May 11, 2012

Mother’s Day, the celebrity way

Nick Tann 6 Comments Entertainment, Nation Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears, Brooke Shields, Carrie Fisher, celebrities, Courtney Love, Debbie Reynolds, Demi Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Jenny McCarthy, Jessica Simpson, Joan Rivers, Kate Gosselin, Katie Holmes, Kendra Wilkinson, Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Madonna, Michelle Duggar, Mother's Day, Octomom, Sarah Palin, Tori Spelling, Victoria Beckham, Zach Wahls

33 photos

As we approach Mother’s Day weekend, I’ve compiled a collection of women whose motherhood has become a part of their celebrity, in addition to those who have become celebrities because they are mothers. This is by no means a definitive list of celebrity moms but merely an observation of motherhood and fame as seen through the collective eye of American pop culture.

My mother is an amazing woman and has always been a terrific mom and role model. I hope you all are as fortunate as I am and will spend some time this Mother’s Day making your mom feel like a celebrity.

: Angelina Jolie finally got engaged to longtime boyfriend and father of their six children Brad Pitt as of April 13, 2012. Pictured: Newly appointed U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Special Envoy Angelina Jolie (C) meets with 71-year-old Gerardina in the village of Barranca Bermeja, on the banks of the San Miguel River which marks the border between Ecuador and Colombia April 22, 2012. The little village of Barranca Bermeja hosts 50 families, 60 percent of them Colombian refugees. (Jason Tanner/UNHCR/Reuters)

: Angelina and Brad have been a couple since 2005 and are raising six children together. Pictured: Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrive with their children at Narita airport, near Tokyo on January 27, 2009. Their children, Pax (L), Knox Leon (carried by Pitt), Maddox (obscured), Zahara, Vivienne Marcheline (carried by Jolie) and Shiloh, are seen. (Toru Hanai/Reuters)

: The pit-bull politician, past Vice President nominee and hockey mom Sarah Palin campaigned frequently with her family in 2008 and has since become a political correspondent, TV personality and reality show star, all while keeping her family in her sights. Pictured: Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (L) looks at a lobster with her daughter Piper (C) and her mother Sally Heath during a visit to Yankee Seafood Cooperative in Seabrook, New Hampshire on June 2, 2011. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

: The former “posh” Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and current soccer stud David Beckham have four sons: Harper, Brooklyn, Cruz and Romeo. Pictured: David sits courtside with his wife Victoria during Game 2 of the Los Angeles Lakers against Denver Nuggets NBA Western Conference quarter-final basketball playoff game in Los Angeles, California May 1, 2012. (/Alex Gallardo/Reuters)

: Nadya Suleman’s fame began when she successfully birthed eight children in January of 2009, adding to six she already had at home. Since then, she has been actively trying to stay in the public eye through endorsement deals, talk show appearances and reality show attempts. Pictured: Nadya Suleman leaves her mother’s home in Whittier, California on February 27, 2009. (Nick Ut/AP Photo)

: “Octomom” Nadya Suleman faced possible home foreclosure and agreed to display a banner for Peta who offered to give her $5,000 USD and a month’s worth of free veggie dogs and veggie burgers. Pictured: Suleman poses for photographers in front of her home in La Habra, California on May 19, 2010. (Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images)

: As one of the most iconnic women of the early 21st century, Britney Spears’ marriages, breakdowns and motherhood have all contributed to her stalker-azzi appeal by an ever captivated public. Pictured: Spears performs onstage during the Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 22, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images for ABC)

: The troubled pop icon Britney Spears has publicly struggled with a number of personal issues over the year, which put her parental rights in jeopardy. Pictured: Spears arrives at the Los Angeles County Superior courthouse January 14, 2008 for a hearing regarding visitation rights for her two sons that she has with ex-husband Kevin Federline. (Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images)

: Singer Jessica Simpson and fiance Eric Johnson had a baby girl, Maxwell Drew Johnson, on May 1, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Pictured: Simpson arrives to the NBC Universal 2012 Winter TCA Tour All-Star Party on January 6, 2012 in Pasadena, California. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

