Many TV Moms, like real-life moms, occupy a strong place in our imagination. Those of us who grew up on the old-fashioned tube have had a window into the everyday concerns and rich inner life of these fictional women. What these women have in common is that they all operate by an unwavering personal conviction. We root for them as people we feel we know all too intimately:
- Lorelai Gilmore, Gilmore Girls
Lorelai (Lauren Graham) is a young, resourceful mother with big dreams and fast words who works hard to cultivate a well-rounded education for her daughter Rory. She’s a sharp businesswoman, a best friend, reliable shoulder to cry on, culture junkie, junk food junkie, and an overall interesting woman to get to know. We are inspired by how fiercely she defends the life she’s worked so hard to have and provide for her only child.
- Morticia Addams, The Addams Family
As baffling as Morticia’s (Anjelica Huston) behavior might be outside of the Addams Family household, we can’t help but admire her cutting decisiveness and spell-binding self-possession. It is clear that she has a firm hold over family matters--all without having to do or say too much.
- Clair Huxtable, The Cosby Show
As the matriarch of the show, Clair shows us a dynamic mother who took pride in her role in the family but refuses to let any person or situation define her. She exhibits warmth but is no less quick to call out nonsense. We are in awe of the balance she manages to strike in maintaining her individuality while keeping her family on the straight-and-narrow.
- Hilda Suarez, Ugly Betty
If you followed hit TV show Ugly Betty between 2006-2010, then you know that Hilda (Ana Ortiz) was not only mother to her own son Justin, but was something of a surrogate mom to younger sister Betty as the latter navigated a ruthless glossy magazine world. We respect her matter-of-fact way of words, willingness to go to extreme lengths for her family, and colorful personal style.
- Joyce Byers, Stranger Things
In Season One of the Stranger Things world, we admire Joyce Byers’s (Winona Ryder) unrelenting insistence that her son Will is still out there, even in the face of what appears to be hard evidence toward the contrary. We are moved that she is more than willing to entertain any crazy idea. In a community of skeptical adults, she’s a believer--and her mother's instinct proves right.
- Rebecca Pearson, This is Us
Fervent fans of hit show This is Us have come to know Rebecca (Mandy Moore) through the decades and have seen the progression of her character. While we might not always agree with her every choice, there’s no doubt even those questionable decisions come out of a place of passion and great heart. We feel compassion for her as an everyday superhero who often has to make the tough calls.
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Many of these TV mothers are no doubt inspired by and modeled on the image of real life mothers. It can be argued that what makes these mother figures all so compelling to watch on screen is because we see in them shades of our own mothers--and proceed to cry/smile in recognition. Which fictional mother here feels most like your mother?
