Celebrity Couples

Everyone knows certain celebrity couples. They come with annoying celebrity couples nicknames like Brangelina and TomKat. But there are some celebrity couples who are lower key. You may know each person is a celebrity, but did you know they were a couple? Here's just a few of the lesser known, lower-key celebrity couples out there. And we can thank them later for staying out of the spotlight.

ELIZABETH VARGAS and MARC COHN
Elizabeth Vargas, out-going anchor of the "ABC Nightly News" and "20-20" anchor is one of the most famous women in journalism these days. However, did you know she had a famous husband? Singer Marc Cohn rounds out this celebrity couple. He is best known for his song "Walking In Memphis" which is something of a bluesy adult contemporary classic. He most recently made headlines for getting shot in a carjacking attempt last winter while on tour. He and Vargas are expecting a second child this year.

DIANE SAWYER and MIKE NICHOLS
Keeping with the theme of ABC newswomen, veteran journalist Diane Sawyer is one of the most famous female t.v. journalist of all time. Along with her work anchoring shows like "Good Morning America" and "Primetime Live" she also worked for CBS's iconic "60 Minutes" back in the day. What you might not know is Sawyer's also part of a celebrity couple. Her equally legendary husband is director Mike Nichols. Mike Nichols is behind such movies as 2004's "Closer" and the classics "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" and "The Graduate." He's regarded as an A-list director who actors clamor to work with. Nichols is also the director of the current smash hit (and Tony winning) Broadway musical Spamalot starring David Hyde Pierce and Hank Azaria. (Sidebar - did you know Hank Azaria, also of Simpsons fame, was once married to Oscar-winner Helen Hunt?). He has a grammy and an Emmy, too, making him one of few who has all four of the "big" awards.

COURTNEY B. VANCE and ANGELA BASSETT
Fans of the NBC drama Law & Order: Criminal Intent wonder every year why erudite A.D.A. Ron Carver never gets a bigger part since Courtney B. Vance is such a strong presence. (We'll never find out, since he's left the show…) If you've seen Vance, a Yale Drama grad and Obie winner, in other performances, like "The Piano Lesson" on Hallmark Hall of Fame, you know he's a versatile actor. And tey don't give people Tony nominations - twice - for nothing. Vance is half of a celebrity super-couple, too. He's married to Angela Bassett, star of films like "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" and recently "Akeela and the Bee." Bassett is most famous for her role, perhaps, as Tina Turner in "What's Love Got to Do With It." She was Oscar-nominated in that film. Vance and Bassett have been married since the late 90s and recently had twins.

BRADLEY WHITFORD and JANE KACZMAREK
In fall 2006, Bradley Whitford will star in "Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip" for Aaron Sorkin and NBC. You probably know him best as Josh, the sincere and sardonic deputy chief of staff on the Emmy-winning drama "The West Wing" also by Sorkin for NBC. Whitford's wife, Jane Kaczmarek, is no stranger to the Emmy ceremony, but not just because he husband's been nominated and was with a great cast. Kaczmarek has been nominated multiple times herself as best actress in a comedy for playing Lois, Malcolm's loud and harried mom in "Malcolm in the Middle."

RICHARD GERE & CAREY LOWELL
Richard Gere is loved by female fans for his roles in romantic movies like "Pretty Woman," "Runaway Bride" and the recent "Shall We Dance?" with Jennifer Lopez. In real life, he was once part of a celebrity couple with famous super model Cindy Crawford. But for quite a while now, he's been married to former Bond girl and "Law & Order" ADA Carey Lowell. You may have seen Lowell reprise her role as Jamie Ross, now a judge, on the short-lived L&O spinoff "Trial By Jury".

LIAM NEESON AND NATASHA RICHARDSON
From "Schindler's List" to "Star Wars", Liam Neeson has had a long career as a well-respected and well-liked film actor. If you caught him in "Nell" you would have seen him acting with his celebrity couple counterpart, wife Natasha Richardson, with whom he also appeared on stage in "Anna Christie." Richardson, who has won numerous high-profile theater awards in America and the UK is the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and the sister of "Nip/Tuck" actress Joeley Richardson. Neeson and Richardson, besides sharing the stage and screen, also share two sons.