Famous actresses who received an Oscar for their roles as mothers (13 photos)

Mothers are superheroines who don't wear masks or capes. They are ready to move mountains for the sake of their family, clearly showing that women are far from the “weaker” sex. Motherhood in general is an extremely deep, complex and interesting topic that is often raised in cinema. And this is not only about love and caring parenthood, but also about dark and dramatic stories... Creating a truly breathtaking film about motherhood is a huge task for the director and screenwriter. But the actress will also need not to play, but to truly live her role. And the heroines of our post managed to do this. And it was so good that they won an Oscar for it.

Meryl Streep in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)





The magnificent Meryl Streep played a mother with a difficult worldview, who one day simply walked away from her husband and son, leaving them alone. After some time, she came to her senses and returned to take her son for herself. One problem - during her strange absence, the boy and his father turned from not very close people into a real family.

Julia Roberts in the film Erin Brockovich (2000)



A single mother of three children tries to find a way to support such a company and suddenly becomes interested in law, becoming a human rights activist who successfully fights a corporation that pollutes groundwater.

Brie Larson in the movie "Room" (2015)





The heroine Joy Newsum and her 5-year-old son live in captivity of a rapist who locked them in the basement. At some point they are released, but the suffering has only just begun.

Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)



Mildred Hayes's daughter was murdered by an unknown assailant, and the woman believes that the police, particularly Sheriff Bill Willoughby, are not looking hard enough for the culprit. Desperate, Mildred goes into open confrontation with the police, installing three billboards with the inscriptions “Was raped while dying”, “And still no arrests?”, “How so, Sheriff Willoughby?”

Allison Janney in the film “Tonya Against the World” (2017)



This selection will not be complete without “mothers of the year.” Since childhood, Lavona Golden has been physically and mentally suppressing her daughter Tonya and sending her to figure skating in the name of realizing her own ambitions. And after some scandalous events in the film, he even comes to his daughter with a wiretap to help the police obtain evidence that Tonya is connected to the crime. Not a mother, but a dream!

Michelle Yeoh in the film Everything Everywhere at Once (2022)



Probably the most effective and dynamic metaphor film about the attempts of a mother and daughter to find a common language. Wow, how much the heroine has to go through to get through to the child!

Holly Hunter in The Piano (1993)



The extremely complex role of a mute mother who interacts with people and expresses her emotions through sign language, playing the piano and her own daughter.

Katharine Hepburn in the movie Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967)



The second of the great actress’s four Oscar wins came in a film in which her heroine’s daughter suddenly appears on the doorstep with a dark-skinned fiancé. For the late 1960s, this is a dilemma that Hepburn the mother, for her part (after all, there is also a father), resolves it poignantly and with humor.

Davan Joy Randolph in The Leftovers (2023)



A mother remains a mother even when her child is not around. The actress was able to convey the deep sadness of grieving mother Mary Lam, who works at the school where her son attended before heading off to the Vietnam War. Mary's fate prompted her to sympathize and help someone else's son, whose Christmas did not go according to plan.

Melissa Leo in The Fighter (2010)



Another “mother of the year” who seems to know better than anyone what life trajectory suits her boxer son. In addition, she clearly has a favorite in the form of his older brother. In general, mothers of athletes in films often turn out to be not the most pleasant ladies.

By the way, one of Melissa Leo's on-screen sons, Christian Bale (that same older brother), also received an Oscar for his role in this film. That's why he's a favorite!

Patricia Arquette in the film Boyhood (2014)



The film “Boyhood” is primarily known for the fact that it took 11 years to film, from 2002 to 2013. Patricia Arquette played the mother of the main character, who grows up before the viewer's eyes, and his sister. The actress is worthy of mention for her loyalty alone to the project in which she spent so much time, but she was given an Oscar for demonstrating on the screen the difficult vicissitudes of her heroine, whose life included a divorce from her alcoholic husband, and trials, and caring not only for their children, but also those of others.

Sophia Loren in the film Chochara (1960)



Cesira, played by Lauren, is a widow, mother of a 12-year-old daughter, and store manager in Rome during World War II. The Italian actress's performance perfectly conveys the strength needed to overcome despair and grief in a war-torn country.

By the way, the actress became the first in history to receive an Oscar for a role not in English. Her game was so breakthrough.

Brenda Fricker in My Left Foot (1989)



The actress played the mother of a child born with cerebral palsy who cannot control his movements. His father abandoned them, but his mother gives her son undying love and confidence that he will succeed in life, despite all the difficulties. And so it happened.

Another case when the on-screen son of an actress - here it is the brilliant Daniel Day-Lewis - also received an Oscar.