And the award for cutest couple at the Oscars goes to…
Actually, there are quite a few strong contenders in that category at the upcoming 94th annual Academy Awards.
For instance, after Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan announced the 2022 Oscar nominees during a livestream on Feb. 8, fans noticed that both Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons are nominated for their performances in The Power of the Dog.
In addition to being a couple in real life (they started dating in 2016 after working together on the FX series Fargo and now share two children), they star as a married pair in the 1920s-set western drama. Plemmons plays George Burbank, who runs a Montana ranch with his brother Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch), while Dunst plays Rose Gordon, a widowed inn keeper and mother who is tormented by Phil after she marries George. And they each scored nods in the supporting role categories for their work.
"To be honored by the Academy is a truly humbling experience," Dunst said in a statement. "For both Jesse and I to get our first nominations together is beyond our wildest dreams. Congratulations to [writer and director] Jane [Campion], Benedict, Kodi [Smit-McPhee] and Jesse on their nominations and the entire cast and crew of The Power of the Dog. Working on this film was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I'm forever grateful for Jane trusting me to bring Rose's story to life. Thank you to the Academy for recognizing our work and for putting me amongst such a remarkable group of actresses.""
Their nominations are among the 12 nods The Power of the Dog has received, which also include Best Picture, making it the most-nominated film on the Academy's list this year.
But Dunst and Plemmons aren't the only couple to receive recognition. Expect to see Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz work the famed red carpet as well.
While the married pair have starred alongside each other in several films, this season Bardem earned recognition for playing Desi Arnaz to Nicole Kidman's Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos while Cruz received a nod for her part in Parallel Mothers—which follows the lives of a professional photographer named Janis (Cruz) and a teenager named Ana (Milena Smit) who meet in a Madrid hospital while they're giving birth.
A fourth nomination for both Cruz and Bardem, she previously took home a trophy for her supporting role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, while he previously received an award for his supporting role in No Country for Old Men.
In a statement, Bardem said it was "a privilege and an honor" to play Arnaz and thanked Arnaz's family, the Academy and writer-director Aaron Sorkin. He also gave a shout-out to his costars and fellow nominees Kidman and J.K. Simmons and noted he "couldn't be happier to share this celebration with my talented wife, Penelope, for her work in Parallel Mothers."
Another couple who could appear on the Oscars red carpet? Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith is technically the only one of the two (who wed in 1997) nominated for both producing and playing the titular role in King Richard, based on the true story of Venus Williams (Saniyya Sidney), Serena Williams (Demi Singleton) and their father Richard Williams (Smith). However, Pinkett Smith is also an executive producer of the film, which is up for Best Picture.
Click here to see the full list of nominees.