: The August 1991 Vanity Fair cover with a very pregnant Demi Moore (C) was voted the second best magazine cover from the last 40 years by the American Society of Magazine Editors in 2005. (AP Photo/Magazine Publishers Assn and American Society of Magazine Editors) A pregnant Britney Spears (L) nearly bares all on the cover of the August 2006 issue of Harper’s Bazaar. (Alex Lubomirski/Harper’s Bazaar) A pregnant Jessica Simpson takes a page from Demi Moore’s celebrity playbook on the cover of the April 2012 issue of Elle magazine. (Hearst Magazines/Reuters)

: Actress Katie Holmes blasted into motherhood little more than one year after dating Tom Cruise in 2006. Along with their daughter, Suri, Cruise also gave the previously outgoing Holmes a new belief system, Scientology. Pictured: Holmes arrives at the 63rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theatre at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles on September 18, 2011. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

: For years, the once happily married, and certainly busy Kate Gosselin helped satisfy the voyeuristic cravings of many viewers who tuned into her reality show on TLC. Pictured: Jon & Kate Gosselin are photographed with their kids for the television show “Jon & Kate Plus 8.” (Laura Pedrick/Discovery Communications/MCT)

: Zach Wahls, 20, shot to national notoriety after giving a heartfelt testimony in front of the Iowa House Judiciary Committee in 2011 during a public hearing regarding a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Iowa. He has two gay moms. Pictured: Wahls stands onstage during the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards on March 24, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Fernando Leon/Getty Images)

: Along with a lengthy acting and modeling career, Brooke Shields is a longtime advocate and published author on the topic of diagnosing and treating postpartum depression. Pictured: Shields and children Rowan Francis Henchy and Grier Hammond Henchy attend the opening night of “Peter And The Starcatcher” on Broadway at The Brooks Atkinson Theatre on April 15, 2012 in New York City. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

: The Queen of Pop’s 12th studio album, “MDNA,” released this March featured the vocals of her 15-year-old daughter Lourdes on the track “Superstar.” The multi-award-winning artist also announced her ninth concert tour with 90 dates starting in Israel at the end of May 2012 and finishing in Australia in early 2013. Pictured: Madonna performing onstage during her “Re-Invention” World Tour 2004 in an outfit designed by Christian LaCroix. (Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

: Lourdes, Madonna’s 15-year-old daughter, recently started her own fashion line called “Material Girl.” Pictured: Lourdes Leon (L) and Madonna at the Vanity Fair Oscar party at Sunset Tower on February 27, 2011 in West Hollywood, California. (Craig Barritt/Getty Images)

: With the 2009 adoption of Mercy James, Madonna has four children total: Lourdes Leon, 15, Rocco Richie, 12, David, 6, and 5-year-old Mercy. Pictured: Madonna carries adopted son David Banda in her arms on April 19, 2007 at Consol Homes, a daycare center that she is funding in the village of Masekese, Malawi. Madonna was visiting a new daycare center that she is funding in Malawi, one of the world’s poorest, most disease-stricken countries. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)

: Singer and actress Willow Smith (R), the youngest of Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s two children, is the latest to get bitten by the fame bug. Their son Jaden fashions himself an actor, rapper, songwriter and dancer and has a rather long list of accomplishments for a young man of only 14 years. Pictured: Actress and Baltimore native Jada Pinkett Smith (L), with her daughter Willow, arrive at the premiere of Sundance Selects’ “First Position” on April 22, 2012 in Santa Monica, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

: Joan Rivers and daughter Melissa have made multiple television appearances together during Joan’s long comedy career and were both recently contestants on “Celebrity Apprentice.” Pictured: Rivers is seen around Lincoln Center during the Fall 2012 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on February 14, 2012 in New York City. (Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

: Joan helped Melissa make a name for herself in “the business” by co-hosting E! Entertainment’s red carpet interviews with her for a number of years. Pictured: Joan Rivers and Melissa Rivers arriving for the 79th Academy Awards Sunday, February 25, 2007, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

: Gwyneth Paltrow, daughter of actress Blythe Danner, and her singer husband Chris Martin, of the band Coldplay, have two children together, Apple, 7, and Moses, 5. On the lifestyle blog, GOOP, Paltrow offers health, fashion and parenting advice. Pictured: Paltrow attends the “Schiaparelli And Prada: Impossible Conversations” Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2012 in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

