If you ask any mom to sum up motherhood in just one word, they’ll probably rattle off more than one anyway.
That’s because parenting is a roller coaster ride of emotions. With Mother’s Day approaching, we turned to celebrity moms who have captured the paradox of absolutely adoring motherhood while also finding it completely confusing ― and sometimes exhausting.
Here are 10 famous mothers who have embraced the ups and downs of motherhood.
Mindy Kaling
“I knew how much I would love [my daughter] and love the experience of being with her. I never understood how much I would worry and how much that worry is unceasing. Happiness for me, now, is just a feeling of relief. I’m in a constant state of worry but I’m enjoying it too.” (From a March interview with NBC’s “Today” show.)
Pink
“The thing about parenting is you never know if anything you’re doing is working. That’s been the most humbling thing for me. In my head, I sound amazing and then I turn around and [my daughter’s] eyes are completely glazed over. I have no idea. We’ll see.” (From a recent interview for People’s Beautiful Issue.)
Drew Barrymore
“I am unbreakably in love with [my two daughters] and will be every single day for the rest of my life ― no matter how nuts they drive me. I am that ‘rock solid will always be there for them’ parent.” (From a 2015 Associated Press interview to promote her book Wildflower.)
Kerry Washington
“I can be covered in spit-up on a conference call while I’m pumping and that’s OK, because this is my perfect.” (From a 2017 interview with Net-A-Porter’s magazine The Edit.)
Kristen Bell
“Every day is something comical. Every day when you’re raising kids, you feel like you could cry or crack up and just scream ‘This is ridiculous!’ because there’s so much nonsense, whether it’s what they’re saying to you or the fact that there’s avocado or poop on every surface.” (From a 2016 interview with “Today.”)
Lucy Liu
“It is a lot of juggling ― I sometimes wish I had octopus arms so you can do so many different things at once. But it’s manageable. You just have to sort of laugh a lot and just see how ridiculous the situation is.” (From a 2016 interview on ABC News’ “Real Biz With Rebecca Jarvis.”)
Kate Hudson
“I just love [my kids]. They’re a pain in my ass, and they’re the best pain in my ass ever. I just love every bit of it. I love the insanity. I love the chaos. I love laughing with them. I love when I gotta raise my voice at them. I love gathering them all together.” (From a 2016 interview on Sirius XM’s “Just Jenny.”)
Serena Williams
“Sometimes I get really down and feel like, Man, I can’t do this. It’s that same negative attitude I have on the court sometimes. I guess that’s just who I am. No one talks about the low moments ― the pressure you feel, the incredible letdown every time you hear the baby cry. I’ve broken down I don’t know how many times. Or I’ll get angry about the crying, then sad about being angry, and then guilty, like, Why do I feel so sad when I have a beautiful baby? The emotions are insane.” (From an interview for Vogue’s February issue.)
Camila Alves
“Once in a while, you go, ‘Oh, I wish I had more time for myself,’ ‘I wish I could sleep in more,’ ‘Gosh, my body’s not the same’ ... but they’re little [things] compared to the joy that you get from your kids.” (From a 2016 interview with People.)
Jennifer Garner
“I did it all, but it doesn’t matter. Let it go, don’t worry about it. You’re going to struggle. It’s going to suck just like for everyone else.” (Giving parenting advice to Seth Meyers in 2016.)
