Ranking the best TV moms of all time
Ranking the best TV moms of all time
From ‘I Love Lucy’ to ‘Modern Family’ — who are the best TV moms?
It’s Mother’s Day (hi, Mom!), and to celebrate, Roku has put together a special tribute to TV’s most iconic moms. They’ve ranked the top television mothers across two categories: by decade and overall. From timeless classics like Carol Brady and Clair Huxtable to modern fan favorites, the lists highlight the moms who’ve made us laugh, cry, and maybe even call our own moms a little more often.
These rankings are a nostalgic trip through TV history, reminding us how much on-screen moms have shaped pop culture. Whether it’s Carol Brady keeping the blended Brady Bunch in line, Morticia Addams redefining gothic elegance and unconditional love, or Lucy Ricardo bringing chaotic charm to every episode of “I Love Lucy,” these TV moms left lasting impressions — and plenty of laughs — across generations.
Top TV Moms
By Decade
- 1950s: Lucy Ricardo (I Love Lucy)
- 1960s: Morticia Addams (The Addams Family)
- 1970s: Carol Brady (The Brady Bunch)
- 1980s: Sophia Petrillo (Golden Girls)
- 1990s: Kitty Forman (That 70s Show)
- 2000s: Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)
- 2010s: Claire Dunphy (Modern Family)
- 2020s: Morticia Addams (Wednesday)
By total rankings
- Morticia Addams (The Addams Family)
- Sophia Petrillo (Golden Girls)
- Carol Brady (The Brady Bunch)
- Kitty Forman (That ‘70s Show)
- Peg Bundy (Married with Children)
- Clair Huxtable (The Cosby Show)
- Lucy Ricardo (I Love Lucy)
- Marge Simpson (The Simpsons)
- Marie Barone (Everybody Loves Raymond)
- Claire Dunphy (Modern Family)
Who’s your favorite TV mom?
Are you surprised by any of these moms? All iconic in their own way, and they’ll certainly stay that way as more amazing TV moms come along. Who’s your absolute favorite — and who do you think was missed on this list? Please drop by the comments and let us know!
Happy Mother’s Day!
Watch the top TV moms
Everybody Loves Raymond
Ray Barone is a successful sportswriter living on Long Island with his wife Debra, daughter Ally, and twin sons, Geoffrey and Michael. Ray’s meddling parents, Frank and Marie, and brother, Robert, live directly across the street.
- DIRECTV MySports
- $44.99 / month
- Paramount Plus Premium
- $13.99 / month
Gilmore Girls
Set in the charming town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, the series follows the captivating lives of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a mother/daughter pair who have a relationship most people only dream of.
- YouTube TV YouTube TV
- $82.99 / month
I Love Lucy
Cuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife. Instead she tries constantly to perform at the Tropicana where he works, and make life comically frantic in the apartment building they share with landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz, who also happen to be their best friends.
- DIRECTV MySports
- $44.99 / month
- Paramount Plus Premium
- $13.99 / month
Married… with Children
Al Bundy is an unsuccessful middle aged shoe salesman with a miserable life and an equally dysfunctional family. He hates his job, his wife is lazy, his son is dysfunctional (especially with women), and his daughter is dim-witted and promiscuous.
- DIRECTV MyNews
- $39.99 / month
Modern Family
The Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan is a wonderfully large and blended family. They give us an honest and often hilarious look into the sometimes warm, sometimes twisted, embrace of the modern family.
- DIRECTV MySports
- $44.99 / month
That ’70s Show
Crank up the 8-track and flash back to a time when platform shoes and puka shells were all the rage in this hilarious retro-sitcom. For Eric, Kelso, Jackie, Hyde, Donna and Fez, a group of high school teens who spend most of their time hanging out in Eric’s basement, life in the ‘70s isn’t always so groovy. But between trying to figure out the meaning of life, avoiding their parents, and dealing with out-of-control hormones, they’ve learned one thing for sure: they’ll always get by with a little help from their friends.
- DIRECTV MyNews
- $39.99 / month
The Addams Family
A satirical inversion of the ideal of the perfect American nuclear family, they are an eccentric wealthy family who delight in everything grotesque and macabre, and are never really aware that people find them bizarre or frightening. In fact, they themselves are often terrified by “normal” people.
- DIRECTV MySports
- $44.99 / month
The Brady Bunch
When widower Mike Brady marries a lovely lady widow Carol Ann, their two families become one. These are the misadventures of this new couple, their six children, a dog named Tiger, and quirky housekeeper Alice.
- DIRECTV MySports
- $44.99 / month
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.
- DIRECTV MyNews
- $39.99 / month
- Peacock Premium Plus
- $19.99 / month
The Golden Girls
Four Southern Florida seniors share a house, their dreams, and a whole lot of cheesecake. Bright, promiscuous, clueless and hilarious, these lovely, mismatched ladies form the perfect circle of friends.
- DIRECTV MyNews
- $39.99 / month
- Peacock Premium Plus
- $19.99 / month
The Simpsons
Set in Springfield, the average American town, the show focuses on the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. Since the beginning, the series has been a pop culture icon, attracting hundreds of celebrities to guest star. The show has also made name for itself in its fearless satirical take on politics, media and American life in general.
“The Simpsons” was ranked the best sitcom of all time by Rolling Stone in 2021.
If you’ve never seen it, “The Simpsons Movie” pulled together some of the series’ best writers for a wild ride.
Wednesday
Smart, sarcastic and a little dead inside, Wednesday Addams investigates twisted mysteries while making new friends — and foes — at Nevermore Academy.