: Current American Idol judge, pop star and mother of 4-year-old twins Emme and Max, Jennifer Lopez recently told AOL Music that after giving birth, she had a serious case of “the baby blues.” Pictured: Lopez celebrates the upcoming Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez and Wisin & Yandel Tour at Boulevard3 on April 30, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

: Before their divorce, and during their barely concealed pregnancy, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez performed together on the opening night of their concert tour in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Sept. 28, 2007. (AP Photo/Tim Larsen)

: Actress Jenny McCarthy is a vocal advocate for parents making informed healthcare decisions and has written a best-selling book about her struggle to heal her son’s autism. Pictured: McCarthy, host of the new reality series “Love in the Wild,” takes part in a panel discussion at the NBCUniversal Summer Press Day 2012 introducing new television shows for the summer season in Pasadena, California on April 18, 2012. (Fred Prouser/Reuters)

: As the matriarch of the Duggar household, Michelle (Center left-ish) exploded into the spotlight as the fertile and loving mother in TLC’s “19 Kids & Counting” reality show. Pictured: The Duggars are photographed with their kids for their hit television show. (TLC/Beth Hall)

: Former U.S. Senator and potential presidential candidate Rick Santorum received a great endorsement, not to mention photo opportunity, for his staunchly held pro-life views during this campaign stop in Appleton, Wisconsin. Pictured: Santorum has lunch with members of the Duggar family from the reality show “19 Kids & Counting” at Simon’s Specialty Cheese on April 2, 2012. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

: Tori Spelling and husband Dean McDermott have recently announced that a fourth child will soon be joining their always-camera-ready family. Pictured: Spelling and McDermott attend the John Varvatos 9th Annual Stuart House Benefit presented by Chrysler held at John Varvatos Los Angeles on March 11, 2012 in West Hollywood, California. (Michael Kovac/Getty Images)

: Kim Kardashian (L) was the first of Kris Jenner’s (C) six children to gain public attention in 2007 from a leaked sex tape made in 2003. Since then, her social activities, and other style-related business ventures, have helped spread the Kardashian name to the masses. Pictured: Kim and Kris attend the 2012 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner held at the Washington Hilton on April 28, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Kristoffer Tripplaar-Pool/Getty Images)

: Kris Jenner costars with her daughters and other family members on the hit E! Entertainment reality show “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” Pictured: (L-R) Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner arrive at the grand opening of the Kardashian Khaos store at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 15, 2011. (Steve Marcus/Reuters/Las Vegas Sun)

: Actress, reality star and Playmate Kendra Wilkinson came onto the scene in 2009 when she costarred in the “Girls Next Door” as one of Hugh Hefner’s three blond bombshell girlfriends. Pictured: (L-R) Hank Baskett, Henry Baskett and Kendra Wilkinson attend the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “To the Artic” at the California Science Center Imax Theater on April 15, 2012 in Los Angeles. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

: In 1992, Hole singer Courtney Love gave birth to a daughter with Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. After Kurt’s suicide in 1994, Courtney’s parenting would come into question on more than one occasion, including a restraining order against her a year before her daughter’s 18th birthday. Pictured: Courtney Love attends the after-party for the launch of Salvatore Ferragamo’s Signorina fragrance at Palazzo Chupi on March 20, 2012 in New York City. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

: Courtney and Kurt’s daughter Frances Bean, now 19, has recently been reported to have taken control over her father’s name, likeness and appearance, which comes as a relief to many Nirvana fans. Pictured: Love and daughter Frances attend the premiere of the Twentieth Century Fox film “Aquamarine” on February 26, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images)

: Debbie Reynolds (R) had been a darling in the public eye years before Carrie Fisher (L) was an apple in hers. As Carrie grew to grab her own piece of stardom, she remained open about growing up in a fame-soaked and scandal-riddled family. Pictured: Actress Carrie Fisher and her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, arrive for Dame Elizabeth Taylor’s 75th birthday party at the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas on February 27, 2007. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)