost 10 seasons. This show is WILDLY popular right now, so Michelle has a lot of fans to thank Ru for.
15 Kendall Jenner’s BFF Hailey Baldwin
Being seen with the right famous person is basically an endorsement that tells the world you're cool. Just like Nicole Richie was just the daughter of a famous father when Paris Hilton elevated her to the A-list, Hailey Baldwin was an unknown kid from a Hollywood family until Kendall Jenner started being seen with her.
Hailey has appeared in modeling campaigns with Kendall and even sat in the passenger seat when Kendall did Carpool Karaoke. The best thing Kendall ever did for Hailey might be introducing her to Justin Bieber, though. Like a good BFF, she helped Hailey get Bieber's attention and the rest is history.
14 Cardi B’s BFF Jenny Bui
BFF might not be the right word here, but Cardi B and Jenny Bui definitely have a one-of-a-kind, ride-or-die relationship. They met when Jenny did Cardi's nails at a small salon in The Bronx, New York. Cardi was an up-and-coming personality on the Real Housewives franchise and wanted to put her best looks forward.
Jenny did such an amazing job on Cardi's nails that for years now, Cardi hasn't let any other person tackle this part of her image. But don't think that Cardi is getting the upper hand in this setup. Through having a famous fan, Jenny has expanded her business into a nail empire. Perks of being tight with a celebrity!
13 Serena Williams' BFF Colton Haynes
Who is Colton Haynes? More and more people are becoming able to answer that question, thanks to this dude's friendship with athletic superstar Serena Williams. He's an actor by trade, but his social life is way more notable than his acting career.
It's unclear how he and Serena met, but clearly they hit it off. They've been spotted on epic vacations together (that we assume Serena is paying for? Being a Nike spokesperson must pay better than anything Colton is doing, right?). They've also posted super-cute selfies together at plenty of Serena's events.
12 Ariana Grande’s BFF Alexa Luria
Who wouldn't want to be one of Ariana Grande's best friends right now? She literally just released a song all about how she gives her friends everything they want, including DIAMOND RINGS.
Ariana's BFF-in-chief is Alexa Luria, and she actually appears in the Thank U, Next video. She grew up with Ariana in Boca Raton, Florida, and has been friends with her for more than 17 years, according to I Heart Radio.
The proof is in the pictures: Ari and Alexa have countless selfies and group photos together on each of their IG accounts. Alexa has 673.7 thousand followers, by the way. #FriendPerks
11 Khloe Kardashian’s BFF Malika
Kardashian friends just know how to slide their way into the spotlight. Jordyn Woods, Jonathan Cheban and now Khloe's friend Malika are all perfect examples of celeb friends riding their coattails to their own success.
She and her twin sister Khadijah have known Khloe since they were 15 years old according to Bustle. She transitioned from friend to friend and personal assistant, actually starting to make her living off this connection.
Now through the exposure Malika has achieved in scenes with Khloe on KUWTK, this professional BFF has become a working model and B-list actress. As Khloe herself would say, "damn, Gina!"
10 Rihanna’s BFF Melissa Forde
Rihanna doesn't keep a huge entourage around her. The most frequent face in RiRi's inner circle is her BFF, Melissa Forde. These two have been close since they were small children, so by now Rihanna knows that Melissa is a girl she can really trust to keep her secrets.
These days, Melissa's friendship with Rihanna has earned her courtside seats, countless flights on private jets, access to exclusive clubs and events, and more than 800 THOUSAND followers on IG AND a blue check. Who needs an actual job when you can party with your BFF 24/7? Melissa, if you're reading this, know that we'd swap lives with you anytime.
9 Zoella’s BFF Mark Ferris
If you don't know Zoella, she's a world-famous YouTube star, blogger, YA author and basically a tween-friendly brand all wrapped up in one person. Her YouTube subscriber count hit the 10 million mark years ago, and along with the millions of fans came dozens of hangers-on.
Mark Ferris is a Zoella fan and subscriber turned BFF IRL. He started out as a YouTuber himself but wasn't successful enough to make videos full time until Zoella's friendship elevated his viewer count into the hundreds of thousands. He frequently appears on Zoella's channel and is often seen on trips where she openly (and luckily for Mark) covers the bill.
8 Leonardo DiCaprio’s BFF Tobey Maguire
Let's go way back to the 1990s. (Everyone's going there with fashion and film lately anyway.) When Leonardo DiCaprio's career was taking off and a CGI Titanic ship was sinking, he didn't forget his childhood friend Tobey.
