The Coolest, Most Memorable Mothers And Daughters On TV

Photo: YouTube

Morticia and Wednesday

When your mother is unabashedly proud of herself and her lifestyle, you can’t help growing up confident and bold. Morticia Addams was kind of a weirdo, but it never occurred to her to ashamed or apologize for her weirdness, and she passed this right on down to Wednesday.

In a world full of blond Bettys, bobby socks, and beach blanket bingo, Morticia was completely unafraid to let her strangeness shine through. She taught Wednesday to embrace her unique personality and not hide from who she wants to be. In fact, Wednesday fiercely defends her right to be kooky and unusual.  She has little tolerance for those who won’t understand or tolerate, and she’s not afraid to be aggressive in asserting her right to be weird. She’s gonna do Wednesday, no matter what.

The pair just couldn’t understand the world’s need to be normal, and this alliance between a mother and daughter is more precious than anything else. Wednesday always had a willing accomplice in her quest to be as eccentric as she needs to be. It must have been an incredible relief to know that you can let all your peculiarity hang out and not once have to worry about how someone else will see you for it.

Photo: YouTube/ABC

Carol, Mary, Laura and Carrie

Who would even have time to be a good mom on the dang prairie? How can you fit in any kind of maternal stuff with all that fire-building, wood-chopping, food-gathering, winter-proofing? Well, if you’re Carol Ingalls, you find time to protect your family from the brutal frontier and  raise compassionate, well-rounded, competent daughters.

Carol Ingalls and family set out for the West, and settled on the prairie in which they had to make a life from scratch. She had to cook her meals over an open fire (which she had to build herself), she had to bang their clothes on a rock to get them clean, and she had to walk into town to buy anything (if they could afford it). Despite all of this, Carol was the most warm, nurturing, and benevolent mother (and human, for that matter), in all of Walnut Grove.

There was nothing she wouldn’t give up, work for, or set out to gain, to make her daughters happy. That’s not to say that she spoiled them. She taught them how to work for what they want, how to appreciate something you earn, and how to do it with a heart of gratitude and selflessness.

You can tell by the way Laura, Mary, and Carey, looked at their mother that they admired her beyond measure. They loved her for everything she offered to them, and this inspired them to be the beautiful souls they grew up to be. Except Carrie. She might have just been a bad egg.

Photo: YouTube/ABC

Wilma and Pebbles

Technically,Wilma only has one child, Pebbles, but her lunkhead of a husband, Fred, definitely makes her life a lot harder. Even though she has to deal with Fred’s man-tantrums, unreasonable moods, and hair-brained schemes, she also has to deal with her baby daughter. Combine all this with the fact she lives in a rock house and no running water, and she’s really kind of awesome.

Wilma may have been the wife of a caveman, but she really was the one who ran the show. Once Pebbles was born, she had to reign Fred in, and keep her daughter alive in a time when dinosaurs roamed free, tar pits were a real thing, and they had to use their legs to move their car. Modern mothers have no idea how hard Wilma must have had it. Forget all the fancy baby gadgets that have been invented in the last 10 years, imagine having to put your baby to sleep in a crib made out of stone, or wrapping her hair around a bone to keep it out of her face.

We have it so easy with our zip-up pajamas and car seats. She kept Pebbles from getting chomped by a carnivore, but she also kept Fred from going to jail (mostly), getting (fired), or being transported to another planet by his alien friend. Well played, Wilma.