The 20 best TV moms of all time

Throughout all five seasons of “The Brady Bunch,” Carol (Florence Henderson) had Alice to help around the house with the cooking and cleaning, but prior to that Mrs. Brady raised her three girls mostly on her own. And even after gaining Alice, she didn’t just loaf around the house. In addition to continuing to raise her kids (which, after her marriage to Mike Brady, became six in number), she also did the chauffeuring and grocery shopping, sang in the choir and was a political activist, freelance writer and PTA member.

Originally envisioned as simply the straight woman to Bill Cosby’s comical Cliff character, Clair Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad) ended up becoming much more than that throughout eight seasons of “The Cosby Show.” In addition to being a strong black woman, she’s also sharply funny, a working mother (and an attorney, to boot) and a feminist, with her famous “feminist rant” speech to her chauvinistic son-in-law, Elvin, still alive, well and relevant on the internet some three decades later.

Gloria (Sofia Vergara) might be the most likable mom on “Modern Family,” but she has the benefit of having only one kid for much of the series (and a well-behaved one at that), and a full-time manny (no, not her son, but the male nanny played by Adam DeVine) when the second came along. Claire (Julie Bowen), on the other hand, is the stay-at-home mom who raised three unpredictable children and did all the cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring and almost everything else while her husband sold houses as a realtor. And then when all the kids hit their teens, Claire went right back to work.

Not only is Debra Barone (Patricia Heaton) responsible for corralling a little girl, twin boys, and a doofy husband (Ray Romano), she also has to deal with constant criticism, drop-ins, and all kinds of shade thrown by her overbearing mother-in-law. That last part alone deserves an award.

While constantly playing the mediator between a conservative husband and liberal son-in-law, Edith (Jean Stapleton) remains the voice of reason in the Bunker household. The “All in the Family” matriarch is also an adoring mother to Gloria, a part-time nursing home caretaker and a woman who isn’t afraid to stand up for herself when push comes to shove... even if it means facing the wrath of “Aaaa-chie.”

Jill (Patricia Richardson) isn’t just the mother of the Taylor household, but she’s also the only female in it. Living with Tim (Tim Allen) and his various shenanigans and accidents is hard enough on its own, and that’s before three other boys are thrown into the equation. It’s a miracle that Tim didn’t die on the show from one of his many mishaps, but it’s even more impressive that Jill somehow resisted the urge to kill him.

Ask a baby boomer to name the best TV mom of all time, and most will tell you it's “Leave It to Beaver” matriarch June Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley), the archetypal suburban mom of the 1950s whose passions include needlepoint, cake decorating and attending family and school events. Together with her husband, Ward, the two instill lesson after lesson in their two boys, Wally and Beaver. And whether she’s cleaning the house or gardening, Mrs. Cleaver can almost always be seen with well-coiffed hair, flawless makeup, stylish clothes and wearing a necklace of pearls.

Her son is a “dumbass,” her daughter is a dropout, her husband is a grouch, her mother-in-law is a monster and all the neighborhood kids hang out in her basement, but somehow Kitty Forman (Debra Jo Rupp) of “That ‘70s Show” manages to keep her cool, laugh often, and hold the family together as the only sane voice in the house. And by “somehow,” we mean throwing back a cocktail or three when times get tough.

Raising a family can sometimes seem like a horror show, especially for Lily Munster (Yvonne De Carlo), whose father is a vampire, husband is a Frankenstein’s monster-like creature and son is a werewolf. (Don’t ask us how that works genetically.) Yet she somehow gets by and also finds plenty of time to look after her “hideous” niece (who actually looks completely normal), spread garbage around the house, “dust” with a vacuum cleaner on reverse and work various part-time jobs.

She wears her ample emotions on her sleeve, doesn’t take guff from anyone, randomly bursts into song and loves wine almost as much as her kooky family, making Linda Belcher the mom we all wish we could have. And for the record, we’d probably be better behaved than the misfit kids on “Bob’s Burgers.” Well, except for Tina; she’s a delight.

