• LIFE

Mother’s Day Special: LIFE With Famous Moms

2 minute read

Madre. Maman. Mãe. Oma. Inay. Mutter. Mum. Mor. Mama. However you say it, in whatever language, the word for “mother” has a thousand and one subtle variations, most of which usually translate, at one time or another, into something like: “Thanks for everything, mom.”

Here, on Mother’s Day weekend, LIFE.com offers a selection of portraits of famous moms (Jackie Kennedy, Shirley MacLaine) with their kids, famous kids (Liz Taylor, Sophia Loren) with their moms and, in a few instances, famous kids with their famous moms.

[See TIME.com’s “Top 10 Movie Moms We Wish Were Ours.”]

The focus of the gallery, however, is most decidedly not meant to suggest that famous moms are any more worthy of notice than any other mothers anywhere in the world who feed, clothe, encourage, protect, challenge and, ultimately, unconditionally love their children. Rather, this gallery is, quite frankly, a simple acknowledgement that, like most everybody else, we’re more or less fascinated by fame.

“Let me tell you about the very rich,” F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote. “They are different from you and me.” An observation to which he might well have added: “And the famous? They’re a whole lot stranger.”

But whether rich or famous (or neither); whether strange or perfectly, unpretentiously, refreshingly normal, moms deserve recognition simply because — as all of us will readily admit in our more brutally honest moments — moms rule the world. And while devoting one measly day a year to celebrating and honoring mothers everywhere might be a rather feeble way to express our gratitude and love . . . not to worry. They’re moms. They understand.

Still, would it kill you to pick up the phone once in a while?

 

Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizabethRonk.

Jackie Kennedy reads to her daughter, Caroline, in Hyannis Port, Mass., in 1960.
Jackie Kennedy reads to her daughter, Caroline, in Hyannis Port, Mass., in 1960.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Judy Garland holds her daughter, Liza, at home in Hollywood in 1946.
Judy Garland holds her daughter, Liza, at home in Hollywood in 1946.Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Elizabeth Taylor on the set of Cleopatra with her daughter, Elizabeth Frances, in Rome in 1962.
Elizabeth Taylor on the set of Cleopatra with her daughter, Elizabeth Frances, in Rome in 1962.Paul Schutzer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Elizabeth Taylor and her mother, Sara, in 1948.
Elizabeth Taylor and her mother, Sara, in 1948.Mark Kauffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Shirley MacLaine and her daughter, Sachi Parker, in 1959.
Shirley MacLaine and her daughter, Sachi Parker, in 1959.Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
The great American contralto Marian Anderson kisses her mother after a concert in Philadelphia in 1937.
The great American contralto Marian Anderson kisses her mother after a concert in Philadelphia in 1937.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee holds her 4-year-old son, Erik Lee Kirkland, during a stopover in her traveling carnival show, Memphis, Tenn., 1949.
Burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee holds her 4-year-old son, Erik Lee Kirkland, during a stopover in her traveling carnival show, Memphis, Tenn., 1949.George Skadding—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Shirley Temple with her daughter, Lori, in Atherton, California, in 1957.
Shirley Temple with her daughter, Lori, in Atherton, California, in 1957.Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Ingrid Bergman and her daughter, Pia Lindstrom, in 1959.
Ingrid Bergman and her daughter, Pia Lindstrom, in 1959.Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Sophia Loren with her son, Carlo Ponti, Jr., in 1969.
Sophia Loren with her son, Carlo Ponti, Jr., in 1969.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Sophia Loren (right) poses with her mother (center) and her sister, Maria, in 1957.
Sophia Loren (right) poses with her mother (center) and her sister, Maria, in 1957.Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Zsa Zsa Gabor and her daughter, Francesca, at home in Bel Air, 1951.
Zsa Zsa Gabor and her daughter, Francesca, at home in Bel Air, 1951.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Actress Joan Crawford and her two adopted children on the beach, Monterey, California, 1945.
Joan Crawford and two of her children, Christina and Christopher, on the beach, Monterey, California, 1945.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy with her children, 1961.
Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy with her children, 1961.Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Jane Fonda and her daughter, Vanessa, in California, 1971.
Jane Fonda and her daughter, Vanessa, in California, 1971.Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Nancy Reagan with Ron Reagan in Pacific Palisades, Calif., in 1965.
Nancy Reagan with Ron Reagan in Pacific Palisades, Calif., in 1965.Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Natalie Wood and her mother at home, 1945.
Natalie Wood and her mother at home, 1945.Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Peggy Lee gets a goodnight kiss from her 4-year-old daughter Nicki, 1948.
Peggy Lee gets a goodnight kiss from her 4-year-old daughter Nicki, 1948.Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Mia Farrow reads to her children on Martha's Vineyard in 1974.
Mia Farrow reads to her children on Martha's Vineyard in 1974. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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