Tobey Maguire and Leo were friends from a young age because their mothers met while the boys were auditioning for the same role when they were 12, according to Pop Sugar. The moms bonded and then the boys bonded, too.
Later in life, Leo hit it big and introduced Tobey to some Hollywood friends, and Tobey has since starred in several movies that Leo had a hand in making. They still get spotted together on the occasional yacht.
7 Taylor Swift’s BFF Todrick Hall
Like Zoella and Mark Ferris, Todrick Hall was once a humble YouTuber uploading his own rants and self-made songs to the Internet from his bedroom. After earning some fame from that platform, Todrick connected with Taylor and has reaped the benefits ever since.
Todrick appeared in Taylor Swift's video for "Look What You Made Me Do," and speaks to publications like Elite Daily about what he and Taylor Swift are up to together and how she is doing in general. It's unclear how much he gets paid for these interviews, but it's got to be something that makes blabbing on his bestie worth it.
6 Cara Delevingne's BFF Suki Waterhouse
Suki Waterhouse is a model in her own right, but becoming friends with this next-level supermodel did nothing but help her career. The pair met in elementary school and encouraged each other's fashion ambitions. Cara has now flown into stardom, and her connections in the high-fashion industry have helped Suki become a star too.
"I knew her before any of this [fame] stuff happened," Suki explained to Hello! "I can't imagine what it would be like if none of my friends was in the same situation as me. I've realized it's really extraordinary."
Extraordinary is one word for it.
5 Oprah’s BFF Gayle King
Oprah and Gayle's friendship is one of the most famous ones out there. You might even hear people saying that someone is the 'Gayle to their Oprah,' and most people would know exactly what that means. These two women have been thick as thieves for decades.
Gayle became a successful journalist in her own right, but nobody can touch Oprah's achievements. Oprah has elevated Gayle into her current lifestyle by giving her writing, producing and on-screen hosting work through the OWN Network. We bet there have also been a few of 'Oprah's favourite things' passed to Gayle over the years.
4 Donatella Versace’s BFF Kate Moss
Sometimes it's easy to see someone's star quality. That was the case when Donatella Versace met Kate Moss. She knew that this model would be a supermodel, and simultaneously cast her in Versace runway shows and became one of her BFFs.
They partied together through the 90s and parented together through the 2000s. These days they enjoy the finer things in life together. We wonder if Kate Moss ever turns to Donatella and says thank you for helping her to achieve the luxe lifestyle she has today. For their friendship to have lasted this long, we think she must have done that at least once.
3 Mindy Kaling’s BFF Jocelyn Leavitt
Mindy's BFF is a smart one. These two friends met at Dartmouth, Mindy's Ivy League alma mater, and now Jocelyn runs her own highly-acclaimed coding app company. We believe that's all fantastic, but still doesn't compare to the level of fame and fortune Mindy Kaling has achieved lately. She's friends with Oprah now! That makes Jocelyn one degree of separation away from Oprah!
Other perks enjoyed by Jocelyn include lavish trips where Mindy brings her for company and inside access to fun Hollywood events that most app designers can only ever dream of attending. Mindy even took Jocelyn to a gala at the White House, according to the LA Times.
2 Mariah Carey’s BFF Da Brat
Mariah Carey is the meme queen of our hearts. When it comes to some people in this world, Mariah says, "I don't know her," telling everyone in her special Mariah way that the person isn't even worth knowing at all. You know who she does admit to knowing? Da Brat.
Da Brat and Mariah go way back. Mariah even cast this young aspiring rapper in the role of her best friend in her self-produced almost-biopic, Glitter. That paycheck aside, Da Brat has gained access to the luxuries that Mariah has afforded over the 18 years since then, just in exchange for loyalty and friendship. Thanks, boo!
1 Justin Bieber’s BFF Carl Lentz
If you know anything about Justin Bieber besides the fact that he makes major bops, you know that he's a really spiritual guy. He takes spirituality seriously, tattooing meaningful figures and passages about his beliefs all over his body. Carl Lentz is a friend of Bieber who supports his sensitive, spiritual side.
A former pastor, Carl Lentz was chosen by Justin to lead him on his personal spiritual journey, but the pair became close friends. Justin's friendship gave Carl a bigger platform for his message. According to The Daily Mail, they've been seen riding bikes together, shopping together and even giving motivational talks together at some of Justin's public appearances. Keep spreading the positivity, dudes!
Sources: The Daily Mail, iHeart Radio, Bustle, Pop Sugar, Elite Daily, Hello, LA Times, People
