The 40 Best Movie Moms

10. Brenda MacGuff (Allison Janney -- Juno)

Why She’s Great: She's able to look past all of the ultra-hip lingo and help her step-daughter through an unexpected pregnancy. Plus, she does not take lip from sassy teens or mouthy sonogram technicians. (A little sarcasm goes a long way.)

Possible Issues: Her dog obsession is creepy.

9. Mrs. Potts (Angela Lansbury -- Beauty and the Beast)

Why She’s Great: Mrs. Potts is not only nurturing, but her classic white-china finish looks stunning in the dining-room hutch. She can also belt out an iconic theme tune and make Sleepytime Tea at the same time.

Possible Issues: She tends to appear around a lot of murder victims.

8. Rose Darko (Mary McDonnell -- Donnie Darko)

Why She’s Great: Rose actually prefers when her children are taking their drugs, and is vehemently anti-Michael Dukakis. She also turns a tolerant blind-eye to terms such as “bitch,” ”f*** ass” and “suck a f***.”

Possible Issues: Her commitment to Sparkle Motion is questionable.

7. Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep -- Mamma Mia!)

Why She’s Great: She might be living the quiet single mom life in Greece these days, but you have to love a woman who wears her musician-slut past so openly on her sleeve.

Possible Issues: Your dad may end up being Colin Firth.

6. Peg Boggs (Dianne Wiest -- Edward Scissorhands)

Why She’s Great: Talk about unconditional love, so what if you’re a semimute Goth stitched together in a castle by a crazed Vincent Price who thinks garden shears are a close second to hands, Peg will take you in.

Possible Issues: Her “friends” are all “oh, he’s cute” one minute and “oh, let’s form a lynch mob” the next.

5. Edna Turnblad (Divine -- Hairspray)

Why She’s Great: Who better to teach you to love who you are regardless of what people think than a 300-pound drag queen? Edna is large, in charge, and was racially sensitive long before the Obama years.

Possible Issues: Hey might one day turn into a creepy version of John Travolta.

4. Mrs. Vorhees (Betsy Palmer -- Friday the 13th)

Why She’s Great: Mrs. Vorhees didn’t drag Camp Crystal Lake to court when its negligence led to the death of her son—she just dedicated her life to making them pay.

Possible Issues: Is actually scarier than a 7-foot maniac in a hockey mask.

3. Helen Parr (Holly Hunter -- The Incredibles)

Why She’s Great: Balancing motherhood and a career is tough enough without having said career be crime fighting. And the multitasking doesn’t stop there—Helen can save her husband’s ass and teach the kids the value of confidence and self-reliance all at the same time.

Possible Issues: To supervillains, those aren’t kids. Those are prime weaknesses.

2. Diane Freeling (JoBeth Williams -- Poltergeist)

Why She’s Great: Not only does she indulge her daughter’s bird funerals and TV fixation, but Diane ventures into the gooey dark side to save her offspring.

Possible Issues: When she discovers that an area of her kitchen is displaying supernatural properties, rather than move, she dresses her youngest in a football helmet and lets the demonic forces play shuffleboard with her.

1. Mrs. Parker (Melinda Dillon -- A Christmas Story)

Why She’s Great: Mrs. Parker has unending motherly enthusiasm, especially around the holidays. She’s not above allowing her children to cram nutrients in their pieholes by any means necessary, and will help keep dad from finding out about fights at shool.

Possible Issues: Forcing her nearly-pubescent son to wear pink bunny outfits during Aunt Clara visits is cruel and unusual.

Check out our sister site Womansday.com for its list of Top 10 TV Moms.