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For many millennials, the 2000s were the glory days. Fashion was strange, technology was booming, movies were exciting, and the future looked bright. It's easy to lose track of the past when the present is so loud, but this collection of moments may jog your memory...
Kobe Bryant and Vanessa Laine
Bryant and Laine got together when Laine was just 18 years old. Kobe was in his first year in the NBA, and he proposed to Laine right before he entered his first round of finals. One month after Laine accepted the wedding ring, Kobe himself took home his first of five championship rings.
Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston
This picture was taken right before Pitt left Aniston for Angelina Jolie. The couple got together in the late '90s and were married in the early 2000s. By 2004, there was a major conspiracy that Pitt had been cheating on Aniston with the star of Tomb Raider, and Pitt confirmed that rumor in 2005 when he filed for divorce.
Johnny, Leo, and Brad, the Boys of the 2000s
Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Brad Pitt were all three of the most recognizable and prolific male actors of the early 2000s. Although it may seem strange, these guys were particularly close friends at the time. Leonardo DiCaprio is also about ten years younger than Pitt and Depp as well.
Mike Tyson Getting His Face Tattooed
When Mike Tyson was making his comeback in the 2000s, he decided to change his appearance forever. Mike Tyson explained that the idea behind the face tattoo came from a period in his life where he truly hated himself. He wanted to destroy his own personal image, which initially manifested as Tyson wanting to get his entire face tattooed over. However, the artist refused to do that, so they settled on a simple, yet noticeable, tribal design.
Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears
Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears were pitted against one another in the media for reasons unknown. Tabloids concocted a story about how Aguilera and Spears couldn't stand one another when in reality, they didn't even really know each other very well. The duo went out of their way to dispel that rumor, and the same year they stood up at the MTV awards to give an award together.
Kylie and Kendall Jenner, Halloween 2000
Kylie and Kendall have spoken at length about their early childhoods and how they were bullied for being a member of the Kardashian/Jenner family. Kendall Jenner was jealous of her younger sister who had more friends and an easier time being social. She now states that she has a much healthier social life.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Britney Spears
Young Leonardo DiCaprio used to hang out with every major celebrity out there. He liked to spend time with successful people that were around his age. Britney Spears was also on the come-up while Leo was proving himself as an actor.
Heath Ledger As The Joker
This photo was taken behind the scenes of "The Dark Knight," right before Heath Ledger passed away. His absolutely electric performance shocked and captivated audiences in 2008, but sadly he was not around to share that feeling with his co-stars.
Paris Hilton in Los Angeles
Paris Hilton is the undisputed queen of the 2000s. Although she didn't accomplish much in terms of benefitting society, Hilton did invent the idea of virality, and she was the first notable celebrity who simply existed for money. The Kardashians took after her, and an entire generation of people have built the social media model off of her impact.
First Day on the Set of The Office
The Office is one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 2000s. Even though it was popular at the time it was being aired, The Office got much more popular post-release. Everyone from The Office became huge stars, even though most of them have taken a major step back from acting.
Pamela Anderson on Jay Leno, 2002
As the '90s fell away, Pamela Anderson's career slowed. She was dealing with her divorce from Tommy Lee, and she had two kids to take care of who no longer had a father. She would come onto talk shows from time to time, and Jay Leno's show became her safe space.
Jim Carrey's Grinch Transformation
Evidently, every single day that Jim Carrey ended up shooting on set for The Grinch, he had to spend at least three hours in the makeup chair. This costume was hand-painted on a daily basis by an extremely talented makeup team. The Grinch would have never become such a cult classic if it weren't for the physical effects.
Halle Berry, June 2001
Halle Berry shook up Hollywood when she starred in the movie Swordfish. Some people think that the movie was only successful because Berry went topless for a scene, but many critics think that it was because John Travolta played an unforgettable villain.
Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore
This dynamic duo was caught drinking a $300+ bottle of champagne while walking to the premiere of Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle in New York in 2003. The Charlie's Angels movies were the first of their kind; producers strayed away from the classic gruff male action actors and opted for a gang of ladies instead. This was also Drew Barrymore's defining moment that separated her from her past roles.
Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz in "Blow"
This photo was taken in March of 2001. Penelope Cruz was already a massively popular actress in Spain, but she wasn't popular in America until she played this role. Some rumors state that when Penelope Cruz moved to America, she knew two phrases in English. One of those phrases was: "I want to work with Johnny Depp."
Anna Nicole Smith, Courtney Love, and Avril Lavigne
This photo was snapped in Las Vegas in September of 2004. This unlikely bunch actually planned this trip out and were doing their best to avoid the paparazzi, but somehow the word got out. The three were due to conduct an interview together sometime later, but Anna Nicole Smith passed away in 2007.
Jason Dill in Manhattan on September 11th
For those who don't know, Jason Dill is a professional skateboarder who was shooting a series of clips on the morning of September 11th, 2001. He and Mike Piscitelli were just waking up to go out and skate right after the planes struck the building. Hungover and unknowing of the gravity of the situation, they stopped to snap this photograph.
Keanu Reeves in Paris
Keanu Reeves took a major turn in his life when he transitioned from playing a dumb, time-traveling metalhead to being the one who could manipulate the Matrix. After The Matrix was released, Keanu spent some time traveling around. This is a picture of him lounging outside of his hotel room in Paris.
Beyonce with Her Bodyguard
Back in the 2000s, Juicy Couture was what everyone wanted to wear. Also, if you grew up in the 2000s, chances are you've listened to a ton of Destiny's Child. Beyonce was one of those people that everybody knew was going to be an extraordinarily popular figure in American history, and she lived up to that sentiment.
Lebron James, 2003
Both Lebron James and the popularity of professional wrestling came up in the early 2000s. This picture was snapped at a Monday Night Raw in 2003, of which Lebron James was in attendance. Few know this, but Lebron James is a huge wrestling fan. He even released a pair of Nike shoes that were based on Ric Flair's robes.
Mariah Carey in her Bathroom
It's no doubt that Mariah Carey was one of the biggest celebrities of the 2000s. She went from being a glamorous pop star to becoming a sophisticated artist and entrepreneur who demanded that people view her as a powerful figure. However, it seems like she never lost her personal interests.
Paris Hilton's Birthday Party
This photo of Paris Hilton was snapped at her 21st birthday party. For Paris, the ultimate party girl, this party was supposed to be the benchmark gathering for her future as a socialite. Also, this outfit was talked about for years after the party.
Britney Spears and Madonna
One of the most iconic moments of the 2000s was when Madonna and Britney Spears exchanged a smooch on stage at the 2003 VMAs. Also, this was somewhat less reported, but Christina Aguilera also joined the kissing party with Madonna. Instead of reporting about this moment, MTV focused on Justin Timberlake's reaction.
Scarlett Johansson's New Tattoo
Right at the beginning of the 2000s, Scarlett Johansson hit the scene. She made waves in Lost in Translation and Ghost World. Between then and now, Johansson lived an exciting life full of partying, friendship, and cool new tattoos.
Beyonce Knowles
This picture of Beyonce was snagged during the Pepsi Gladiators commercial run in September 2003. Pepsi took a major move towards the youth market in the early 2000s, and it has exclusively used celebrities to sell Pepsi products since.
Rolling Stone Featuring Britney Spears
This edition of Rolling Stone featured a red, white, and blue-clad Britney Spears posing in front of a torn American flag. This was released in 2000, right after Spears dropped her biggest song, Hit Me Baby One More Time. However, it wasn't much longer until Spears released Oops I Did It Again and shook up her own market once more.
Angelina Jolie Behind the Scenes
When Jolie was training to become Laura Croft for the 2003 movie "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life," she had to undergo massive physical changes. Jolie's training regimen began over a year before she was supposed to start filming. Within that time, Jolie had been eating five meals a day, waking up at 7 am, and training so intensely that sometimes she would pass out.
