Gallery: 20 Celebrities Who Love Vespas

Image via Complex Original

Vespa is to scooters what Xerox is to photocopying. Or Kleenex is to tissues. The two concepts have become so inextricably intertwined that many people who don't know better refer to all scooters as "Vespas," regardless of their actual brands. You don't become the most-loved scooter in the world without recruiting a celebrity following along the way. Here are a few of our favorite celebrities on Vespas.

20. Jason Segel and Paul Rudd

Complex Says: Jason Segel and Paul Rudd rode a Vespa together in the film I Love You, Man. What's it about? Lots of reviews touted the bromance angle, but we like Tumblr user peterbretter's tag for it: “i love you man is an important movie about jason segel riding around on a vespa while wearing ugg boots.”

19. Santa Claus

Complex Says: Santa must have gone for the flying option when he chose his Vespa. We're surprised it isn't red, but perhaps the jolly old fellow decided that too much red could be a bad thing. We're also not sure if that's Mrs. Claus or a very attractive elf on the back. In any case, perhaps you'll be able to tell that Santa's come to your house next Christmas by the smell of two-stroke oil emanating from your chimney. If you have a chimney. Vespas have to cost less to maintain than all those reindeer. (Also, Vespas don't poop.)

18. Hayden Panettiere

Complex Says: This publicity shot was taken while Panettiere was still working on Heroes, and she looks every inch The Cheerleader. Seen more recently in Scream 4, Panettiere will star in two more films set for release later this year: Carmel and Downers Grove. Carmel features a cast that includes Alfred Molina, Tricia Helfer, and Lauren Bacall. Hayden's brother Jansen is also involved. Downers Grove is a horror film that also features Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale, and is based upon a screenplay written by Bret Easton Ellis.

17. Paris Hilton

Complex Says: Unsurprisingly, Hilton's personal Vespa is a bright Barbie pink. We can't be sure, but in this scene from an episode of the late, great show Veronica Mars, Hilton also rode a bright pink Vespa in a guest-starring role. Is it the same Vespa, or is this when Hilton realized how cool the little scooters are and decided she needed to own one? In any case, it proves that there's a Vespa for everyone--even if you do like your vehicles alarmingly pink.

16. Mickey Rourke

Complex Says: With the kinds of roles he plays in films, we bet you never thought you'd see Rourke on a seafoam green Vespa. In November 2007, Rourke was arrested on a DUI charge while riding his Vespa home from a Miami nightclub. We'll let you absorb that for a moment.

15. Jeremy Clarkson

Complex Says: When Top Gear did a special in Vietnam, Clarkson rode a Vespa across the country. Co-hosts James “Captain Slow” May and Richard “Hamster” Hammond weren't nearly as ill at ease on two wheels as Clarkson, and it showed.

If you're familiar with Top Gear, you know that the producers of the show like to pose challenges to the hosts. One on this trip involved making a helmet with whatever was handy. Clarkson ended up with a bucket, while May ended up with a colander. Later in the episode, Clarkson unfortunately crashed his Vespa--but at least he was wearing a real helmet at that point, instead of a galvanized steel bucket.

14. Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber

Complex Says: That's a very pregnant Naomi Watts in this photo. She and Schreiber are yet another couple that likes to scoot around NYC. In this photo, they were presumably getting an early start on the concept of family togetherness.

13. Michael Schumacher

Complex Says: If you watched F1 while Schumacher was still driving for Ferrari, you rarely saw him walk back to the pits, should calamity have struck. That could be a result of his rarely suffering race-ending crashes or mechanical failures while driving for the Prancing Horse. Then again, that could also be a result of his having his own personal Ferrari-red Vespa. Look, it even has his name on it.

Now that he's driving for Mercedes, you do get to see him walk back to the pits from time to time. You can't tell us he couldn't get a Mercedes-silver Vespa if he really wanted one. Maybe it exists, and we just haven't seen it.

12. George Clooney

Complex Says: This is probably the most like a normal, non-celebrity person that Clooney will ever look. We applaud his efforts to blend one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood into the crowd. Every once in awhile, we imagine that must be kind of nice.

11. Brad Pitt

Complex Says: Brad Pitt is more closely associated with motorcycles than with scooters. But while he was filming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in Montreal, he took this slightly dirty Vespa out for a ride. Scooterists and celebrity-watchers alike swooned on cue.

10. Emma Watson

Complex Says: Watson is best known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films. We love the way she looks so nonchalant while perched atop her Vespa. If she actually was Hermione, we'd also wonder if she'd be tempted to use a flying charm on it--like Ron Weasley's flying Ford Anglia in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

9. Charlton Heston

Complex Says: Heston was one of many celebrities of the '50s and '60s who liked to use a Vespa to get around on set. From the costume here, you can tell this shot was taken during filming of the epic Ben Hur. We bet you never thought you'd see a former president of the NRA this way.

8. Hugh Jackman

Complex Says: Wolverine. On a Vespa. Say that three times fast. We're still pretty sure he could beat a lot of people senseless, including us.

7. David Letterman and Regis Philbin

Complex Says: When Regis Philbin retired, David Letterman presented him with this lovely red Vespa as a gift. Unfortunately, Philbin had no idea how to ride it, and promptly crashed it on the Late Show with David Letterman set. Luckily, the talk show host suffered no serious injuries--other than possibly to his dignity. Also, either Letterman is really tall, or Philbin is really short.

6. Reese Witherspoon and Christina Ricci

Complex Says: In the film Penelope, Witherspoon played a tough Vespa rider who befriended the cursed Penelope, played by Ricci. Inevitably, they went for a ride on Witherspoon's Vespa. During filming, special arrangements had to be made because Witherspoon is apparently too short to reach the ground on a Vespa. Yes, a Vespa.

Ricci is also similarly short, but she only had to sit on the back. Oh, and you may notice that Ricci has a pig nose. That's the curse of her character in the film. You'll be relieved to know that once Penelope found true love, the curse was broken.

5. Cameron Diaz

Complex Says: Cameron Diaz is no stranger to two-wheeled vehicles. Here, she's demonstrating one big advantage Vespas have over motorcycles: it's significantly easier to wear a skirt on one. Or kilt, if that's your preference.

4. Anne Hathaway

Complex Says: This photo was taken at a promotional shoot for the Get Smart remake in which Hathaway starred. In this summer's upcoming The Dark Knight Rises, Hathaway will be riding a crazy motorcycle in her role as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Is it an either/or game? Absolutely not.

There's no rule that says you can't have more than one two-wheeled vehicle parked in your garage. This Vespa screams “fun,” while Selina Kyle's motorcycle screams, “I'm going to steal all your valuables stealthily--as soon as I park this thing.” Each vehicle has its purpose.

3. Jennifer Lopez

Complex Says: It's JLo. On a Vespa. Looking hot. We're pretty sure you're not reading what we've written here anyway after a photo like this.

2. John Wayne

Complex Says: Vespas sometimes get a bad rap as being “too girly.” Would you call anything John Wayne did “girly”? We sure wouldn't.

1. Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck

Complex Says: When most people hear the word “Vespa,” images from the 1953 film Roman Holiday instantly spring to mind--such as this one. Audrey Hepburn remains an icon of both film and fashion to this day, and Roman Holiday was her breakout role.

Originally, the film's opening credits were meant to list Gregory Peck as its only star. Audrey Hepburn was to be credited as “and introducing Audrey Hepburn.” However, Peck saw Hepburn's impending star potential and said, “You've got to change that because she'll be a big star and I'll look like a big jerk.” Smart man.