ALT-2 Famous Mothers throughout History
Whether you think it a truth or a myth, most of our motherhood culture comes from stories of the biblical Eve, considered by many to be mother of the human race.
The legend of Eve gives us a full expanse of mother prototypes to consider. What makes a woman a mother is the female body's biological capacity to carry and deliver a child. What makes a mother famous, however, can be something not always grounded in reproduction. Sometimes, it is grounded in scandal and notoriety, sometimes famous, sometimes timing - always intrigue.
Take Eve as the original "mother" for example. Is she remembered more for the idea that she ushered in the birth of us all, or is she remembered as a temptress who set in motion the human race's downfall?
Infamous mothers have included women who endangered or took the lives of their children. This lot includes Susan Smith, who initially alleged that she was carjacked by an African-American man and that he drove the car with her two small children into a nearby Union, South Carolina lake. Ultimately, police discovered that Susan drowned her own children. Andrea Yates also will be known forever for killing all five of her children by drowning them in a bathtub in her Houston, Texas home. Depressed, she stopped taking medicine prescribed for postpartum psychotic episodes.
There have been the famous fictional mothers we grew to love: Claire Huxtable from The Cosby Show, Carol Brady from The Brady Bunch, Marge Simpson from The Simpsons, Mrs. Cleaver from Leave It To Beaver, Lily Munster from The Munsters, Roseanne Barr from Roseanne, Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble from The Flintstones. There have been famous mother's (Faye Dunaway) who portrayed other famous mothers (Joan Crawford). The Mommie Dearest movie offered a chilling look at the negative possible effects of fame on motherhood.
We have even used mothering qualities to name our environment - Mother Nature, Mother Earth - and sprinkled mothering in our storytelling legacies with the name Mother Goose, an imaginary "mother" credited with giving us nursery rhymes.
Following is by no means a comprehensive list of famous mothers, but a few notable ones:
Medea - In Greek mythology, Medea is known for exacting revenge on her husband Jason, who left her for Glauce, daughter of Creon. In a twist of vengeful events, Medea ends up killing her children and her husband.
Mary of Nazareth - No matter what your religious practice, the story of Mary, mother of Jesus, and her immaculate conception is a moving one. As the story goes, Mary was a virgin at the time of Jesus' conception but engaged to Joseph of Nazareth. Her impregnation was believed to be an act of the Holy Spirit.
Marie Curie - Marie Curie has the distinction of winning two Nobel Prizes. The first given in 1903, she shared with her husband Pierre and Henri Becquerel who discovered the spontaneous radiation the Curies did extensive study of. In 1911, she won a second Nobel Prize for her work on radioactivity. Curie's oldest daughter, Irene Joliot-Curie, won a Nobel Prize in 1935.
Grandma Moses - Anna Mary Moses was a famous folk artist who painted mostly rural scenes. She didn't start painting until she was 75. She gave birth to ten children, though only five lived past infancy.
Anna Jarvis - Founder of Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis worked tirelessly for the world to recognize the work of mothers. This was a way for Jarvis to honor her own mother, who had stressed the importance of mothers to her when she was a young girl. The first observance of Mother's Day was held around May of 1907 at St. Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, Virginia. This was Jarvis' mother's church.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - Most famously known as the wife and widow of President John F. Kennedy, the late Jacqueline Onassis is widely known for her dedication to her children. Though the Kennedy children were born into a spotlight of fame and politics, she fiercely shielded them from public access and scrutiny. Caroline Kennedy, Jacqueline's daughter who is now a mother, is the only surviving member of her immediate family. Jacqueline died of cancer in 1994.
Rose Kennedy - The Kennedy matriarch gave birth to nine children with her husband Joseph Kennedy. Her courtship with Kennedy last seven years before the two were married. Only three of her children are still alive: Eunice Shriver, Jean Smith and Senator Edward (Ted).
Sandra Day O'Connor - The first woman and the 102nd person to sit on the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor and her husband John have three sons.
Indira Gandhi - Became the first woman prime minister of India in 1966. She was the daughter of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. She was assassinated by her bodyguards on October 31, 1984.
Margaret Thatcher - Born Margaret Hilda Roberts, Margaret Thatcher became the first woman prime minister of Great Britain in 1979. She held the post until 1990, the longest for anyone in the 20th century. Thatcher and her late husband Mark, had twins, Carol and Mark, in 1953.
Queen Elizabeth II - The reigning queen of the United Kingdom, who is the mother of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, Princess Anne and Prince Edward. Queen Elizabeth's mother, known as The Queen Mother died on March 30, 2002 at the age of 101.
Princess Diana - Former wife of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, the late Princess Diana will be remembered most for her charity work and the tragic way she died in a car accident on August 31, 1997 while fleeing the paparazzi. At the time, she and Prince Charles were separated. She gave birth to two sons during her marriage, Prince William in 1982 and Prince Henry (aka Prince Harry) in 1984.
Florence Griffith Joyner - Known for her flashing running outfits and her long, curled colorful nails, "Flojo" was a triple gold medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. To date, she still holds world records in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, a feat which garnered her the label of the world's fastest woman. She died of a heart seizure in 1998 in Los Angeles. She and her husband Al Joyner had one daughter, Mary Ruth, born in November 1990.
Satyabhama Mahapatra - On April 9, 2003, she became the oldest woman - at 65 - to give birth. She and her husband didn't have children and used the egg and sperm of her neice and niece's husband through in vitro fertilization.
Candy Lightner - Founder of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), Candy Lightner started the organization in 1980 when her 13-year-old daughter Cari was killed by a drunk driver. She headed the group for eight years.
Madonna - There are tons of celebrity mothers who could be here, but the queen of controversy shocked the world when she eased back on her flamboyant themes to become a mother in 1996. Her daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon was conceived with her personal trainer Carlos Leon. In 2000, Madonna gave birth to Rocco John Ritchie. She married Rocco's father, filmmaker Guy Ritchie four months later. In 2006, the Ritchies adopted a third child, David Banda, whom they saw during a visit in 2005 to an orphanage in Malawi.