Forbes Predicting the Future of Cell Phones
This edition of Forbes magazine came out around the beginning of 2007. If you don't know this already, 2007 was the year that the original iPhone was released. Nowadays, Nokia is owned by a subsidiary of Microsoft, and it was completely torn apart by investors.
Heath Ledger in Public
This pic was snapped of Heath Ledger and his daughter, Matilda, in Brooklyn around 2007. Judging by the hair color, Ledger had probably was in the midst of acting as the Joker in The Dark Knight. Here he is seen on a (probably) rare break from his shooting schedule, doing what was most important to him.
Tyra Banks on the Catwalk
Tyra Banks landed her dream job right out of high school. Her first major gig was taking the cover of Seventeen Magazine, and landing a six-figure contract with Elite Model Management in 1990. Banks transitioned from strictly modeling to acting as well, but before that, she lived the life of a rich and famous teenager that many of us could have never dreamed of doing.
Lil Kim, Britney Spears, and Mariah Carey
This series of photos were taken in the TRL photo booth in 2001. TRL Live was a series of studios in Manhattan that hosted some of Hollywood's most elite performers during the peak of MTV's popularity. There are pictures of virtually every rising star from the 2000s saved in the MTV office.
Doutzen Kroes, 2003
This is a rare shot of a relatively underground model from the early 2000s. Kroes became one of the faces of Victoria's Secret when she was just 18 years old. Kroes has stated many times that she didn't want to be a model, but the industry really just pulled her in with money.
Salma Hayek, Versace Spring, 2001
After spending the entire 1990s being the most desired woman in movies, she crushed the early 2000s by instantly starring in movies like Frida and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Her main focus was to bring her heritage to the big screen, and she succeeded later on in her career.
Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey, 2003
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was one of Jim Carrey's most tame roles, despite being wildly abstract and energetic. In a film that helped define the 2000s, Carrey and Winslet play opposing characters, exes actually, that are actively being manipulated to remove one another from their memories.
Adriana Lima, GQ, 2000
Adriana Lima got her start with Victoria's Secret in 1999. She was awarded the "new supers" title when she climbed out of the noise of the modeling world to receive worldwide critical acclaim. When this photo was taken, she was in the midst of becoming the most covered GQ model of all time.
Cameron Diaz, Los Angeles, 1998
According to Diaz, she originally only planned on hustling for two years to determine whether her acting career should take off or not. After she starred in The Mask, and then There's Something About Mary, things took a major turn for her. According to her, the hard work stopped being hard after a while.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (With Their Kids)
Jolie and Pitt adopted several kids, as well as having their own set of twins named Vivienne and Knox Leon. Paparazzi allegedly sold pictures of the elusive "Brangelina" twins for a whopping $14 million to People magazine. However, the vast majority of that cash went back into a charity organization that waived adoption fees for first time adopters.
Britney Spears, MTV VMA's, 2001
This was a defining moment in Spears' career. She took the stage to perform "I'm a Slave 4 U" with a tiger led by the famous tiger tamer Doc Antle. This all went down in September of 2001, just weeks after the September 11th terror attacks. Doc Antle later went on to be a focal point in the hit Netflix show, Tiger King.
Brittany Murphy, Big Smile
Britney Murphey was an unfortunate casualty to the turn of the 2000s into the 2010s. After starring in numerous successful movies like Clueless, Riding in Cars With Boys, and 8 Mile, Murphy's career took a nosedive around 2008. In 2009, Murphey passed away due to pneumonia and anemia while being mistreated by doctors and having taken a near-lethal dose of inaccurately prescribed pharmaceuticals.
Jessica Alba in Miami
Jessica Alba had a strong run in the early 2000s. After she popped off in Dark Angel as a 19-year-old, she took a small break from being in the Hollywood limelight to enjoy herself in Miami. This picture is from a small vacation that she took after finishing Dark Angel.
