9 incredible women who are ‘mother’ to the LGBTQ+ community – in more ways than one
In honour of mothers day, here are nine exceptional women who are ‘mother’ in more ways than one (Getty)
When the gays love a woman, she becomes ‘mother’. Here are nine of those women in honour of Mother’s Day this Sunday (19 March).
‘Mother’ does no longer just mean woman who birthed a child. It means icon. It means legend. It means star. It means any female who has stuck it to the man, given the gays a shoutout, appeared in an iconic piece of media or stood fearlessly in solidarity with their trans children.
As such, here are nine fierce women the LGBTQ+ community is proud to call ‘mother’…
Jamie Lee Curtis
She could have earned the title of mother alone by snatching the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress title for her role as Deirdre Beaubeirdre in Everything Everywhere All at Once. She could have earned it by posting a picture of her Oscar and SAG Award next to the butt plug from that very same movie.
But the jewel in Jamie Lee Curtis’ mother crown is her unwavering support of her trans daughter, with the actress and noted scream queen going so so far as to tell the world her Oscar statuette was non-binary in her child’s honour, and mentioning her in a press conference after the award ceremony.
Like we said: that’s mother.
Jennifer Coolidge
The figurehead of the Jenaissance, no mother list is complete without the woman that they gays were trying to murder.
Coming back ‘wow’-ing to the front of the cultural zeitgeist almost 25 years after the American Pie franchise made her a sex symbol is mother enough, but to do it and collect enough accolades to sink a yacht full of homicidal homosexuals? No one does it like Jennifer Coolidge.
There’s the iconic photoshoots, the touching acceptance speeches and the desire to play a dolphin in her next film. Positively maternal!
Gabrielle Union
The step-mother of Zaya Wade, who just recently made her Paris Fashion Week debut, Gabrielle Union is another example of a stellar mother to a trans child.
Zaya, the 15-year-old daughter of former NBA star Dwyane Wade, publicly came out as trans in 2019, aged 12, and has since found her strongest allies in Dwyane and Gabrielle, with Union even sharing self-love advice to the teen online.
“The lesson has changed over time, but more recently it’s that beauty is in yourself,” Bring It On star Union explained. “It’s about being you and expressing yourself the way you want to.”
Mother? Yes. Enough to make us cry? Also yes.
Sarah Michelle Gellar
It should be no surprise that SMG has made the list, after having the most adorable reaction to the queer community recently claiming her as their mother during the promotional tour for Wolf Pack. She even told her husband (and sexual awakening for every young gay boy that watched the Scooby-Doo films) Freddie Prinze Jr that she only wanted to be addressed as such moving forward.
Apart from that, reports of SMG “looking after” the Wolf Pack cast on set, her titular role as Buffy Summers in queer favourite Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the purple Versace boots she wore as Daphne in the aforementioned Scooby Doo live-action films are all examples of exceptionally mother behaviour.
Jinkx Monsoon
Drag superstar Jinkx Monsoon arguably solidified her mother status by becoming the first and only queen to win RuPaul’s Drag Race twice – once in season five and again on All Stars 7.
Since then though, Jinkx has continued to skyrocket into the outer mother-sphere by becoming the first drag queen to play Mama Morton in Chicago on Broadway and by being one of the most vocal objectors to the cruel drag bans currently sweeping the US.
Mother for sure.
Rihanna
Another quite literal mother, the Bajan baddie that is Rihanna recently took a hiatus from her hiatus to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show to remind us why exactly we should refer to her as such.
Fenty Beauty product placement aside, the reveal that Rihanna was expecting for a second time was a testament to just how mother she is – who else has performed at the Super Bowl while pregnant? Quickly.
While new music may be still be a while away, the ever-inclusive Savage X Fenty lingerie is a surefire display of mother-ism.
Heather Dubrow
Yet another real-life mother who has been vocal in their support of their trans child, The Real Housewives of Orange County star Heather Dubrow recently celebrated her son Ace’s chosen name and identity on National Son’s Day.
After slamming claims that she used the news to stay relevant, Dubrow doubled down on her support, proving herself ‘mother’ once, and for all.
Claudia Winkleman
If The Traitors were a person, it would be mother. As it stands, concepts aren’t allowed to make the list, so Claudia Winkleman (and her fringe as a mother-ette) are taking its place in all her raccoon-esque, eye-shadowed glory.
Showing a genuine interest in the success of the contestants and facilitating some of the campest and most touching moments reality TV has had to offer in recent memory, Winkleman is mother for her role as the host of the treacherous game show – we can’t wait to see how large her knitwear is in season two.
She was also (at least partially) responsible for bringing us Aaron’s very very tight trousers for 12 episodes. Cheers, Clauds.
Laverne Cox
A trans icon, actress and superstar, Laverne Cox is mother in her career and in the advice that she gives out to younger trans celebs and fans.
As a trans celebrity in the increasingly worrying political climate of 2023, it takes pure mother behaviour to stand strong in such troubling times; a trait continually exemplified by Cox.
Not forgetting her truly iconic red carpet looks – mother has arrived and she’s here to stay.
