But would they really want to go?

More than the Oscars and more than the Cannes croisette, the Met Gala represents the social event of the year in the world of celebrities. Such a social event indeed that the guest list is often the subject of debates and disputes about who has or should have the right to attend the event or not. Even though it remains true that the event is so long, stressful, often expensive, and personally demanding (who would want to expose themselves to potential criticism from the entire Internet in case of a bad look after all?) that many celebrities less interested in smiling for photographers for two hours don’t worry too much about attending. And while many often complain about the young TikTokers invited to the gala, politicians, and even some personalities from less “noble” realms of fashion and cinema, it’s surprising to see that some of the most legendary stars of our time at the Met Gala have never even gone. Although they often came close.

Here are the 5 stars who have never attended the Met Gala.

1. Meryl Streep

Starring in The Devil Wears Prada and forever entering Millennial pop culture was, in theory, enough to earn Streep an invitation to the Met Gala. Even though in theory the actress has never attended one, in November 2019 she was announced as co-chair of the event (the same role Zendaya holds this year) if it hadn’t been for 2020 being the year of the pandemic. That year’s gala was canceled, and apparently, she wasn’t invited again.

2. Ryan Gosling

It’s hard to find an actor today as consistently on top as Ryan Gosling. Becoming, in recent years, a red carpet specialist thanks to both the extensive press tour for Barbie and the even more miraculous one for his currently showing film, The Fall Guy, one would have expected the actor, the true “face of a generation,” to make his appearance sooner or later – but that wasn’t the case. The reason for this absence is perhaps explainable by the fact that the actor has only recently forged a bond with the fashion world by becoming the face of Gucci and that, before Covid, he had gone through a critically uncertain phase in his career (his last film dated back to 2018 and in 2022, he returned with an action thriller poorly received by critics) which was interrupted last year with the global success of Barbie.

3. Jeff Goldblum

Jeff Goldblum is a big name in cinema, he has been part of some of the most interesting films around for entire decades but above all he has emerged in recent years as one of the best-dressed celebrities of all time. Strangely, despite his connection with various fashion brands, the first of which would be Prada for which he has also walked the runway some time ago and which Goldblum wears quite frequently, the actor has never been to the Met Gala. Although we’re ready to bet that he really doesn’t care much about the Met Gala.

4. Brad Pitt

What has Brad Pitt not done in recent years? Actor, producer, director, artist, vintner, founder of a fashion brand, and also of a luxury beauty brand – after reaping endless career successes, and after being for two occasions the face of Chanel and once that of Brioni, Pitt has never been invited to walk the red carpet of the Met Gala. And to think that, during the press tour of Bullet Train, the actor gave us an unexpected look at his vaguely avant-garde wardrobe with touches of hobo-chic. Which could derive either from the controversies that have been swirling around his name for some years now following his divorce from Angelina Jolie.

5. Angelina Jolie

In the Y2K era, Angelina Jolie shone so brightly that her charm still persists today, between increasingly rare film appearances and new projects like her brand Atelier Jolie which recently made news for settling in Basquiat’s former home in New York. Despite her status as a cinema icon, however, Jolie has never been invited to the Met Gala – perhaps because of her relative distance from the world of sponsorships, perhaps because Jolie has always seemed more interested in her role in various humanitarian projects than in mere socializing. But if it’s true that her next project on Maria Callas will be the fashion movie of the year, nothing excludes that we will see her at the Met Gala 2025.