Emma Watson and Tom Felton at the Scooby-Doo Premier
In 2002, one of the most notable live-action adaptations of a children's cartoon was made. This movie was so popular that stars from other movies were caught by the paparazzi watching it, and those photos were worth just as much as the stars from the Scooby-Doo movie itself. Here, you can see Hermoine Granger and Draco Malfoy posing for a quick snap before the film.
Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, and Cameron Diaz
This dynamic trio was once known exclusively as "Charlie's Angels." The highly successful action movie was released in 2000, and its goal was to reverse the idea that only buff men could act in action films. If you like movies like Die Hard, Rambo, and XXX, you'll love Charlie's Angels.
Paris Hilton On Her Flip Phone
Paris Hilton was the world's first influencer and we feel like that's not talked about enough. She was bold, uncaring, and deeply personally motivated. That, and she turned the flip phone into a fashion accessory when the vast majority of club kids were still wearing earrings from Claire's.
Kanye West, 2000
Before today's age, Kanye West was a revolutionary that transformed the sound and vision of hip hop. With his hit albums "The College Dropout" and "Graduation," Kanye was able to commodify hip hop for wider audiences to be consumed on a multi-cultural scale. He also was one of the most notable figures of the 2000s in general, and he's still trying to hang onto his fame today.
Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, 2008
If you grew up in the '90s or 2000s, chances are that you've taken the time to watch The Notebook at some point. Whether you were on a tearful date with someone, or you just wanted to see what all the buzz was about. Believe it or not, Gosling and McAdams actually started dating due to their intense on-screen chemistry.
Michael Scott, BTS, The Office, 2009
This still was captured during the shooting of the "Stress Relief" episode of The Office in February 2009. This scene actually acted as the prerequisite to the impending departure of Steve Carrell just two years later. Although the network tried to make it seem like Carrell just wanted to leave, they essentially forced him off of the show by refusing to make him an offer to stay.
Shawn and Marlon Wayans, 2000
You might recognize these two dudes from the 2000 smash hit "Scary Movie." The Scary Movie format helped build a legacy of "spoof" movies that pervaded society, making fun of all of the tropes that people were indoctrinated towards. Scary Movie, Vampire Movie, Date Movie, and all the other spoofs have done exceptionally well in the box office.
Lindsay Lohan Under House Arrest
In 2010, Lohan got into some legal trouble for stealing a $2,500 necklace. She was just 24 years old when she received her sentence. Evidently, the jail in the county that Lohan was supposed to be sentenced to four months was overcrowded, so she ended up doing 35 days of house arrest instead.
Paris Hilton and Kim K., 2006
This photo was snapped while Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian were out on an Australian vacation in 2006. This was long before Kim Kardashian got married to Kanye. Kim Kardashian was actually working as Paris Hilton's personal assistant, she really just cleaned Paris' home and helped her keep her finances in order.
Megan Fox and Shia Labeouf
Megan Fox and Shia Lebouf dated for a brief period of time while on the set of Transformers. This initial connection was sullied by Labeouf's early alcoholism and abusive tendencies. Fox got out of that relationship quickly, and she hasn't been outspoken about Labeouf's behavior like many others have.
Bianca Stratford, Style Icon
Bianca Stratford basically laid down the platform for the style icons of the early 2000s. If you've ever doubted that, we suggest that you re-watch 10 Things I Hate About You as soon as possible, and compare all of the outfits that you wore in high school to Bianca Stratford.
Missy Elliot Wearing Trashbags
Even though Missy Elliot hit the scene in the '90s, she really became the force to be reckoned with that she is in the early 2000s. She constantly delivered game-changing music, style, and personality while sticking to her roots and never losing vision of her cultural mission. The trash bag costume was an effort to hide her shyness while still being the center of attention, in Elliot's words.
