Liverpool have a host of celebrity fans with the football club one of the biggest and most successful teams. So, Rousing The Kop has looked into 10 famous names you probably did not know were fans.
The Anfield natives have a fanbase that far exceeds the Merseyside area with a global reach most of their rivals could only dream of. An array of celebrities are also fans of the Premier League club with Liverpool’s history of success admired worldwide. The club also has a rich tradition entrenched in it.
Few teams can compare their triumphs with Liverpool’s trophy cabinet featuring 19 top-flight titles and six European Cups. While the many legends to grace Anfield have also helped the Reds build up a fanbase featuring a host of celebrities. So, Rousing The Kop has looked at 10 of their famous fans…
Millie Bobby Brown
Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown confessed in January 2017 that Liverpool legend and former captain Steven Gerrard played a huge role in her status as a celebrity fan of the Anfield club. The hit Netflix actress also owes her family’s, especially her brother’s, influence having alerted her to them.
“My family have been supporters and big fans since I was very young,” Brown told the Liverpool club website. “So, I gradually started to love them and watch the games.
“My brother played a big part in it. When he started telling me about Steven Gerrard when he was playing I started falling in love with it! So, it was a big moment in my life [to meet Gerrard in 2016].”
Brown also told the Reds’ website back in September 2016 that Philippe Coutinho was her favourite player among that season’s Liverpool first-team squad. The actress, who grew up in Bournemouth, even admitted that her family watches the Anfield club’s games at 04:00 when they are in America.
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt is one of the world’s biggest movie stars and confirmed in November 2011 that he is also a celebrity Liverpool fan. He admitted his Reds connection whilst promoting the release of Moneyball.
“I have some friends who are very close to Liverpool, so if I went another way I might be disowned,” Pitt said, via the Reds’ club website.
Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig became one of England’s most recognisable actors during his time playing James Bond. He is also one of the biggest celebrity Liverpool fans having been born in Chester before growing up in Hoylake, Wirral. The actors’ bond with the club has never faded and he has often attended games.
Along with attending games, Craig has met many Liverpool legends, including Gerrard and Mohamed Salah. He even told Sky Sports in October 2021 that Reds boss Jurgen Klopp would be a good Bond.
“I worship him, so yes!” Craig said. “I’ve been lucky enough to meet him a couple of times, and you just want to follow him.”
Lana Del Rey
Global pop star Lana Del Rey is also a Liverpool fan and even sang an a cappella version of the club’s anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone, for a documentary in 2020. Her connection with the Anfield team stems from her manager, Ben Mawson. She was also a big fan of Luis Suarez during his time in Red.
“I was introduced to Liverpool FC by my manager, Ben, whose mood is dependent on the Liverpool results,” she told the Reds’ website back in March 2013 after attending a game against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. “I love watching Luis Suarez play.”
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is also a celebrity Liverpool fan through the Academy Award-winning actress’ adopted son, Maddox. Their support for the Reds started back in 2001 while she was filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider with the Liverpool-born actress, Eunice Huthart, who gifted Maddox the Anfield club’s jersey.
Back in July 2003, the Liverpool Echo even quoted Jolie as noting: “He isn’t interested in movies – he only wants to play for Liverpool.”
Liam Neeson
Hollywood icon Liam Neeson is an avid celebrity Liverpool fan who the club upset in January 2015 by dropping Gerrard. The Irish actor was reacting after the midfielder fell to the bench before joining LA Galaxy that summer. But he wanted then-manager Brendan Rodgers to keep Gerrard on Merseyside.
“Give him two years,” Neeson said, via quotes by the Irish Independent. “He’s a great player. He’s an ambassador for the sport as well there which is very, very important. He’d be great for Liverpool, I think all the fans want to see him there for an extra two years. Do it.”
LeBron James
LeBron James has supported Liverpool for years and even became a minority investor in the club in April 2011. Fenway Sports Group (FSG), who own Liverpool, gave James a stake in the conglomerate. While the basketball legend and Reds have also collaborated on a limited-run line of merchandise.
Dr Dre
Dr Dre is one of hip-hop’s biggest superstars and revealed himself as a celebrity Liverpool fan back in November 2001. The American rapper and record producer, real name Andre Romell Young, became a supporter of the Anfield natives after seeing John Barnes shine in 1988 whilst in London with NWA.
“They’re the team I always look out for when I’m at home,” he told the Liverpool club website. “Back in 1988, I was in London on a promotional tour with NWA, and one night we were watching TV and these cool cats in red came on the box. They whooped some poor dudes four or five zip.
“John Barnes. He was bad [and he] kinda reminded me of Magic Johnson. I’m from LA and dig the Lakers, especially when Magic was there, and Barnes was like him in that he made the ball talk. The cat was cool.”
Gary Barlow
Take That star Gary Barlow is another celebrity Liverpool fan and has attended numerous fixtures at Anfield over the years. He even got the chance to perform at Anfield in 2019, just days after the Reds lifted the Champions League trophy. Barlow and Gerry Marsden also sang You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Samuel L Jackson
Samuel L Jackson is movie royalty with starring roles in Pulp Fiction, Die Hard and Snakes on a Plane. But along with the American actor and producer being one of the most recognisable actors of his generation, the Washington DC native is also an avid Liverpool supporter as his first love in the sport.
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