15 TV Moms Who May Not Be Perfect But We Still Love Them To Bits

They're unconventional moms, but so adorable!

Remember when J. D Salinger wrote, “Mothers are all slightly insane”? And when N.K. Jemisin said, “She can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way”?

Motherhood is not a walk in the park, but a minefield. Our myopic vision often limits mothers and tries boxing them into cookie-cutter boxes. Thanks to popular culture, after years of being stereotyped by society, mothers are finally portrayed in all their chaotic yet fascinating glory.

TW: This post contains mentions of body image, sexual violence, and suicide.

1. Kath (Jane Turner) in Kath & Kim

Riley Turner Productions

Gorgeous gorgeous girls are confident, vivacious, and try to live their best lives. But gorgeous gorgeous girls also hide their insecurities under the facade of fashion consciousness. Kath is gorgeous gorgeous girls. Her adult daughter, Kim's presence and overall rude and shallow demeanour are overbearing, yet Kath is ever-tolerant towards her and always ready for a chat in the backyard. 

2. Marisol (Peggy Blow) in On My Block

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An expert dressmaker and a strict believer of touching (read: smoking) grass, give it up for everyone's favourite abuelita, Marisol! Inside Marisol, there are two wolves. One is the ever-protective grandmother who is very much capable of stealing your best friend. The other is sprightly, adventurous, and a proper telenovela aficionado with a nose for smelling hidden money.

3. Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) in Wandavision

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Wanda is in Spain but the "S" is silent. All she ever wanted is a year of rest and relaxation, but her carefully curated world is about to crumble. The universe can feel like an escape room at times, with all the clues leading to a dead-end. Nevertheless, Wanda persists. With great power comes great responsibility, which may mean having to bid adieu to her twins, but moms like Wanda know how to strike back. Her accelerated pregnancy further bears testimony to the fact that she is quite literally, a super mom.

4. Marilla (Geraldine James) in Anne With An E

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Little Anne has suffered enough as “the art of losing isn’t hard to master / so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost.” This is when Marilla, an otherwise restrained woman with little room for emotions, takes her under her wing by adopting her. They initially get off on the wrong foot with Marilla not wanting Anne to be a part of her household, but that changes quickly. After all, "being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation". If kindness were time, Marilla would be eternity.

5. Gloria (Sofia Vergara) in Modern Family

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When god made Gloria, she was really flexing her creativity. Loud and fiery, Gloria is quite a character. Her voice might drive dogs mad and set off car alarms, but her presence feels like drinking fresh lime soda on an Indian summer afternoon. Encouraging her children, even when they aren't particularly good at poetry or are far from being good and cutesy, isn't easy. But Gloria does a splendid job.

6. Jane (Shailene Woodley) in Big Little Lies

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Children are not always the products of love, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve love. While loving is hard, especially when Jane is yet to pick up her pieces, she shows up for her child every day.  

She protec (her child),

She attac (her abuser),

But most importantly, she "with a little help from her friends", is bringing living fearlessly bac.

7. Moira (Catherine O’ Hara) in Schitt’s Creek

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Sometimes Moira acts like she is the centre of the universe and boy, oh boy, she really is good at acting. She swears she doesn’t love the drama, rather, it loves her. Notwithstanding her self-centredness, she adores all her bebes, including herself, with all her heart. In our culture, moms aren't really the modern renditions of Mother Mary, but as long as they are willing to grow with their children as Moira does, they shouldn't be shamed for being human.

8. Emily (Kelly Bishop) in Gilmore Girls

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Being nice to the world is always Emily’s second priority. Her first priority is to think of her maids as "incompetent" and be a socialite. Notwithstanding her flaws to be an exemplary mother and employer, all the times her daughter, Lorelai, and granddaughter, Rory, feel cold (both literally and metaphorically), Emily tries her best to be their blankie.

9. Gaby (Eva Longoria) in Desperate Housewives

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If being obsessed with oneself is a full-time job, Gaby will be the employee of the month. On a superficial level, it might seem like vanity is her middle name. But if we delve deeper, we will see that Gaby is a terrific friend, an imperfect but glorious mother, and a spectacular sass machine. "Once upon a time, a few mistakes ago", Gaby didn't wish to be a mother. But when motherhood comes, she embraces it as she never wants her children to bear the brunt of whatever crashed and burned in her personal life.

10. Cersei (Lena Headey) in Game Of Thrones

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For Cersei, peace is literally never an option. Her dysfunctional family dynamics and blinding megalomania always keep her on her toes. Needless to add here that she is mostly living the thug life, but, for her children, and she never hesitates to drop the "T". Sometimes, being the best mother means not hesitating to become the worst person, and Cersei understands the assignment quite well.

11. Sam (Pamela Adlon) in Better Things

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Life is a party and single mom Sam often feels like she is the pinata whose only job is to get beaten down. With a mother to look out for, her demanding job as an actor, and three kids who might not be the most forward when it comes to showing love, Sam is knee-deep in a pickle on most days. Yet she tells herself, “Hold hard then, heart. This way at least you live.”

12. Paula (Andie MacDowell) in Maid

Netflix

Paula never hits rock bottom because she already lives there. She is a woman with an undiagnosed bipolar disorder and a history of terrible exes. Barely can she take care of herself, let alone her daughter, Alex. While she can never be nominated for the best mother in the world award, she knows what’s best for Alex — to free Alex from her disruptive presence.

13. Kate (Chrissy Metz) in This is Us

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Kate has body image issues and her own bruises to heal. She is just a woman, standing tall in front of a fatphobic society, asking it to stop urging her to shrink herself. She is also a mama bear, who is fiercely protective of her kids and doesn’t let anyone, not even her husband, bully them into eating less. May our mothers take up more space, like Kate, and pave the way for us to do the same. Amen.

14. Rose (Debra Lawrance) in Please Like Me

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Rose is not the most understanding mother in the world and has a hard time wrapping her head around her son's ways, but she keeps at it. With bipolar disorder, a traumatizing divorce, and multiple suicide attempts under her belt, Rose isn’t god’s strongest soldier either. But despite knowing that, "falling in love is glamorous hell", she dares to love again and again. Even though living sometimes is more excruciating a task than dying, she tries to learn to choose the former.

15. Grace (Jane Fonda) in Grace And Frankie

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With a complicated childhood and a cheating husband, Grace isn’t the most affectionate person in the world. She is far from being an indulgent mother, which is often (mis)interpreted as coldness. However, in truth, she is like the sun — her presence might be scorching sometimes but it still brightens up the days of everyone who comes in contact with her. God bless mothers like her who naturally ace the art of balancing tough love with hugs.

Which of these moms are your favourites? And did we miss any? Let us know in the comments!