Mum’s The Word – Our Favourite On-Screen Mothers

You should know by now that this Sunday is Mother’s Day – if you didn’t, better grab a present pronto! And while we wouldn’t swap our nearest and dearest for the world, we can’t help but imagine what it would be like to be raised by some of the on-screen supermoms from our favourite films and television shows. We’ve picked out a few of the most magnificent movie and TV matriarchs below…

 

LORELAI GILMORE
The Gilmore Girls, available now on Netflix (Virgin TV 999)

Owner of the fastest mouth in Stars Hollow, the senior Gilmore girl is a pretty awesome mother – all the more impressive when you consider her own mom! Lorelai is smart, funny and successful, and always puts Rory first. Also, a parent who’s happy to hit up the local diner for breakfast, lunch and dinner (or so it seems!) will do us just fine…

 

 

CLAIRE DUNPHY
Modern Family, weekly on SkyOne (Virgin TV 110)

When the terrible trio of Haley, Alex and Luke are running around, you’re going to need some pretty strong parenting to keep things under control… and with Phil in the mix, a lot of the responsibility is going to be mum’s! Luckily, Claire’s up to the job – so much so, in fact, that she manages to look out for her brother, her dad and the rest of the motley crew as well! Throw in her career and her frequent passion projects, and it’s a wonder there’s enough hours in the day.

 

 

RAINBOW JOHNSON
Black-ish, seasons 1&2 available now on Virgin Box Sets

Did you know Bow is a doctor? It’s not like she ever mentions it, is it?! The anaesthesiologist has every right to boast, of course, especially when she’s also doing a bang-up job in raising three kids in occasionally tricky circumstances. The fact that she might be the most stylish mom on the box only makes us love her even more – playing dress-up would suddenly become a lot more interesting!

 

 

ELASTIGIRL
The Incredibles, now showing on Sky Cinema Disney (Virgin TV 305)

All moms are superheroes – just not quite like the artist formerly known as Helen Parr! Mind, extraordinary abilities are rather important when two of your kids have superpowers of their own; minding the young ‘uns is tough enough without invisibility and lightning speed thrown in the mix! Yes, her family rules are sometimes tossed aside when danger lurks, but that’s the sort of pragmatism we can get on board with!

 

 

JACKIE HARRISON
Stepmom, available to rent now on Virgin Movies, from €2.99

OK, so Isabel might be the title character, but the protective and passionate former publisher is someone we can all support. When faced with rather dire challenges of her own, Jackie’s bond with her children is the most important thing in her life – even if that sometimes drives her to do things that aren’t exactly admirable. Unconditional love and a willingness to do anything for her kids, though – it’s hard to argue with that…