Who Is TV’s Favorite Mom? And Who Came in Last?

Collage of Classic TV Moms
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The results of our ReMIND Favorite TV mom poll are in: 5,396 readers voted to pick their favorite out of 20 top classic TV moms, including those from The Brady Bunch, The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, and many more.

Who won the honor of most beloved matriarch on TV? And who surprised us by coming in last? Read on to find out!

June Cleaver

LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, Barbara Billingsley, Jerry Mathers,

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Topping the poll with 901 votes is the Leave It to Beaver happy homemaker herself! Played to pearl-wearing perfection by Barbara Billingsley, June Cleaver practically invented the TV mom — so it’s no surprise that she was your favorite.

Marion Cunningham

HAPPY DAYS, Marion Ross, 1974-84.

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Coming in second with 745 votes is Richie and Joanie’s mom — and mother figure to almost every other character on Happy Days. Played by Marion Ross, Mrs. C was the only person allowed to address Fonzie as “Arthur” — truly the sign of some top-tier mothering.

Olivia Walton

THE WALTONS, Michael Learned, 1972-1981

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And coming in a very close third, with 733 votes, is Michael Learned‘s Waltons matriarch. Olivia was mom to seven spunky kids, and always had time and a kind word for each of them — so it’s not too hard to imagine why she ranked near the top.

Last place: Angela Bower

Who's the Boss? Alyssa Milano, Katherine Helmond, Tony Danza, Judith Light, Danny Pintauro, (Season 6), 1984-92

Coming in dead last — below some extremely unusual moms, like Married With Children‘s Peg Bundy and Lily Munster from The Munsters — was Judith Light‘s Angela, the busy single mom who hired Tony Danza as her housekeeper on Who’s the Boss? Angela got a mere 17 votes — whether that’s because readers didn’t log many hours watching the show, or because they never wished they were raised by a busy executive who made them hang out with a male nanny, we’ll never know.

Check out the full results below and let us know if you agree or disagree!

Poll Results:

June Cleaver – Leave It to Beaver

901 votes

 

Marion Cunningham – Happy Days

745 votes

 

Olivia Walton –The Waltons

733 votes

 

Caroline Ingalls – Little House on the Prairie

512 votes

 

Clair Huxtable – The Cosby Show

458 votes

 

Carol Brady – The Brady Bunch

361 votes

 

Samantha Stephens – Bewitched

331 votes

 

Shirley Partridge – The Partridge Family

255 votes

 

Lucy Ricardo – I Love Lucy

200 votes

Margaret Anderson – Father Knows Best

194 votes

 

Donna Reed – The Donna Reed Show

138 votes

 

Lorelai Gilmore – Gilmore Girls

131 votes

 

Elyse Keaton – Family Ties

94 votes

 

Morticia Addams – The Addams Family

86 votes

Peg Bundy – Married … With Children

85 votes

 

June Lockhart – Lassie

79 votes

Lily Munster – The Munsters

76 votes

 

Angela Bower – Who’s the Boss?

17 votes