Moms hold a special place in our hearts, and Mother's Day is the perfect time to express the love and gratitude we feel for them. If you're looking for just the right words to show Mom how much you care and appreciate her dedication and support through the years, why not turn to one of these famous quotes about motherhood and that one amazing woman who is most responsible for making you the person you are today?
From authors and musicians to political leaders and sports legends, luminaries from all arenas recognize the contributions and special role their mother played in their lives.
Enjoy feeling the love we're giving to deserving moms this Mother's Day with these 75 quotes about motherhood.
Motherhood quotes about the bond between mother and child
1. “A mother's love liberates." – Maya Angelou
2. “The truth is that no matter how old we are, as long as our mothers are alive, we want our mother." – Goldie Hawn
3. “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." – Gail Tsukiyama
4. “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." – Emma Stone
5. “There is no velvet so soft as a mother's lap, no rose as lovely as her smile, no path so flowery as that imprinted with her footsteps." – Archibald Thompson
6. “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." – Sophia Loren
7. “A mother's arms are made of tenderness, and children sleep soundly in them." – Victor Hugo
8. “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." – Taylor Swift
9. “The best place to cry is in a mother's arms." – Jodi Picoult
10. “A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dates all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path." – Agatha Christie
11. “In the end, mothers are always right. No one else tells the truth." – Randy Susan Meyers
12. “She (my mother) stood, always prepared in herself to challenge the world in our place." – Eudora Welty
13. “The one constant, faithful, inviolable, holy love of loves — the love of your life — is not your wife or lover — it is your mother." – Sandra Cisneros
14. “Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother." – Oprah Winfrey
Quotes that celebrate a mother's love
15. “A mother's arms are more comforting than anyone else's." – Princess Diana
16. “No language can express the power and beauty and heroism of a mother's love." – Edwin Chapin
17. “A mother's hug lasts long after she lets go." – Leonardo DiCaprio
18. “A mother's love is everything. It is what brings a child into this world. It is what molds their entire being. When a mother sees her child in danger, she is literally capable of anything. Mothers have lifted cars off of their children and destroyed entire dynasties. A mother's love is the strongest energy known to man." – Jamie McGuire
19. “The only love that I really believe in is a mother's love for her children." – Karl Lagerfeld
20. “Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired; it need not be deserved." – Erich Fromm
21. “We are born of love; love is our mother." – Rumi
22. “When you are looking at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know." – Charley Benetto
23. “A mother's love endures through all." – Washington Irving
24. “You can feel when your mom's proud of you. You can feel the love." – Jimmy Fallon
25. “The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness." – Honoré de Balzac
Motherhood quotes about Mom being our first and favorite teacher
26. “There is no influence so powerful as that of the mother." – Sarah Josepha Hale
27. “My mother gave me a sense of independence, a sense of total confidence that we could do whatever it was we set out to do. That's how we were raised." – Robin Wright
28. “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'" – Fred Rogers
29. “Acceptance, tolerance, bravery, compassion. These are the things my mom taught me." – Lady Gaga
30. “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." – Martha Stewart
31. “Most mothers are instinctive philosophers." – Harriet Beecher Stowe
32. “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." – George Washington
Motherhood quotes about Mom inspiring us to be our best self
33. “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." – Michael Jordan
34. “My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother." – Wilma Rudolph
35. “My mother told me to be a lady. And, for her, that meant be your own person, be independent." – Ruth Bader Ginsberg
36. “Mothers were the only ones you could depend on to tell the whole, unvarnished truth." – Margaret Dilloway
37. “I can only hope to be 10 percent of the mom mine was to me. She encouraged me to be confident and enjoy life." – Charlize Theron
38. “That strong mother doesn't tell her cub, 'Son, stay weak so the wolves can get you.' She says, 'Toughen up, this is the reality we are living in.'" – Lauryn Hill
39. “A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnecessary." – Dorothy Canfield Fisher
40. “Moms are as relentless as the tides. They don't just drive us to practice — they drive us to greatness." – Steve Rushin
41. “Men are what their mothers made them." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
42. “My mother was my role model before I even knew what that word was." – Lisa Leslie
43. “If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother." – Booker T. Washington
Quotes perfect for a Mother's Day message
44. “If love is as sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love." – Stevie Wonder
45. “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.'" – Edgar Allen Poe
46. “A mother is the one who fills your heart in the first place." – Amy Tan
47. “All that I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." – Abraham Lincoln
48. “To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow." – Maya Angelou
49. “To her whose heart is my heart's quiet home, To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome." – Christina Rossetti
50. “Mother: the most beautiful word on the lips of mankind." – Kahlil Gibran
Quotes celebrating motherhood
51. “If you're a mom, you're a superhero. Period." – Rosie Pope
52. “I believe the choice to become a mother is the choice to become one of the greatest spiritual teachers there is." – Oprah Winfrey
53. “God could not be everywhere, and, therefore, he made mothers." – Rudyard Kipling
54. “Even as a small child, I understood that women had secrets, and that some of these were only to be told to daughters. In this way, we were bound together for eternity." – Alice Hoffman
55. “A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take." – Gaspard Mermillod
56. “Mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled." – Emily Dickinson
57. “Successful mothers are not the ones who have never struggled. They are the ones who never give up, despite their struggles." – Sharon Jaynes
58. “Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws." – Barbara Kingsolver
59. “Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all." – Oliver Wendell Holmes
Quotes offering gratitude and appreciation for all moms do
60. “There is no greater good in all the world than motherhood. The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation." – James E. Faust
61. “'Oh, I'm just a mom,' you heard women say. Just a mom? Please! Being a mom is everything. It's mentorship, it's inspirational, and it's our hope for the future." – Sally Field
62. “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 trying to pursue her own dreams, I think it is a feat that is unmatched." – Barack Obama
63. “My mother is the bone of my spine, keeping me straight and true. She is my blood, making sure it runs rich and strong. She is the beating of my heart. I cannot imagine a life without her." – Kristin Hannah
64. “Perhaps it takes courage to raise children." – John Steinbeck
65. “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." – Tim McGraw
66. “I am sure that if the mothers of various nations could meet, there would be no more wars." – E. M. Forster
67. “We should no longer allow a mother to be defined as 'just a mom.' It is on her back that great nations are built." – Oprah Winfrey
68. “Any mother could do the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease." – Lisa Alther
69. “There's no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one." – Jill Churchill
70. “A mother is the truest friend we have…" – Washington Irving
Witty motherhood quotes
71. “Sooner or later, we all quote our mothers." – Bernard Williams
72. “When your mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it's a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway." – Erma Bombeck
73. "My sister said once: 'Anything I don't want Mother to know, I don't even think of, if she's in the room.'" – Agatha Christie
74. “It's not easy being a mom. If it were easy, fathers would do it." – Betty White
75. “If evolution really works, how come Mothers only have two hands?" – Milton Berle
AUTHOR
Jackie Rupp is a longtime writer and editor who enjoys covering home, family, and lifestyle topics. She usually writes with at least one cat by her side and juggles fostering kittens with dabbling in handmade crafts. A connoisseur of pancakes, you can find her brunching when not writing or working on home renovation projects.
