It’s been more than 100 years since Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day a national celebration in May 1914!
To mark the occasion now celebrated annually on the second Sunday in May you could lavish mom with flowers, cards or other gifts. But how about giving her something that won’t wilt, collect dust or be thrown away. Tell mom how important she is with wordsâ€"specifically iconic quotes that remind her how important moms are to everyone.
Need help finding the perfect words? We’ve rounded up 100 moving quotes about the most important lady in all of our lives: mom.
MORE: 100 Inspiring Quotes on Love and Marriage
These missives come from all types of people, from authors and poets to politicians, actors, and celebrities and from across a huge span of time. George Eliot and Edgar Allen Poe are quoted here; so are Tupac Shakur and even Snooki. They all have one thing in common: they know the importance of a mother.
1. “All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.†â€"Abraham Lincoln
2. “My mother has always been my emotional barometer and my guidance. I was lucky enough to get to have one woman who truly helped me through everything.†â€"Emma Stone
3. “I believe in the strength and intelligence and sensitivity of women. My mother, my sisters [they] are strong. My mum is a strong woman and I love her for it.†â€"Tom Hiddleston
4. “I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.†â€"Abraham Lincoln
5. “My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.†â€"George Washington
6. “Life began with waking up and loving my mother’s face.†â€"George Eliot
7. “It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful.†â€"Roald Dahl
8. “When you’re in the thick of raising your kids by yourself, you tend to keep a running list of everything you think you’re doing wrong. I recommend taking a lot of family pictures as evidence to the contrary.†â€"Connie Schultz
9. “Kids don’t stay with you if you do it right. It’s the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won’t be needed in the long run.†â€"Barbara Kingsolver
10. “Mothers and their children are in a category all their own. There’s no bond so strong in the entire world. No love so instantaneous and forgiving.†â€"Gail Tsukiyama
11. “The best place to cry is on a mother’s arms.†â€"Jodi Picoult
12. “A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary.†â€"Dorothy Canfield Fisher
13. “Mother’s love is bliss, is peace, it need not be acquired, it need not be deserved. If it is there, it is like a blessing; if it is not there it is as if all the beauty had gone out of life.†â€"Erich Fromm
14. “If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother.†â€"Booker T. Washington
15. “There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.†â€"Jill Churchill
16. “I realized when you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know.†â€"Mitch Albom
17. “Everybody wants to save the Earth; nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes.†â€"P.J. O’Rourke
18. “Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation.†â€"Robert A. Heinlein
19. “If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?†â€"Milton Berle
20. “Most mothers are instinctive philosophers.†â€"Harriet Beecher Stowe
21. “To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow.†â€"Maya Angelou
22. “The phrase ‘working mother’ is redundant.†â€"Jane Sellman
23. “[A] mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled.†â€"Emily Dickinson
24. “A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.†â€"Victor Hugo
25. “Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother’s secret hope outlives them all.†â€"Oliver Wendell Holmes
26. “Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother’s love is not.†â€"James Joyce
27. “My mother had a slender, small body, but a large heartâ€"a heart so large that everybody’s joys found welcome in it, and hospitable accommodation.†â€"Mark Twain
28. “My mother was a reader, and she read to us. She read us Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when I was 6 and my brother was 8; I never forgot it.†â€"Stephen King
29. “Love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark … to have been loved so deeply .. will give us some protection forever.†â€"J.K. Rowling
30. “It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. My mom says some days are like that.†â€"Judith Viorst in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
31. “When they’ve finished reading, Olivia’s mother gives her a kiss and says, ‘You know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway.’ And Olivia gives her a kiss back and says, ‘I love you anyway too.'†â€"Ian Falconer in Olivia
32. “My mother was the one constant in my life. When I think about my mom raising me alone when she was 20, and working and paying the bills, and, you know, trying to pursue your own dreams, I think is a feat that is unmatched.†â€"Barack Obama
33. “[My mom] had this amazing attitude in the face of everything, including when she got cancer.†â€"Bill Clinton
34. “I unapologetically and unabashedly am deeply biased toward my mother.†â€"Chelsea Clinton
35. “My mother … had a very deep inner spirituality that allowed her to rebuild her life. It’s extraordinary that she had such a strong sense of self and such a commitment to the future and such a strong creative sense that she could build new worlds for herself and for us out of the total devastation in her life.†â€"Caroline Kennedy
36. “I tell my kids, ‘I am thinking about you every other minute of my day.’†â€"Michelle Obama
37. “I’m still amazed at how my mother emerged from her lonely early life as such an affectionate and levelheaded woman.†â€"Hillary Clinton
