TheCubicleChick.com's 10 Favorite TV Moms: Celebrating Moms in Pop Culture

May is almost here. And one of the highlights of the month isn’t just beautiful flowers, warmer temperatures, and longer days—it’s also the month that people around the world celebrate Mother’s Day.

And what’s Mother’s Day without celebrating some of our favorite moms? As a Pop Culture enthusiast and former TV addict, TV moms gave me faux sense of comfort, laughs, and at times, provoked meaningful thoughts while I was growing up. As an only child, I was left alone a lot during times when both my mom and dad worked. So the TV was kind of an alternate reality for me. I grew up watching moms on television that were funny, beguiling, entertaining, and fabulous. TV Moms deserve their own institution. So I compiled a list of our favorite TV moms from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s.

Here is TheCubicleChick.com’s 10 Favorite TV Moms: Celebrating Moms in Pop Culture:

10. Donna Reed, The Donna Reed Show: When Nick at Nite began airing in the mid-80’s, I became hooked on old TV shows. One of my favorite television shows that aired on Nick at Nite was The Donna Reed Show. She was always perky, and offered excellent advice to her two kids and her husband. She wasn’t a perfect mom (she made her share of mistakes), but it was always corrected by the end of the 30 minute show.

9. Louise Jefferson, The Jeffersons: The Jeffersons was one of my favorite TV shows when I was a little girl. I loved me some Louise Jefferson. She was quick witted and was able to put her husband, George, in his place when he needed it. Her one-liners were also very entertaining, Isabel Sanford was my hero!

8. Lois Griffin, The Family Guy: Lois is a curvy mommy with a nasal verbal flow. I absolutely love her and her “devotion” to her kids and husband. She sounds like Fran Drescher, but is only half annoying, and serves as a great balance for a cartoon that sometimes….goes there. A lot.

7. Thelma Crowley, Mama’s Family: Each night during dinnertime, Mama’s Family was on when I was a youngster. Thelma was a no nonsense mom and grandmother from middle America, and provided great comedy for my meals (and since my mom wasn’t the best cook, I had to have something to smile about). I miss watching Mama’s Family, and it doesn’t seem like the show is shown on reruns anymore. What a loss!

6. Edna Garrett, The Facts of Life: Edna Garrett, the red haired matriarch and den mother for a group of precocious girls (she also had 2 sons of her own—did you know that?) was a sweet and loving TV mom who dispersed discipline, kindness, and love to all of her girls at Eastland. The Facts of Life was one of my favorite TV shows of the 80’s, and Mrs. Garrett was a big part of that.

5. Florida Evans, Good Times: Seriously, what better line in the history of 70’s television than this?: “Damn, damn, damn, James!”. When James Evans died and Florida threw down that dish, I thought I would never heal. It was such a powerful scene. But Florida Evans remained a true shero throughout the entire Good Times run on ABC. Good Times is one of my favorite shows of all time.

4. Marge Simpson, The Simpsons: With her sky high blue hair and scruffy (and sometimes annoying) voice, Marge Simpson is a mom amongst moms. Fictional and a cartoon she may be, but I truly believe now that I am a mom myself, that there is a little bit of Marge Simpson in all of us.

3. Carol Brady, The Brady Bunch: The Brady Bunch, as corny as they were, was, and still is, one of my favorite television shows of all time. And Carol Brady, resplendent with her shiny well-kempt shag and shiny disposition always made me smile. She is a mom amongst all moms.

2. Lucy Ricardo, I Love Lucy: Lucille Ball was epic in I Love Lucy. And when Little Ricky was born (in real life and on the show), it was one of the most watch episodes on television at that time. Lucille was very much not the perfect mom, and that is what I loved about her. Flaws and all, there are very few women that can top her as a TV mom.

1. Clair Huxtable, The Cosby Show: For me, The Cosby Show was everything! It was one of the first shows that I truly couldn’t wait to come on. Each Thursday night, I waited with baited breath to see Heathcliff and Clair and their brood. Clair Huxtable was fierce, honey. She ran cases in the courtroom during the day, and at night, she was a pillar of strength and wisdom for her children and husband. When it comes to TV moms, Clair Huxtable was tops.