Who needs Valentine’s Day to celebrate kissing? Kissing is immortalized in cinema, art, music and photography. An iconic kiss might be defined by occasion, location or protagonists. So much can be said in a kiss. Let’s get acquainted with some of history’s most memorable kisses (and they don’t all involve lips and puckering up!)
1 A Royal Wedding
The image of Charles and Diana kissing on their wedding day was the one we had all been waiting for, and it’s still iconic to this day.
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2 VJ Day in Times Square, New York 1945
Probably the most iconic kissing image of all time, as this pair shared a smooch to celebrate the end of World War II in 1945 New York.
3 From Here to Eternity
Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr made kissing and rolling around on the beach look so sexy and they weren’t even getting any sand in their costumes!
4 Scott Jones and Alexandra Thomas
These two love birds became iconic when a snapshot of their on the ground kiss was taken amid the craziness of the 2011 Stanley Cup riots when Boston beat Vancouver.
5 Rodin’s ‘the Kiss’
Rodin’s 1889 marble sculpture is one of the most famous examples of kissing in art history, showing Francesca da Rimini and her lover in a passionate embrace.
6 John Lennon and Yoko Ono
This kiss, captured by Annie Leibovitz, graced the cover of Rolling Stone in 1981, and it remembered because the photo shoot took place just hours before his tragic death.
7 Gustav Klimt’s ‘the Kiss’
Another famous example of kissing in art, the Austrian painter’s most famous work depicting a couple showing their love for one another.
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The embrace captured in this golden masterpiece is both intimate and universal, resonating with individuals across generations. Klimt's use of intricate patterns and lavish gold leaf adds a sensuous richness to the image, while the couple is lost in their private world, their kiss symbolizing the ultimate expression of passion and unity. This artwork not only captures a moment of love but also reflects the Art Nouveau style's fascination with beauty, making it a timeless icon of romance.
8 An Officer and a Gentleman
One of cinema’s all time best kisses, who can forget the moment Richard Gere and Debra Winger locked lips after they confess their love?
9 Following in Dad's Footsteps
Just like his parents before him, Prince William's marriage kiss photo became in instant worldwide sensation.
10 Ghost
Who would have that a ghost kissing a woman would be so damn sexy and romantic? Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore showed us how amazing it could be!
11 Kiss Cam
The President and First Lady showed they like to have fun when they obliged the half time kiss cam at a basketball game in Washington in 2012.
12 Spider-man
Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst’s upside down kiss has stayed in the memory.
13 Pop Princesses at the MTV VMA
Britney and Madonna stirred it up back in 2003 when they locked lips at the MTV Video Music Awards.
14 The Notebook
You cannot think about Hollywood kisses without immediately imagining Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams and all that rain in The Notebook!
15 Hello Sailor!
Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta, left, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell become famous when they were the first same sex military couple to share a kiss when Gaeta returned from a tour of duty in 2011.
16 Hershey’s Kisses
Let’s be real, you’ve probably had more kisses from Hershey’s than you have from any guy in your life, right!?
17 Le Baiser De L'hôtel De Ville, Paris
French photographer Robert Doisneau's took the photograph of a couple kissing in Paris for Life magazine in 1950.
18 The First Motion Picture Kiss
May Irwin and John C Rice have the honor of delivering the first ever on screen kiss way back in 1896. It proved to be scandal for audiences!
19 Kiss (the Band!)
I can’t say that the tongue of Gene Simmons would make for the most enjoyable kissing experience, but the band that he is in certainly are one of the most memorable kisses in history!
20 World Record Kiss
A Thai married couple hold the record for the longest kiss in history, staying lip locked for over 58 hours! Well done Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat
21 Betrayal
We’re getting biblical now, and probably the most infamous kiss ever, ever, is the traitorous kiss of Judas betraying Jesus Christ.
22 Sleeping Beauty
Disney capture's every little girl's heart when Princess Aurora is awakened by a kiss from her prince.
23 Gone with the Wind
The iconic kiss between these two in Gone With The Wind is up there as one of the most infamous in film history.
24 Breakfast at Tiffany's
And talking of classic movie kisses, who can forget the glorious kiss in the rain that George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn shared.
25 Sunday Bloody Sunday
And a last one from the movies. Peter Finch and Murray Head shared the first silver screen homosexual kiss.
Which is the most iconic kiss and has the most meaning for you?
