Mother’s Day 2025: On-screen moms we’ll always love

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than by revisiting some of the most iconic moms in film and TV? They’re not all perfect, and that’s exactly why we love them. Some are fiercely protective, others hilariously flawed. From the emotional anchors to the supernatural warriors, these eight on-screen mothers captured the chaos, comfort, and complexity of motherhood in ways that still resonate.

The reel life moms who set the gold standard

Witty, caffeinated and emotionally fluent, Lorelai is the mom every teenager secretly wishes they had. Her friendship-first parenting style was ahead of its time, and her open-door policy—complete with pop culture references and junk food—set the tone for a new generation of single mothers on screen.

She may be the quintessential cozy mom, but Molly is anything but soft when it comes to protecting her family. She raised seven children, took Harry in as her own, and still had the energy to throw down against Death Eaters. Remember “Not my daughter, you b****”? Instant cinematic legend.

Paranoia? Maybe. But Joyce’s ability to sense danger before anyone else makes her one of the most resilient mothers in sci-fi. Whether she’s stringing up Christmas lights to communicate with her missing son or staring down shadow monsters, she’s the heartbeat of Hawkins.

She’s a literal wolf mom, and still manages to embody the very essence of maternal love. Raksha raises Mowgli with unwavering loyalty and defends him fiercely—because sometimes, family isn’t about blood, it’s about who shows up and stays.

Multiverse-hopping, tax-auditing, emotionally overwhelmed Evelyn is far from the typical Hollywood mom—and that’s the point. Her journey from disappointment to acceptance is raw, funny, and deeply human. She shows us that even in a million parallel universes, love wins.

Gothic glamour meets unwavering motherhood. Morticia is equal parts elegance and eerie, but she’s also fiercely devoted, wise, and supportive of her children’s peculiarities. A timeless reminder that great moms come in all (even spooky) forms.

A standout performance in a quiet, beautiful Bengali film, Aparna Sen plays a single mother raising a teenage daughter while navigating her own nostalgia and regrets. Her portrayal is subtle, introspective, and emotionally rich—a rare cinematic exploration of the mother-daughter dynamic told with gentle realism.