While we should all be showering our mothers or mother figures with love today, it’s important to remember what we learned from our TV moms along the way. Sitcom moms are in a category all their own, and we celebrate Mother’s Day by acknowledging 12 of the best sitcom moms of all-time.
This mom is fabulous and hilarious, but most of all, she was fun. They say be a parent, not a friend, but Lisa Landry (played by Jackée Harry) found the balance between both as she was mom not only to her daughter, Tia, but also to Tia’s biological and also-adopted sister, Tamara. Also, she had a really cool kiosk in the mall and made Tia and Tamara’s prom dresses. Too cool.
Mama Seaver (Joanna Kerns) blazed a trail for mothers of the ’80s as she went back to work as a reporter while husband, Jason (Alan Thicke), was the stay at home dad.
Jami Gertz played sarcastic Judy Miller on this former CBS sitcom. While she and her husband Bill (Mark Addy) were often getting into hijinks, they were teaching their kids important lessons of what not to do.
Mrs. Brady is an iconic sitcom mom. Played by the recently passed Florence Henderson, Carol introduced us to blended families while teaching us to never play ball in the house.
Played by the hilarious Debra Jo Rupp, Kitty was the quintessential ’70s mom who played a mother figure to her son’s friends who frequented her house.
Claire Huxtable (played by Phylicia Rashad) showed that moms can be just as successful as dads – all while still being a hands-on parent. She also had amazing clothes, so that’s a win right there.
This Wisconsin mom (played by Marion Ross) raised kids Richie and Joanie (and the disappearing Chuck) by teaching them to learn from their mistakes.
Another ’80s trailblazer, Elyse Keaton (Meredith Baxter) instilled in her children that it is important to fight for the changes you’d like to see in the world.
Played by Fran Drescher, Fran Fine (who, SPOILER, didn’t become a mother until later in the series) was the nanny to three young kids who had recently lost their mom. She proved how important a mother figure can be, even if not biological.
Mrs. Partridge (played by Shirley Jones) was a single mother who taught her children the significance of music.
Despite questionable fashion decisions, Angela (played by Judith Light), was a divorced mother of one who ran her own advertising agency while co-parenting with housekeeper, Tony Micelli (Tony Danza). [Honorable mention to Mona (Angela’s mom, played by Katherine Helmond) who was the actual boss of that household and showed that grandmas can still be cool.]
The Tidbit 
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