Lois Griffin is, without a doubt, the only person keeping the Griffins from killing themselves or each other every week on “Family Guy.” For 16 seasons she has managed to care for and keep in line a household consisting of her dangerously dumb husband Peter, hopelessly helpless son Chris and awkward outcast daughter Meg while avoiding the near-constant assassination attempts of baby Stewie. In addition to doing all of the cooking, cleaning and other household duties, Lois has also pursued numerous jobs and careers, including work as a piano teacher, model and FOX News anchor.

Let’s face it: If you’re a millennial gal, you’ve probably wished Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) of “Gilmore Girls” was your mother at some point. She’s funny, down-to-earth and endlessly supportive, as well as the best friend of her teenage daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel). And she did it all as a single mom, no less.

Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter) is not a “good mother” by most definitions. She (barely) raised an inept magician, an extremely dependent manchild and a vain and selfish daughter while being even more vain and selfish herself. But hey, at least Michael (Jason Bateman) turned out OK. The always-boozing Lucille also constantly cheats on her husband with his twin brother and has no qualms about undermining and sabotaging anyone, from her many arch-enemies, to her employees, to her own family — and we love every entertaining minute of it. 

Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) didn’t become a mother until halfway through Season 2 of “I Love Lucy,” but she still had plenty of time to show off her strong parenting skills. After the heartfelt moment when Lucy tells Ricky of her pregnancy, she is shown at various times worrying about being a good mother, taking elocution lessons and learning how to sculpt to enrich her son’s life with art. By the show’s final season, Little Ricky (Desi Arnaz, Jr.) has started school while already proficient at both playing the drums and speaking Spanish.

Despite having a hellraiser for a son and a buffoon for a husband, Marge Simpson is still a sweet and caring mother who takes care of every little thing for her family on “The Simpsons.” And as we learned early on, in the Season 3 episode “Homer Alone,” Homer, Bart, Lisa and Maggie wouldn’t be able to function without her. (Also, Marge at least deserves partial credit for Lisa’s intelligence, as it certainly didn’t come from Homer.)

Marion Cunningham (Marion Ross) is a devoted mother and wife who looks after her husband Howard, son Richie, and daughter Joanie...as well as all of the friends and significant others the kids paraded through the house throughout 11 seasons of “Happy Days.” (She also had to deal with the loss of her other son, Chuck Cunningham, who went upstairs in an episode of Season 2 and was never seen, heard from or talked about ever again.) If you need further proof that “Mrs. C” is a cool lady, she’s the only person who’s allowed to call Fonzie by his real name, Arthur. 

We’re big fans of both Pugsley and Wednesday Addams, so any mother who raised them is OK in our book. Plus, she is also beautiful, artsy, a loving wife, a talented shamisen player, a carnivorous plant gardener and a talented floral designer.

Peggy Bundy (Katey Sagal) is the mother most moms wish they could be. She refuses to cook or clean or work — preferring instead to shop or lounge around the house — and she always has the perfect sarcastic comment or comeback to lob at Al. Despite her ample insults, it’s clear that she cares for her kids, Kelly and Bud, and loves Al too. In fact, she wouldn’t give him up for a single night...even if she was paid $500,000, as one classic “Married… with Children” episode showed.

Let’s face it: The reason “Roseanne” returned to TV was because people really enjoyed watching the titular character try to manage her misfit family. However, the show was abruptly canceled, she was killed off and it rebooted as "The Conners" after the real Roseanne posted a racist tweet. But the Roseanne Conner (Roseanne Barr) of the original show that ran from 1988 to 1997 is loud, blunt, controlling and without a doubt the one who wears the pants in the house. It’s also obvious that Roseanne loves her family, as she works tirelessly to help them at home and in various jobs. 

Shirley Partridge (Shirley Jones) is a widow who has to care for five kids all by herself...and one of them is Danny Bonaduce. (Only teasing, Danny!) We probably don’t even need further support for her inclusion in this list, but we should also mention that she got her children to behave well enough to be in a family band that toured around the country in an old school bus. Give this woman a medal already, because that’s a next-to-impossible feat. You know what happened to the Cowsills, the real-life family-band on which “The Partridge Family” was based? Bankruptcy and substance abuse, among other struggles.