But who are our favorite TV moms ever? We looked at TV comedies and dramas from the 1950s to the present to come up with our list—and we’ve got everyone from mid-century housewives to working moms of the 1980s to the multi-faceted and diverse mothers we see on screen today. The television mothers on our list also show how our favorite form of entertainment has evolved over the years, and how women’s roles as moms have changed in society as well. This Mother’s Day, cuddle up with your kids or your own mom to enjoy some of the best TV moms who’ve graced the small screen over the past 70 years of TV history.
Best TV moms
June Cleaver, Leave It to Beaver
The first TV moms reflected the ideals of the 1950s and early ’60s housewife. We loved Harriet Nelson of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Laura Petrie of The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Donna Stone of The Donna Reed Show, but the top marks for the OG TV mom go to June Cleaver of Leave It to Beaver. Played by Barbara Billingsley, June Cleaver was attentive, kind but firm, and did housework in heels. She represents an idyllic—but let’s face it, repressive—time in American TV history.
Carol Brady, The Brady Bunch
Once the groovy 1970s hit, TV moms got a little cooler—and this “lovely lady” brought about a new era for mothers on television. Carol Brady, played by Florence Henderson, wasn’t just a mom: She was a stepmom, too. The Brady Bunch was one of the first blended families on TV, but Carol parented both her daughters and her step-sons with the same love. Fun-loving and gentle, she also had a far-out “mullet flip” hairdo.
Edith Bunker, All in the Family
At the other end of the 1970s TV sitcom spectrum, the groundbreaking All in the Family subverted the prejudices of the time by presenting a bigoted main character in Archie Bunker, as the show took on more serious topics than comedies had before. Enter wife and mother Edith Bunker, the sweet “dingbat,” as her husband calls her, who is really nothing of the sort. Played by Jean Stapleton, Edith showed how women, wives and mothers had been unfairly treated as subordinates when they really had so much more to offer.
Florida Evans, Good Times
Good Times lives in the same TV universe as All in the Family (it’s a spinoff of that show), but although the 1970s series contains the same social awareness, it presents a very different family, one that audiences had seldom seen on TV before. Florida Evans, played by Esther Rolle, is the tough yet loving matriarch of a Black family in a public housing project. Although her family is poor, life isn’t all bad: There are plenty of good times to enjoy as well.
Clair Huxtable, The Cosby Show
In the 1980s, women had entered the workforce in greater numbers, and television found a new TV mom trope: the working mother. Clair Huxtable, played by Phylicia Rashad, was the best of these—a successful, Black lawyer, feminist and mother of five, she represented the idea that women could “have it all.” For today’s audiences, The Cosby Show has been tainted by star Bill Cosby’s now-vacated sexual assault conviction (and Rashad’s defense of him; although she later apologized); still, Clair Huxtable remains an important milestone in TV mom history.
Sophia Petrillo, Golden Girls
Even when you get older, your “ma” is still important to you—especially if she happens to be Sophia Petrillo, played by Estelle Getty. Living with her daughter Dorothy and her roommates, Rose and Blanche, Sophia is unforgettable for her wicked sense of humor and no-nonsense Sicilian attitude. The most “golden” of the Golden Girls, she acts as the matriarch to the group—behind her wisecracks is a caring mother who always keeps them on their toes.
Peg Bundy, Married With Children
In the late ’80s, things get interesting for TV moms. Like Married with Children itself, tacky Peg Bundy, played by Katey Sagal, was the total opposite of the classic TV ideal—and we loved her for it. The original “bad mom,” she smoked, ignored her kids, and didn’t give a hoot about housework. Yet there was something freeing and irreverent about the way she breezed past all that was normally expected of mothers—which, by the way, has always been way too much—making her just a bit more real than the moms we’d seen on TV before.
Lorelai Gilmore, Gilmore Girls
The early aughts brought us the fast-talking wit of single mom Lorelai Gilmore, played by Lauren Graham, and her daughter, Rory, who are only 16 years apart in age. Living in the idyllic small town of Stars Hollow, this cozy comfort show presented a quirky mom character who’s slightly more like friends with her daughter than your usual matriarch, which is also why we were intrigued by her. Is that good parenting or not? You decide.
Claire Dunphy, Modern Family
Heading into the 2010s, Modern Family gave viewers a more, well, modern view of motherhood. Claire Dunphy, played by Julie Bowen, is relatable and multi-faceted—a type-A woman who gave up her job to be a sometimes harried stay-at-home mom (later, she goes back to work). Sometimes a bit overbearing, she’s by no means perfect, but we can see ourselves in her in a way that we couldn’t with many moms of sitcoms past.
Rainbow Johnson, Black-ish
She’s a doctor, a mother of five, a good-humored wife and a matriarch—Rainbow “Bow” Johnson, played by Tracee Ellis Ross, is the modern-day Clair Huxtable, with a twist. Bow keeps things light and fun, but isn’t without her own foibles and idiosyncrasies (for example, she’s fond of reminding everyone she’s a doctor). Still, her perky attitude and caring parenting make her a great modern mom role model.
Rebecca Pearson, This Is Us
Although most of the shows on our list are comedies—for some reason, we associate the best TV moms with sitcoms—Rebecca Pearson, played by Mandy Moore, stands out among tearjerker dramas. Through the show’s use of flashbacks and forwards, we see Rebecca as both a young mother of three and, later, a grandmother with grown children—an unusual feat that shows viewers the full breadth of experience moms go through.
Joyce Byers, Stranger Things
Even though Stranger Things deals with sci-fi monsters and an alternate “Upside Down” universe, mothers everywhere could relate to the desperation of single mom Joyce Byers, played by Winona Ryder, after her son goes missing. Some thought she was crazy for thinking her son was communicating with her from the alternate world through the lights in her house—but her mother’s instinct was right. Nothing would stop this fierce mom from helping her kid, and that’s something all moms can relate to and admire.
Penelope Alvarez, One Day at a Time
This short-lived reboot of another great 1970s-’80s mom-focused sitcom, One Day at a Time, portrayed a fresh take on difficult issues moms deal with. Justina Machada played single mom Penelope Alvarez, who’s part of a Cuban-American family; she’s also a nurse and an Army veteran coping with PTSD. Unlike your typical sitcom, the issues Penelope deals with are often serious, but she’s also a badass mom who fully accepts her children for who they are. Bonus mom: The amazing Rita Moreno portrays Penelope’s mother, Lydia.
Jessica Huang, Fresh Off the Boat
Fresh Off the Boat was notable for being the first Asian-American-led sitcom in two decades— and although it’s true that lead mom Jessica Huang, played by Constance Wu, embodies a bit of the “Tiger Mom” stereotype, that may be part of what makes her relatable. She also has probably the best one-liners of any TV mom in history. Case in point: “Children are never too old to be controlled! It’s just like chess. Children are the pawns, and you are the queen.” Try using that one the next time the kids misbehave! Next, looking for more great TV to watch? Check out the 20 absolute best TV shows of all time, from All in the Family to Modern Family.
