Famous TV moms
Love them or loathe them, here's some of television's most memorable mothers:
Barbara Billingsley poses in a photo on Sept. 22, 1986. Billingsley gained the title supermom for her gentle portrayal of June Cleaver, the warm, supportive mother of a pair of precocious boys on "Leave it to Beaver."
"One Day at a Time"
"One Day At A Time's" Bonnie Franklin, center, is flanked by TV daughters Valerie Bertinelli, left, and Mackenzie Phillips at the CBS Turns 75 bash on Nov. 2, 2003. Franklin's Ann Romano's go-it-alone character on the sitcom, which ran from 1975-1984, made for groundbreaking TV. "She was the first one, who, on television - a single mother raising two kids," she said at a tribute to TV Moms in L.A. on May 7, 2008.
"Family Ties"
The cast of "Family Ties" reunited on the "Today" show on Feb. 2, 2007. From left are Michael Gross, Justine Bateman, Meredith Baxter, Tina Yothers and Michael J. Fox. Baxter played architect mom Elyse Keaton, who, along with her husband, were hippies with liberal viewpoints raising three children with strongly conservative views.
TV Moms Tribute
From left, Barbara Billingsley of "Leave It To Beaver," Gloria Henry of "Dennis the Menace," Jane Wyatt of "Father Knows Best," and Marion Ross of "Happy Days" gathered for tribute to TV's favorite moms on May 10, 1991.
"The Donna Reed Show"
Donna Reed starred as Donna Stone in "The Donna Reed Show" from 1958 to 1966. Donna was a doting wife and mother, but her character was unique in that she frequently worked as a nurse, at a time when most TV mothers were housewives.
"The Cosby Show"
"The Cosby Show" cast, from left, Sabrina Le Beuff, Tempestt Bledsoe, Bill Cosby, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, Raven Symone and Malcolm Jamal Warner are shown in 2006. For eight seasons, Rashad played Claire Huxtable, the very eloquent, elegant and assertive wife, mother and attorney on one of the biggest TV hits of 1980s.
"The Partridge Family"
Actress-singer Shirley Jones, of the "Partridge Family," places a Partridge Family lunch box into a display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington on Tuesday, April 13, 2004. Jones played the widowed matriarch of the musical Partidge clan and drove their colorful bus in the TV series that ran from 1970-1974.
"Father Knows Best"
Jane Wyatt, top right, poses with her TV family on "Father Knows Best," the classic TV sitcom chronicling the life and times of the Anderson family in the Midwestern town of Springfield from 1957-1963. Wyatt won three consecutive Emmys for her role as mom Margaret Anderson - a role she first turned down because she "didn't want to be just a mother."
"Julia"
Diahann Carroll starred as "Julia" from 1968-1971 - becoming the first African-American actress to star in her own television series where she did not play a domestic worker. The widowed mom worked as a nurse and raised a young son following her husbands's death in Vietnam. She later played mom to Jasmine Guy's Whitney on "A Different World" and most recently, Mama Burke on "Grey's Anatomy."
"The Simpsons"
Marge Simpson, with her tall blue beehive and motherly pearls, no doubt knows how to keeps "The Simpsons" clan in check. Marge was named after, and loosely based on, Margaret "Marge" Groening, mother of series creator Matt Groening. In 2004, she was voted the UK's "Most Respected Mother" in a poll conducted by the Mothers' Union, beating Cherie Blair and Victoria Beckham.
"Married...With Children"
Played by Katie Sagal, Peg Bundy was not your typical TV mother. With her big red hair and leopard spandex outfits, she took time from her favorite pastime - sitting on the couch and eating bon bons - to dispense motherly advice to her dysfunctional children on "Married...With Children."
"Brothers & Sisters"
Sally Field won an Emmy in 2007 for her portrayal of Nora Walker -- a mother of five -- on TV's "Brothers & Sisters."
"The Brady Bunch"
"The Brady Bunch" actresses Susan Olsen, Florence Henderson and Ann B. Davis, are shown on March 16, 2003. Henderson played Carol Brady - a widowed mother of three young girls who married a widowed man with three young sons - from 1969-1974.
"Good Times"
Esther Rolle, shown in 1996, perhaps is best known as Florida, the matriarch from "Good Times" who, along with her husband James, never gave up trying to make the best of things for themselves and their three children during tough times living in a Chicago housing project.
"All in the Family"
Archie (Carroll O'Connor) may have called her a dingbat -- but the rest of us knew the loyal, loving and naive Edith Bunker was the rock of reason on "All in the Family." Played by Jean Stapleton, Edith was mom to Gloria, played by Sally Struthers, and also mothered her son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, played by Ron Reiner.
"Mama's Family"
Spun off from a sketch on the "Carol Burnett Show," Vicki Lawrence starred as the cranky, sharp-tongued Thelma "Mama" Harper on "Mama's Family" from 1983-1990.
"Roseanne"
For nearly a decade, wisecracking, working-class mom Roseanne Connor, played by Roseanne Barr, led her family through good times and bad on "Roseanne."
"Everybody Loves Raymond"
Doris Roberts won three Emmy Awards for playing Ray Romano's nosy, insufferable, manipulative, meddling mother, Marie Barone, on the long-running sitcom, "Everybody Loves Raymond." She reportedly beat out 100 other actresses for the role.
"Two and a Half Men"
Charlie Sheen, Holland Taylor and Jon Cryer of CBS's "Two and a Half Men" pose at a "TV Moms" tribute at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. Not all TV moms are good ones, especially Taylor's bitchy, bawdy Evelyn Harper - an "anti-mom" if ever there was one.
"The Sopranos"
Livia Soprano, played by Nancy Marchad, was the manipulative, scheming and abusive mother to Tony (James Gandolfini), Barbara and Janice on HBO's "The Sopranos." Livia put a hit out on her own son when he tried to put her in a "retirement community."
"Arrested Development"
Lucille Bluth (played by Jessica Walter), fourth from left, was the drunken, scheming matriarch on Fox's comedy "Arrested Development." Between drinks, she alternated between manipulating, criticizing, smothering and ignoring her adult children and grandchildren.
"Mad Men"
January Jones plays Betty Francis (formerly Draper) on AMC's "Mad Men."