Cheryl Hines & Other Famous Women Who Dated Politicians

There's a certain amount of power that comes with being a politician, and some people — even those without their own political ambitions — can find that really attractive. While not all politicians are the same caliber (compare NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and RFK Jr. and his brain worm, for example), historically, politicians don't usually struggle to find a partner.

Although Cheryl Hines is someone who's getting a lot of attention lately because of her marriage to RFK Jr. that's rife with red flags that we can't ignore, she's certainly not the only woman to ever court a politician. In fact, RFK Jr.'s dad wasn't just casually sleeping with Marilyn Monroe, as his brother JFK allegedly was, but the relationship had gone so far that Robert Kennedy promised Monroe he was going to leave his wife for her. Now that would have been one heck of an interesting marriage.

While there are a decent amount of famous women who have dated politicians, we narrowed it down to the most interesting couples. For example, Justin Trudeau's dad, who was also Canadian Prime Minister at one point, is on the list. Considering Trudeau recently confirmed he's dating Katy Perry, it seems the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

In March 2019, sustainable fashion icon Rosario Dawson confirmed that she was in a relationship with U.S. Senator Cory Booker. Although they initially kept the relationship quiet, Dawson confirmed they were together when TMZ approached her at Reagan National Airport. Dawson went on to say that the relationship was wonderful so far, adding that Booker was wonderful. "I am just grateful to be with someone that I respect and love and admire so much," Dawson said of Booker, who was running for president at the time.

A month before this interaction with TMZ, Booker appeared on The Breakfast Club morning radio show to talk about his presidential campaign. When Charlamagne Tha God asked if being single might stand in the way of him being elected president, Booker said he was seeing someone. "I got a boo," Booker happily shared.

Dawson, a celeb who's taken activism to the next level more than once, first met Booker in 2018 at a political fundraiser. Not only was she by his side throughout his presidential campaign, she even moved in with him in 2020. "This is the first time in my life I've really lived with somebody," Booker told BuzzFeed News in October 2020. Although Booker ultimately dropped out of the race, both he and Dawson attended Joe Biden's inauguration in January 2021. Sadly, the couple broke up in early 2022, but a source told People in February of that year that the two are still close friends.

Although it was Carrie Bradshaw who dated politician Bill Kelley, who was running for New York City Comptroller in "Sex and the City," it was the real-life Samantha who had a thing for dating men in power. Kim Cattrall met Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau at the opening of her 1980 film "Tribute" in December of that year, and found herself intrigued by the politician — so much so that she pursued him.

"I asked myself, 'How do you go about getting a date with the prime minister?' and then I just decided to call him up and ask for one," Cattrall told the Canadian publication Maclean's in 1981. At the time, Cattrall was 24 and Trudeau was 62. According to science, that's not the best age gap for a successful relationship, but the two did have some fun for a bit. "He's certainly a dream of a date," Cattrall told the magazine about Trudeau, adding that he was charming, kind, and a gentlemen.

While the relationship was short-lived, this wasn't the first famous woman Trudeau had dated. From 1969 to 1970, he was in a relationship with Barbra Streisand, whom he'd met at the 1968 premiere of "Funny Girl." In her 2023 autobiography "My Name Is Barbra," Streisand wrote of Trudeau, "He was so elegant, yet totally unpretentious and perpetually curious... an adventurer... And he had real charisma, generating so much excitement before and after his election that the Canadian press gave it a name... Trudeaumania" (via Vanity Fair). The two remained friends until Trudeau's death in 2000.

During the 1990s, Italian-born model Carla Bruni was one of the highest-paid models of the decade, making $7.5 million a year and working with the most iconic designers of the era. During that time, she was romantically linked to many high profile men, like Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, actor Kevin Costner, and singer Eric Clapton. President Donald Trump even claimed to have dated her at one point, something that Bruni has always denied. "Trump is obviously a lunatic," Bruni told the Daily Mail in 1991 (via The Daily Beast). "I've only ever met him once... And I haven't seen him since, of that I'm sure."

But despite the rockstars and actors, it wasn't until Bruni met French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 that she decided she was ready to settle down. "When I met him, walking around the garden in the Palais of the Elysee, he [kept] giving me all these flowers' names," Bruni told the BBC in 2011. Impressed by his knowledge of flowers and gardening, Bruni told the BBC, "I said to myself: 'My God, I must marry this man, he's the president and he knows everything about flowers as well. This is incredible.'" Just a few months after their first meeting, the two got hitched in February 2008 and have been married ever since.

In 2025, Sarkozy was found guilty of funding his 2007 presidential campaign with money from Muammar Gaddafi in exchange for diplomatic favors. He was sentenced to five years in prison. When Sarkozy walked into prison on October 21, 2025, Bruni was by his side, holding his hand.

As one of the most political actresses to ever grace the silver screen — she brought activism to awards shows several times, after all — it comes as no surprise that Jane Fonda wouldn't just date a politician, but marry one. In 1970, Fonda met social activist and future Senator Tom Hayden at an anti-war meeting. It wasn't a love-at-first-sight moment; but when Hayden and Fonda met a second time, a year later, there was something between them that wasn't there the first time.

"I came home to my roommate and I said, 'I'm going to marry him.' I just knew it," Fonda said in the 2018 documentary "Jane Fonda in Five Acts" about that second meeting (via InStyle). "He was stronger than I was, he was one of the only men that I'd ever met that I knew I would never be bored with — and I knew he wouldn't be intimidated by me.” They married in 1973.

The partnership wasn't just about love, but ending the Vietnam War — something they lobbied for relentlessly. Fonda and Hayden also travelled across the country, educating people on the realities of war and the impact it was having on the mental health of U.S. soldiers, as well as innocent Vietnamese civilians. Knowing that getting into politics might help their cause, Hayden first ran for U.S. Senate in 1976. Although he finished second to the incumbent, from 1982 to 1992 he was in the California State Assembly, before becoming State Senator in 1992. Although Fonda and Hayden divorced in 1990, their collective political legacy will stand the test of time. Hayden passed away in 2016.