Halle Berry, 2000 MTV Movie Awards
Berry turned a lot of heads during the 2000 MTV Movie Awards when she showed up revealing a bit more skin than people expected her to. Her outfit fought against that year's norm, where a lot of people showed up in either all black or all denim. Halle Berry was an innovator and she didn't ever want to hide the fact that she did exactly what she wanted to do.
Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Los Angeles, 2007
This photo was snapped of the young duo in 2007 at the viewing party for the first season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. It's strange how these two individuals grew up completely in an environment that was clouded by camera crews and accent lighting. In 2015, Kendall and Kylie both touched on this subject, and they stated that being around so many cameras practically prevented them from being normal teenagers.
Lil Bow Wow, 2000
Lil Bow Wow (now just "Bow Wow") was a massive star in the early 2000s. When he dropped his first album, Beware of Dog, in 2000, he instantly became one of the most popular rappers of the year. This album went double platinum, which ended up getting him film gigs and features on Snoop Dogg songs. After he released his second album, nearly ten years later, he dropped the "Lil" and the rest is history.
Miley Cyrus' Sweet 16
It's easy to forget that the Miley Cyrus we know today grew up the same way that a lot of us did. However, when the 2000s turned into the 2010s, she started to experiment with her appearance and the content of her music. This picture could serve as a reminder that we all, at one point, were just like Miley, minus the television show and music career.
Paul Walker and Jessica Alba, 2005
This is a picture of Paul Walker and Jessica Alba on the set of Into the Blue around September 2005. The movies of the era were largely centered around the "extreme action" fascination that translated from car chases and shootouts in the '90s to snowboarding and surfing in the 2000s.
Penelope Cruz, 2009
Penelope Cruz played a character named Lena in a movie called Broken Embraces that got released in 2010. For those who don't know, Broken Embraces is about a secretary who becomes an actress with the help of a domineering millionaire. When asked what it was like to act in a movie within a movie, Cruz stated that it was "weird."
Ray J and Lil Kim
When Ray J was coming up, he struggled to find a place in the industry with his multitude of talents. He was an actor, singer, producer, and reality TV star. He was in the process of blowing up when he made this song, Wait a Minute, with Lil Kim.
Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr., 2000
This pic was snapped in May of 2000 at a Knicks vs Heat NBA playoff game. These two actors were the stars of I Know What You Did Last Summer and the live-action Scooby-Doo movies. Despite playing a strained couple in both of these film series, in real life, they lived a happy married life. They are still together to this day.
The "Stop Being Poor" Controversy
Although most people believe that Paris Hilton wore the shirt on the left to make a statement, the photo on the right was what she actually wore. In 2005, someone photoshopped a shirt that Paris was wearing at a club to look this way. They thought that this was going to tear Paris down, but it actually just made her more popular over the years.
Young Jake Gyllenhaal
When Gyllenhaal was a young man, he seemingly knew that he was destined for success. He was very picky about the roles that he chose to take, even with modeling gigs. This was one of the few photoshoots that Gyllenhaal actually accepted because Calvin Klein allowed him to set the stage for his portraits.
Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake
Timberlake and Spears were arguably the most "2000s" couple that there ever was. This picture was taken at the 2005 MTV Awards. where they both were nominated for single of the year. Neither walked away with the award, but the press got a ton of pictures of them together, and that's what really matters in the long run.
The Introduction of the Camera Phone
This, right here, is one of the earliest selfies that had ever been taken. At a showcase of the Finnish technology company Vodafone's newest products in Japan, this lady took the opportunity to take a picture of herself with one of the first camera phones on the market. This phone wasn't available until about two years after this photo was snapped.
The Cast of Spring Breakers, 2013
Spring Breakers was a movie that went out of its way to subvert the expectations of certain actors in the 2010s. Casting Selena Gomez, James Franco, Ashley Benson, and Vanessa Hudgens from otherwise heartfelt roles before playing wild Floridian party people was a brilliant act. Evidently, the filming was very relaxed and rewarding as well, according to Vanessa Hudgens.