This year marks 10 years since Taylor Swift assembled the ultimate girl squad for her “Bad Blood” music video.
Swift released the clip in May 2015, featuring a who’s who of A-listers, up-and-coming starlets, and supermodels, including Selena Gomez, Cara Delevingne, Martha Hunt, Karlie Kloss, Gigi Hadid, Lily Aldridge, and Lena Dunham, among others.
In the video, Swift gathers a literal squad of spandex-clad super spy assassins in a post-apocalyptic world to go against Gomez’s character in the video, who betrayed the singer (a likely nod to her feud at the time with Katy Perry).
Mariska Hargitay, Ellen Pompeo, whose “Law & Order: SVU” and “Grey’s Anatomy” characters, respectively, inspired Swift’s cats’ names, Jessica Alba, and Cindy Crawford served as mentor characters in the music video as well.
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Swift went on to bring some of the music video group and a few others with her to the MTV VMAs that same year, dominating the red carpet as she took home two wins out of her eight nominations that night, including video of the year and best collaboration (the music video is a remix of the song featuring Kendrick Lamar).
Members of the squad also popped up on some of Swift’s “1989” tour stops that year.
The official lineup of the squad has changed over the years, with some members drifting away and others maintaining bestie status. Read below to check in with some of the key members on what they’ve been up to and where the friendships stand.
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Gomez was already a well-known Disney channel star when she and Swift first met in 2008. At the time, they were each dating one of the Jonas Brothers, something Gomez called “hysterical” in an interview with KISS FM UK in 2017.
Following her appearance in the music video, Gomez continued balancing her acting and music careers while trying to manage her lupus diagnosis and mental health.
In 2021, she starred alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short in Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” which she also served as a producer on. The show earned multiple accolades across its four seasons, including Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. She also appeared in the Oscar-nominated but controversial “Emilia Perez,” last year.
Gomez also recently became engaged to producer Benny Blanco, who is collaborating with her on her fourth studio album, “I Said I Love You First,” set to be released on March 21.
Speaking about her friendship with Swift in Vanity Fair last year, the 32-year-old said the singer “is really like a big sister to me.”
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Zendaya was just starting her successful Disney Channel series, “K.C. Undercover,” when she appeared as part of the squad in “Bad Blood.”
Two years later, she starred in “The Greatest Showman” with Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron and “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” where she met longtime boyfriend Tom Holland.
The 28-year-old went on to star in the HBO series “Euphoria,” becoming the youngest outstanding lead actress in a drama series Emmy-winner in history. She earned a second win in the category the next year too.
She also starred in the “Dune” films in 2021 and 2024 as well as the sexually charged tennis film “Challengers.”
Her and Swift’s friendship has been a question mark since the music video premiered. Zendaya praised Swift in a 2015 interview with People magazine, saying, “Honestly, she’s really a sweetheart. She’s definitely someone that is just a really, really nice person, which is cool because she technically has every reason in the world not to be a nice person. You know what I’m saying? It’s cool to see her remain and still be that. She treats everyone like they’ve been friends forever.”
However, the pair haven’t spoken publicly about each other since. The two also seemingly been seen together.
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Cara Delevingne and Swift met during the 2013 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and have remained close friends ever since.
The model and actress even lived with Swift for a time following “a really horrible breakup.”
As she explained in an Interview magazine talk with comedian and Swiftie Nikki Glazer, “We’re very different people. She’s very homely, because she looked after me so well, but we got into some — not trouble, but I definitely took her for a bit of a wild ride. Just to get her to blush would be great.”
In addition to modeling, Delevingne has also done her share of acting in films like “Paper Towns” and “Suicide Squad.” She also guest-starred in the second season of “Only Murders in the Building” with fellow squad member Gomez, as well as episodes of “American Horror Story: Delicate.”
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Kloss and Swift appeared to be very much the best of friends after meeting around 2012 via X (then Twitter). The duo were spotted out and about on multiple occasions, vacationing together, and posting about each other on social media.