38. “My parents elected me president of the family when I was 4. We actually had an election every year and I always won. I’m an only child, and I could count on my mother’s vote.†â€"Condoleezza Rice
39. “A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.†â€"Princess Diana
40. “[Motherhood is] the biggest gamble in the world. It is the glorious life force. It’s huge and scaryâ€"it’s an act of infinite optimism.†â€"Gilda Radner
41. “When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.†â€"Sophia Loren
42. “My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind.†â€"Michael Jordan
43. “Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.†â€"Oprah Winfrey
44. “Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.†â€"Stevie Wonder
45. “Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials.†â€"Meryl Streep
46. “She raised us with humor, and she raised us to understand that not everything was going to be greatâ€"but how to laugh through it.†â€"Liza Minnelli (on mom Judy Garland)
47. “I don’t know if I feel like a bad mom, but at the end of the day I’m always plagued with, did I do enough? Should I go in a different direction? But I also know that my entire life revolves around [my son] Louis.†â€"Sandra Bullock
48. “It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it.†â€"Dorothy on The Golden Girls
49. “If I were hanged on the highest hill / Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine! / I know whose love would follow me still / Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!†â€"Rudyard Kipling
50. “Because I feel that, in the Heavens above / The angels, whispering to one another, / Can find, among their burning terms of love / None so devotional as that of ‘Mother'†â€"Edgar Allen Poe
51. “There ought to be a hall of fame for mamas / Creation’s most unique and precious pearl / And heaven help us always to remember / That the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world†â€"Glen Campbell
52. “I finally understand / for a woman it ain’t easy tryin to raise a man / You always was committed / A poor single mother on welfare, tell me how ya did it / There’s no way I can pay you back / But the plan is to show you that I understand / You are appreciated†â€"Tupac Shakur
53. “You showed me when I was young just how to grow / You showed me everything that I should know / You showed me just how to walk without your hands / Cuz mom you always were the perfect fan†â€"The Backstreet Boys
54. “I wanna tell the whole world about a friend of mine / This little light of mine, I’m feelin’ let it shine / I’m feelin’ take y’all back to them better times/ I’m feelin’ talk about my mama if y’all don’t mind†â€"Kanye West
55. “Never gonna go a day without you / Fills me up just thinking about you / I’ll never go a day without my mama†â€"Boyz II Men
56. “Mama, you taught me to do the right things / So now you have to let your baby fly / You’ve given me everything that I will need / To make it through this crazy thing called life†â€"Carrie Underwood
57. “My mom [has] always been my hero. Watching her experience something like breast cancer was pivotal, I think in my whole family’s life and experience. She is one strong lady.†â€"Emma Stone
58. “A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.†―Washington Irving
59. “Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.†â€"Robert Browning
60. “In 1971, Bossier City, Louisiana, there was a teenage girl who was pregnant with her second child. She was a high school dropout and a single mom, but somehow she managed to make a better life for herself and her children. She encouraged her kids to be creative, to work hard, and to do something special. That girl is my mother and she’s here tonight. And I just want to say, I love you, Mom. Thank you for teaching me to dream.†â€"Jared Leto
61. “You sacrificed for us. You’re the real MVP.†â€"Kevin Durant
62. “My mom had four kids, one with special needs. She had a full-time job, and she still came home and made dinner for us every night, from scratch. It was amazing.†â€"Eva Longoria
63. “It’s the job that I take most seriously in my life and I think it’s the hardest job.†â€"Debra Messing
64. There’s something that just happens to you when you have a baby, and you look at their little eyes for the first time when you’re holding them. They’ve been safe inside your belly for almost 10 months, and now they’re in your arms. Intuition kicks in, where you will do anything for them and you have all the tools inside of you to take care of them.†â€"Hillary Duff
65. “Don’t listen to anyone’s advice. Listen to your baby … There are so many books, doctors, and well-meaning friends and family. We like to say, ‘You don’t need a book. Your baby is a book. Just pick it up and read it.’†â€"Mayim Bialik
66. “Having children just puts the whole world into perspective. Everything else just disappears.†â€"Kate Winslet
67. “[When] you’re dying laughing because your three-year-old made a fart joke, it doesn’t matter what else is going on. That’s real happiness.†â€"Gwyneth Paltrow
68. “Over the years, I learned so much from mom. She taught me about the importance of home and history and family and tradition. She also taught me that aging need not mean narrowing the scope of your activities and interests or a diminution of the great pleasures to be had in the everyday.†â€"Martha Stewart
69. “My mother is a walking miracle.†â€"Leonardo DiCaprio
70. “I see myself as mom first. I’m so lucky to have that role in life. The world can like me, hate me or fall apart around me and at least I wake up with my kids and I’m happy.†â€"Angelina Jolie