The supermodel was Victoria’s Secret Angel for several years before leaving the brand in 2015. She continued to model and eventually took over as the host of “Project Runway” from Heidi Klum in 2018.
The 32-year-old is married to Josh Kushner, younger brother to Jared Kushner, former advisor to President Donald Trump’s during his first term.
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The once-tight friendship between Swift and Kloss has faded over the years, with no official reason given by either party, but with plenty of speculation from Swifties about Kloss potentially siding with the singer’s nemeses, including Scooter Braun and Kim Kardashian, based off appearances on their social media accounts.
However, Kloss did attend the Eras Tour in 2023, and in July 2024, made a rare comment about Swift, praising her “Tortured Poets Department” album to YahooLife.
“I’d say the whole album [is my favorite],” she told the outlet. “I mean, her music is classic.”
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Gigi Hadid was a well-established model before and after her appearance in the music video, and since then has covered dozens of magazines, walked in fashion shows, and even dabbled in TV hosting.
She co-hosted the reality fashion competition, “Next In Style,” with Tan France for Netflix in 2023, and has also launched her own solo clothing line, Guest in Residence.
Hadid welcomed her first child with former One Direction member Zayn Malik, who she dated for six years before splitting for good in 2021. The 29-year-old and Bradley Cooper have reportedly been in a relationship since 2023, per Harper’s Bazaar.
The friendship between Swift and Hadid has remained strong since their first meeting back in 2014 at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, according to Cosmopolitan.
In 2023, Hadid shared a glimpse into her time with Swift during her cover interview with InStyle.
“Taylor Swift is an exceptional cook, and I love her,” she said. “She also makes a really good bolognese sauce and a really good chili that I love. So, I love to cook, but it’s also such a treat to get cooked for. And when you have friends that really also care about those special moments and the more intimate spaces and what can really come from putting an effort into making the time for that, I think that that’s when you start to find the friends that you really connect with, because you’re both working towards manifesting those really special moments.”
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Lena Dunham was at the height of her fame for her HBO series “Girls,” which she created, starred in, and wrote and directed many episodes during the show’s run.
She continued acting and directing, appearing in “American Horror Story: Cult” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” and directing films like “Sharp Stick” and “Catherine Called Birdy.”
Dunham has a new series in the works, titled “Too Much,” which she is producing, writing and directing.
The multi-hyphenate star was dating Swift’s longtime producer Jack Antonoff at the time of “Bad Blood,” later parting ways in 2017 after five years of dating. Some speculated their friendship would falter, but Swift actually was a bridesmaid at Dunham’s 2021 wedding to musician Luis Felber.
“In terms of the bridal party, if we include siblings, we were nine. You can have a far bigger wedding with less bridesmaids, but I guess it just speaks to how excited I was to have my close friends there,” Dunham told Vogue at the time.
Swift later attended Antonoff’s wedding to Margaret Qualley, and hung out with the couple at the Grammys this year.
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Lily Aldridge had been a Victoria’s Secret Angel for several years during the girl squad era and hung up her wings in 2018.
Since then, she launched a perfume line and a YouTube channel, among other modeling gigs. She married Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill in 2011, later welcoming a daughter and son.
Aldridge and Swift have remained friends over the years. The model told People magazine in 2020 that her daughter is “best friends” with Swift, explaining, “She asks to go to Taylor’s house every day and loves to go upstairs and play with her cats.”
They both lived in Nashville at the time, and Aldridge added, “It’s just amazing, she’s just the sweetest person.”
Another Victoria’s Secret Angel pal, Martha Hunt, has continued modeling since her appearance in the music video.
Though the pair haven’t been seen much since then, Hunt has continued sharing posts supporting Swift over the years, including sporting a cardigan from Swift’s “Folklore” album merchandise.
On Swift’s 30th birthday in 2019, Hunt shared a sweet tribute to her friend, writing in part, “T – You’ve kept an open heart when it wasn’t easy. You’ve stayed true to you and I couldn’t be prouder seeing you find your voice and standing firmly behind it.”