71. “Sometimes, when I want to take on the world, I try to remember that it’s just as important to sit down and ask my son how he’s feeling or talk to him about life.†â€"Angelina Jolie
72. “I think every working mom probably feels the same thing: You go through big chunks of time where you’re just thinking, ‘This is impossible â€" oh, this is impossible.’ And then you just keep going and keep going, and you sort of do the impossible.†â€"Tina Fey
73. “Being a mom has made me so tired. And so happy.†â€"Tina Fey
74. “[Motherhood is] ‘heart-exploding, blissful hysteria.'†â€"Olivia Wilde
75. “The films I’ve made for children have been my hardest work, my best, because kids deserve the best.†â€"Emma Thompson
76. “Acceptance, tolerance, bravery, compassion. These are the things my mom taught me.†â€"Lady Gaga
77. “I would say that my mother is the single biggest role model in my life, but that term doesn’t seem to encompass enough when I use it about her. She was the love of my life.†â€"Mindy Kaling
78. “If I’ve learned anything as a mom with a daughter who’s three, I’ve learned that you cannot judge the way another person is raising their kid. Everybody is just doing the best they can. It’s hard to be a mom.†â€"Maggie Gyllenhaal
79. “As my mom always said, ‘You’d rather have smile lines than frown lines.’†â€"Cindy Crawford
80. “When I had my first child I thought, ‘This is the best-kept secret.’ You know how parents rattle on to you about, ‘Oh, you won’t believe your life will never be the same,’ and da, da, da and you think, ‘Why can’t these people just get over it? All they’re doing is yakking on about their kids. It’s such a bore.’ And then you have kids and you just want to do all the same things.†â€"Uma Thurman
81. “She drove me to ballet class…and she took me to every audition. She’d be proud of me if I was still sitting in that seat or if I was watching from home. She believes in me and that’s why this [award] is for her. She’s a wonderful mother.†â€"Elisabeth Moss
82. “My mom is my hero. [She] inspired me to dream when I was a kid, so anytime anyone inspires you to dream, that’s gotta be your hero.†â€"Tim McGraw
83. “[My mother] always said I was beautiful and I finally believed her at some point.†â€"Lupita Nyong’o
84. “[What’s beautiful about my mother is] her compassion, how much she gives, whether it be to her kids and grandkids or out in the world. She’s got a sparkle.†â€"Kate Hudson (on mom Goldie Hawn)
85. “My mom is a hard worker. She puts her head down and she gets it done. And she finds a way to have fun. She always says, ‘Happiness is your own responsibility.’ That’s probably what I quote from her and live by the most.†â€"Jennifer Garner
86. “We used to sing along to Judy Garland and Ella Fitzgerald records together. She had the most amazing voice … She’s always encouraged me, and she’s still that person who, when things look dire, lifts me up and reminds me of who I am and that we all have a capacity for greatness.†â€"Sheryl Crowe
87. “My mother taught me to be nice to everybody. And she said something before I left home. She said, ‘I want you to always remember that the person you are in this world is a reflection of the job I did as a mother.'†â€"Jason Segel
88. “I remember being seven and asking my mom if I was as pretty as Monique [my best friend in grade school]. And with all the love in the world, my mom looked at me and said, “Oh, honey, you’re so funny.’ So, she doesn’t lie to me…she answers the question by not answering and instead tells me what she thinks is my greatest strength.†â€"Jennifer Aniston
89. “I like my body so much better after I had kids. Is that a crazy thing to say? I’m more womanly. I feel sexier.†â€"Reese Witherspoon
90. “Most people’s mothers are the most influential person in their life. But my mother survived the camps, and she was very strong. She made me strong, but she wanted me to be strong. That’s more important.†â€"Diane von Furstenberg
91. “My mom is the greatest mom in the whole wide world. She’s done everything for me to make my dreams come true.†â€"Josh Hutcherson
92. “My mother is everything to me. She’s my anchor, she’s the person I go to when I need to talk to someone. She is an amazing woman.†â€"Demi Lovato
93. “There were times when, in middle school and junior high, I didn’t have a lot of friends. But my mom was always my friend. Always.†â€"Taylor Swift
94. “I don’t think of myself as a terribly confident person. But I have a survival mechanism that was instilled in me by my mother.†â€"Naomi Watts
95. “There’s no such thing as a supermom. We just do the best we can.†â€"Sarah Michelle Gellar
96. “I have found being a mother has made me emotionally raw in many situations. You heart is beating outside your body when you have a baby.†â€"Kate Beckinsale
97. “It’s been a huge joy, this experience of being a mom … I don’t know how to articulate it yet, because it is so fresh.â€â€"Claire Danes
98. “The best part of having two babies at once, a son and a daughter, is mostly everything. You’re just having that feeling of love inside you all the time and motherhood is such a fulfilling place to be. I kind of wish it would have happened to me earlier in my life.†â€"Jennifer Lopez
99. “[My favorite thing about motherhood is] that it’s made me grow into a woman finally, and I finally grew up, thank God.†â€"Nicole “Snooki†Polizzi
100. “You instantly become less selfish. You can’t be the biggest person in the world anymoreâ€"they are. [Motherhood] really grounds you.†â€"Keri Russell
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